Death Trance
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C
In another of the latest cycle of martial arts fantasy
films with comedy, Death Trance is stuck in the usual “unknown place”
and “unknown time” which is a great excuse for the makers to do less
writing. These ‘twilight zones’ make
such story telling more and more generic.
In the meantime, Versus director Yuji Shimomura gives us this
tale of a stolen coffin that leads to yet another pointless quest for its
recovery, because just retrieving the thing and leaving it at that is not noble
enough.
The thief’s name is not less grim than Grave! Then there are many pointless, senseless
swordfights and other battles that drag on and on and on and on and on…
I wondered if even the most diehard fans would really
enjoy this. Either way, the 89 minutes
seem much longer as it never, ever picks up and the conclusion is that you’ll
somehow find a way to enjoy it, or more likely, will fall asleep during it. Yes, it lives up to its title in unexpected
ways. At least the production values
have their moments.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft, color
inconsistent and detail challenged. The
Dolby Digital Japanese and English 5.1 mixes are surprisingly weak for an
action feature. An original trailer and
making of featurette are the only extras.
The latter did not clear much either.
- Nicholas Sheffo
