Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard review

In a confusing, and somewhat unnecessary twist, the sequel to Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness is actually a prequel. Why didn’t they just put them out in the right order, you ask? Well, the original was a “for hire” project and the script was already written when Shimako Sato was tapped to direct. In “Birth of the Wizard”, Sato wrote the screenplay herself and wanted to show Misa as a regular teenager, before she became a badass dark wizard with all the answers. The result is a relatively exciting action/horror movie with its fair share of corny moments.

If you weren’t aware that this sequel is a prequel, as I wasn’t, the flurry of action in the first act can seem mighty confusing. The movie begins back in 1880, as some sort of super-human she-bitch (Amina Tominaga) pops a bunch of villagers’ heads like cantaloupes and leaves their corpses piled up in a bloody mess, leaving future historians baffled about what actually occurred there. Fast-forward to current day, and we find an archeologist and his assistant uncovering a mysterious mummified corpse in the area where the legendary Village of Saiga once stood. When the archaeologist leaves the tomb for a few minutes, the mummy—not surprisingly, the same woman from the intro—suddenly comes to life and takes over the body of the assistant, setting up a body-snatching ability that the killer will use repeatedly throughout the film.

Now we get to catch up with Misa (Kimika Yoshino), who’s apparently a typical latchkey kid with her own group of friends, complete with the obligatory shy male admirer trying to work up the courage to ask her out. When Misa goes out on a beer run with her friend Shoko (Chieko Shiratori) she notices a strange guy (Wataru Shihodo) lurking outside and following them. Fortunately, or so it would seem, they run into Shoko’s policeman father on the way home and warn him about the guy. With that, Shoko goes with her dad and Misa returns home where she finds her friends all slaughtered. A strange man in a white coat (the killer had since taken over a doctor’s body) suddenly grabs her and asks if she is Misa Kuroi. Just then, the man she thought was stalking her earlier saves her and tells her to run. And run they do; there’s lots and lots of running.

If you’ve seen James Cameron’s “Terminator” and its sequel you already have a pretty good idea of what this movie is like; a mysterious man from a different time protects the naïve girl from a cold, relentless killing machine that can take over people’s bodies at will. Misa doesn’t fully trust her protector until he repeatedly saves her life with magic spells that are basically parlor tricks compared to what she could be capable of if she ever reaches her full potential.

Even being so unapologetically derivative, “Birth of the Wizard” is generally a fun movie and seems to have higher production value than its predecessor—even though the two films were made with the same budget restrictions. It is pretty frustrating that the follow-up to a storyline that rendered Misa relatively powerless would involve her being both inept and powerless, but by the end of this one she learns a few flashy tricks that make up for all the running and sobby moments. I’m still waiting for an Eko Eko Azarak movie that actually lets Misa use her witchcraft for more than just a last-minute saving throw, but 80 minutes of evading a supernatural serial killer with a penchant for crushin’ skulls isn’t a bad alternative. Worth a look if you enjoyed the first movie.

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Availability:

“Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard” is included in the priced-down 3-disc set of Eko Eko Azarak movies released by US distributor Tokyo Shock on December 27, 2005. For full specs, see this link.

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