The third and final film in the Yokai Monsters series Along with Ghosts makes the monsters and ghosts almost a peripheral and unnecessary collection of characters. That being said, I enjoyed this one more than the second, which just seemed a little too light-hearted for me.

This time out, the narrative follows a group of Yakuza who have fallen on the wrong side of the demons and ghosts when they carry bladed weapons onto their sacred ground. They are pursuing a little girl, Miyo (Masami Furukido), who witnessed their execution of a couple of rival swordsmen and also has made off with a document that proves their involvement in a series of other murders.

After her grandfather is struck down by these Yakuza swordsmen, she flees in search of her father, with only a pair of die to prove who she is. But she will be chased the entire way by the baddies. She is hunted.

She is protected by a young boy, and a swordsman from a rival gang, Hyakutaro (Kojiro Hongo). They seem more than able to handle anything that comes their way, they just happen to be able to use the help of the yokai anyway. When the baddies are separated from each other, or from the general public, they find themselves quickly under assault by some familiar spooky faces.

It’s not quite as bloody as it could have been, but it’s a fairly fun ride, and the special effects, the majority of them practical, look quite good. Sure some of the yokai look a little goofy, but some are quite nicely designed.

There are some nice action beats, necessitating the actual use of a fight choreographer this time out. There are some nice sword clashes, but you can tell that a few of the kicks and punches miss their target by miles. Still, if that’s my only real complaint about the film, that’s not so bad.

I quite like this series of films, and it makes me want to seek out other Japanese genre films from the time, and see what they do with their effects, their creature work and more. There’s something so very cool about seeing how other cultures portray their monsters, and how they bring them to life, what is scary, and what isn’t to different peoples.

If you have any recommendations, please let me know. In the interim, I think I will be checking out some classic 80s Italian horror next.