Review of Darkness Series, The: Box Set (3 Discs)

Introduction

I reviewed Dragonball Z a while back and took the opportunity to lay my Anime preferences on the line. Not for me is the childlike Pokemon phenomenon, nor at the other extreme the exploitative tentacle genre. I prefer a happy medium of uber-violence and mind blowing storylines. At the time I was happy enough that Dragonball Z, though catering for the younger audience, didn`t resort to the childish Power Rangersesque stereotype that I so despise. But, if it isn`t the one thing then it`s the other, and the Darkness boxset gives me the opportunity to review a tentacular spectacular of the kind that gives anime a bad name, that name being Hentai of course.

The three films in this set, at an average running time of 40 minutes (after the BBFC had finished with them that is) are, Alien Of Darkness, Idol Of Darkness and Mission Of Darkness. The only thing they have in common is the Darkness in the titles. Those of you expecting those longhaired glam-rocking anachronisms from Lowestoft can turn away now.

Alien Of Darkness sees the all female crew of the spaceship Muse responding to a distress call from a stricken freighter. They arrive to find the crew dead, the males desiccated and the females corpses covered in a strange green slime. There is also an amnesiac survivor called Flair in a stasis tube as well as a capsule of a dangerous banned substance. Amid the soft focus girl-on-girl action aboard Muse, Flair revives and reveals herself to be a mesmerising lesbian shape-shifting tentacle beast.

Idol Of Darkness is about a teen idol of the kind so common in Japan, the all singing all dancing movie sensation Ikumi, who is going through the usual teen idol problems. She has to balance her career, a manipulative management and her relationship with her boyfriend Akira (who glows green whenever he thinks of her?!?!), which naturally is suffering from her fame. These are just petty problems when you realise that her co-star, seeing her own fame fading is dead set on revenge, and to that end takes her wimpy manager to an ancient shrine, and by screwing him in a occult pentagram raises an evil tentacle demon to do her wicked bidding.

Mission Of Darkness (bear with me please we`re almost there) begins with an astronaut couple interrupted at the moment of climax when an alien spaceship destroys their shuttle. Soon a meteor hits the ground in Japan and an evil tentacle monster is roaming the land killing and impregnating nubile females. A virginal scientist comes up with the ill-conceived plan of destroying the creature by emitting the sexual energy of a mass shag-a-thon, courtesy of the nation`s prostitutes and the Japanese army. Fortunately an Alien Venus has also come to Earth in search of the tentacle monster and by assuming Godzilla like proportions she defeats the creature in the only way she knows how.

Video

Both Alien and Idol are presented in a 1.85:1 letterbox format, although zooming is only advisable if you have a good grasp of Japanese. The English subtitles are of course in the bottom of the screen, making them invisible on a 16:9 screen. The image for both these films is clear enough, and the animation is well accomplished if uninspired. Alien Of Darkness impresses with its design and attention to detail, though at times the character animation is wanting. Idol Of Darkness is of similar quality, though the heroine has unfeasibly large eyes, even for an anime character.

Mission Of Darkness is presented in a 4:3 format and is of inferior quality animation wise. The character animations are severely wanting, and indeed the piece seems wholly static, with the only animation applied to the abundance of tentacles.

Audio

A functional DD 2.0 Japanese track all around.

Features

These three discs are packaged in their own Amaray cases and held together in a cardboard slipcase. Each disc has a static menu screen with the option to play the film or to select from one of six chapter headings.

Conclusion

Let`s not mince words here, it`s anime soft porn that we are talking about. Animation allows for the exploration of ideas unhindered by reality and low budgets, so what we see here is far-fetched and extreme in concept. However, there is a tendency for animation to be an excuse for misogyny and exploitation, which is where the BBFC comes in. The BBFC, often a much-reviled organisation by cineastes, do have as their prime mandate to protect and preserve the sensibilities of the UK audiences. Marginal decisions like head butts aside, they also have a responsibility to prevent extreme material to be released in the UK, and The Darkness series definitely falls under the definition of extreme material. The BBFC are never going to allow the depiction of explicit sexual violence on to British screens, hence the first batch of cuts to these titles allowing them an R18 rating. The distributors naturally want a general release, so they submit to further cuts of explicit consensual sexual activity for an 18 rating.

In total Alien Of Darkness has 1 minute and 47 seconds cut from it, Idol has 2 minutes and 54 seconds, and Mission has 7 minutes and 29 seconds cut from it. But that is just ¾ of the story as the 4th film, Spy Of Darkness was so explicit and violent in its depiction of rape that the BBFC in their infinite wisdom rejected it wholesale. I`m not often a proponent of the BBFC, I must be feeling my age, but in their treatment of these films, I personally believe they have adequate justification for their decision, though they have been a little clumsy in their editing. The conclusion of Idol Of Darkness is a moment of triumphant coitus between Ikumi and Akira, which leaves little to the imagination. Originally it left nothing to the imagination but explicit scenes have been removed every few seconds leaving us the soft-core passion and brief tumescence that we see now. However the soundtrack has been similarly butchered leaving a confused morass of notes, instead of a tune. It would have been better in terms of editing to give Akira and Ikumi their victorious kiss and cuddle, and simply excised the final scene altogether, rather than the mess that is there now.

What you feel about the role of censorship, and how it deals with these three films, is something you have to decide for yourself. I find myself in the strange position of agreeing with the BBFC. If there is to be an argument about censorship, let it be over a film with artistic merit and a valid social comment, rather than the tripe that is most of this boxset.

Mission Of Darkness is the worst of the lot. It`s wholly and unapologetically misogynistic and exploitative with absolutely no redeeming features, filled with sex for its own sake. If you think for an instant though that it may be of some use as an aid to self relief, think again, as the animation is dismal and the imagery about as arousing as banana and bacon sandwich. The story is pseudo science fiction of the worst kind, and it features a soundtrack that can only be described as horror-porn.
1/10 for sheer stupidity value.

Idol Of Darkness is an improvement. There is a semblance of a story, with Akira and Ikumi`s romance of a little interest, and the jealous co-star storyline slightly compelling. But in the context of modern British society, the idea of a teen starlet as an object of sexual desire may be questionable. That doesn`t override the larger concern of a dull story livened up with some S&M action. 3/10.

Alien Of Darkness though is the best of the bunch, truly entertaining and worth watching. That is of course because it rips off Ridley Scott`s Alien shamelessly, down to the traitor on board and the heroine`s pet. The all female crew is an excuse for some badly animated lesbian sex, but somehow this isn`t as intrusive to the story as the other discs. Alien Of Darkness also flows well considering it is the least butchered of the three discs. 6/10

The Darkness boxset is anime porn at it`s worst, degrading and pointless. That isn`t to say that it can`t be done at all. Having seen Urotsokidoji, I know that you can have material like this in a compelling and imaginative story. This is nowhere near as good. If you want to dip your toe into the Darkness world, I suggest you buy Alien Of Darkness alone and leave the others.