Directed by Paul Young and written by Ichirô Kusuno, Ghost Master (Gôsuto masutâ) is a love letter to horror films. The filming of a “Kabe-don” romance, an adaptation of a female-skewing magna, quickly goes awry… during the filming of the final scene. Yuya (Mizuki Itagaki), the male lead, dislikes the ending and wants to change it. Director Todoroki (Akaji Maro) protests, claiming that this is how it is in the script, while Shibata (Tôru Tezuka), the producer, attempts to explain the genre tropes. Still, Yuya walks off set, even when his co-star, Momose (Mariya Harashima), agrees with him that the sequence doesn’t make the “heat flutter.” After they leave, extras and crew members also exit, despite assistant director Akira (Takahiro Mura) pleading with everyone to remain so the production can stay on schedule.
In the chaos, supporting player Mana (Riko Narumi) stumbles across Akira’s script for a horror film. That film, Ghost Master, is a tribute to Tobe Hooper, but the demon at its heart escapes and takes over Yuya. The possessed actor then starts slaughtering everyone in sight, so it is up to Akira, Mana, and production assistant Keiko (Yuki Shibamoto) to find a solution to stop the marauding ghost from murdering the entire cast and crew. However, that is easier said than done, and the body count is rising.
“…it is up to Akira, Mana, and production assistant Keiko to find a solution to stop the marauding ghost from murdering the entire cast and crew.”
It is interesting that Tobe Hooper is the go-to horror reference throughout Ghost Master, as the blood-splattered shenanigans and over-the-top comedic sensibilities are more in line with early Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi. But those two made tremendously fun horror flicks, and Kusuno and Young took all the right lessons. There are enough unlikable characters that it’s easy not to care about everyone dying. This allows cathartic fun to be had in the viscera that is so liberally sprayed throughout the 91-minute runtime. But there are enough characters with dimension that there are stakes because one’s favorite could be in peril and may not get out unscathed.
The director has a good eye and makes the attacks stylistically different, but all fun. The ending features an attack directly at the camera lens, which is just plain cool. A sequence involving a sword and a still-moving decapitated corpse has both thrills and drama to it. Admittedly, if an audience member is not well-versed in Japanese humor, some moments might come across as whiplash in terms of tonal changes.
Ghost Master is demented but knows it. The film never takes itself too seriously but gives its main characters enough drama to remain interesting. The comedy works, as does the love of a particular time in horror that this emulates. Once the chaos is unleashed, nary 5 minutes go by without something insane, over-the-top, and bloody happening in a cool way. Overall, this is pure fun, and gorehounds will likely lap it up.
For more information, visit the official Ghost Master page.
"…demented but knows it."
