This post includes the review of Soichi Umezawa's film, VAMPIRE CLAY, as published in Shock#46 and the interview with the director, as published in Shock#47.
VAMPIRE CLAY aka CHI O SU NENO (Soichi Umezawa - Japan / 2018)
Here is a very pleasant surprise from Japan and luckily it is a pure horror movie and based on an original idea of FX artist Soichi Umezawa, who wanted to try his skills as a director. The story unfolds in an art studio in the Japanese countryside, where an art teacher sets up her own school and trains a small group of students in the art of clay. One of the female students uses a bag of clay that the teacher had found by accident somewhere nearby and this becomes the 'vampire clay' of the title. After its first contact with human fluids (and blood in particular), the clay begins to take form and occupies the bodies of the unlucky students. When the evil breaks out, a middle-aged man arrives and gives information about the origins of the clay, which was created by an artist desperate for recognition and whose bones actually became the clay, therefore offering him eternal life as a parasite...
Despite the limited budget, I liked the movie a lot and it actually reminded me of the atmosphere and the macabre ideas of fellow Japanese filmmaker Higuchinsky, who directed only three but unique movies in his career (UZUMAKI-which we reviewed in issue 3, LONG DREAM and TOKYO 10+1). The horror atmosphere that Umezawa creates is convincing, thanks to the isolated setting and his robust direction, while the actors perform very well. The role of the art teacher is played by Asa Kurosawa, who also played in Shinya Tsukamoto's A SNAKE OF JUNE and Sion Sono's COLD FISH. A great advantage of the movie are the special effects, which are mostly practical, and show influences from the body horror movies of early Cronenberg and Henenlotter, with a little bit of THE BLOB remake and Svankmajer, since we have latex, clay and stop-motion animation, giving the movie a wonderful retro aesthetic. Umezawa had been already established as a special effects artist in several Japanese movies and TV series, he later directed the short films Y IS FOR YOUTH (for the anthology THE ABCS OF DEATH 2) and THORN and VAMPIRE CLAY was his debut on
feature film and he has also completed a sequel. In this movie he serves as the screenwriter, director, editor and special effects artist and he shows talent and craftmanship, so I wish he will have a great career in the future. The film was screened in several international festivals and received very positive feedback and I recommend it to everyone who likes Japanese horror.
When and how did your love for horror cinema start?
I liked scary things since I was little and I used to draw pictures of ghosts. When I was 11 years-old, I got into movies and started to shoot films using 8mm film. Around that time, horror cinema became popular in Japan with films like THE BURNING, THE HOWLING and EVIL SPEAK. As I watched these horror films, I got attracted to special effects and make-up and horror films became a part of me.
Did you study in a film school or special effects school in Japan? Are there schools, workshops or seminars to learn special effects in your country?
Nowadays, there are several schools to learn special effects, but at the time I got interested in it, there were none in Japan. However, with the horror film boom in Japan, a how-to-make book of make-up effects was just published. So, that book was my textbook. But it was very difficult to get the special ingredients/materials to make them, so I searched desperately for replacements. I think those experiences helped to become what I am right now.
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| Umezawa in Tokyo Comic Con |
How did you start your work in special effects and make up for movies and TV?
I learned make-up effects through self-study, when I was in my teens, but gradually dreamed of working in the States. Therefore, I took photos of the make-up effects I had created and sent them to the great masters, such as Dick Smith and Rick Baker, asking them to take me as their disciple. However, with my skills at that time, there was no way they would take me. Instead, Rick Baker recommended to me a Japanese make-up effects artist, advising me I should first learn under him. So I started to work at his studio as a freelancer. Since then, I have worked at multiple studios/workshops, including the one of Kazuhiro Tsuji, who won the academy awards with “Darkest Hour”, and then I pursued my career. After working as a freelancer for five years, I launched my workshop called “Creation of Unknown Livings” and gradually I started to work in movies and TV.
You have made the special effects for movies by internationally acclaimed directors like Kiyoshi Kurosawa (for the movie BRIGHT FUTURE) and Sion Sono (for the movie TAG). Do you actually interact with the directors when you handle the special effects for their movies or is your team working separately from the director and the actors?
Regarding “BRIGHT FUTURE”, I only interacted with the art department, as I only created the dummy of the jelly fish. I worked with Sion Sono last year on his Netflix series (editor's note: TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL), but basically we don’t really talk about the details. I ask their opinions on “how they would like to do it” and then I discuss with the assistant director how we should do it and how to create them. However, depending on the directors, there are some who want to check again and again or some who want to check everything. Also, there are actors and actresses who want to make requests for their make-up effects during the test stage. Therefore, I try to draw as many designs as possible beforehand and then ask the opinion of each director.
Japan has an excellent tradition in horror cinema since the 50's and the black and white ghost horror (kaidan) films of directors like Nobuo Nakagawa. Any old or new directors in Japan that are your favorites?
I really like Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s films. I always discover something new when I watch his films and I learn from them. I thought JUON by Takashi Shimizu was the scariest horror film that I saw. I also like Takashi Miike’s Imprint episode for the MASTERS OF HORROR TV series, as this is a film that makes me depressed from the bottom of my heart.
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| screenshot from Y IS FOR YOUTH |
In 2014 you participated in the anthology ABCS OF DEATH 2, with your short film Y IS FOR YOUTH. How did they approach you to participate in that project as a director?
When I looked back at myself after 22 years of my career as a special effects artist, I realized I wanted to shoot a film from the beginning, but if I don’t do it now, I will die before I shoot it. However, it is not easy to make a feature length film out of the blue, so I decided to make a short film and see whether I have the talent or not. Just then, I found out on Facebook that “ABCS OF DEATH 2 was having a contest for the position of the twenty-sixth director. I thought this might be a great opportunity, so I created “M IS FOR MIDDLE. To be honest, I was not 100% sure, but the reaction to it was surprisingly good, so I kind of had high expectations from it. However, the short that was selected in the competition was a different one, but one of the producers insisted they should keep “M IS FOR MIDDLE and my short was renamed Y IS FOR YOUTH instead. I was really lucky.
You made another short called THORN in 2015, which seems to be in the sci-fi genre. Can you tell us some more information about it?
A high-school boy with telekinesis kills himself after being bullied and beaten by his classmates. The boy had been secretly storing his special power in his pet cactus. After the boy’s death, the cactus passes the boy’s power into his mom and the mom - who inherits the boy’s power - vows to avenge his death. I made this short film as a pilot to a feature-length film. So one day, I want to make a feature film based on this short.
Your first feature film as a director, VAMPIRE CLAY, came out in 2017 (we published a review of the film in the 46th issue of Shock Magazine). It was really interesting and I think it's one of the best horror movies to come out of Japan in recent years. How did the inspiration for the movie come to you?
Thank you very much! VAMPIRE CLAY is about a group of young people aiming for Art University. I was also trying to get into the Art University in my teens. However, Japanese Art University is highly competitive and many students fail to enter for years. In fact, I went to cram school for 4 years after high-school, but eventually, I could not get into any art university. So first of all, the regret and frustration towards this situation is the basis of the film. Also, as a special effects artists, clay is the ingredient that we use every day. Clay can be a person’s face or clay can be a stone. We can change clay into various things. The freedom of clay is very attractive. And I thought it might be fun and interesting if the clay changes its figure to a creature, it starts moving and attacks people. I got this basic idea and I incorporated the bitter memories of myself not getting into the Art University. In March 2011, an enormous earthquake attacked the Tohoku area in Japan. And the nuclear plant there was destroyed, while many people had to evacuate their homes. Tokyo consumes large amounts of power from that nuclear plant. But many people in the suburbs are still taking refugees. These personal thoughts are also included in the movie.
How about the special effects of the movie? Did you take time to prepare them before shotting the film and also later, during post-production?
Within the limited budget, I prepared tons of molds for the film. I created various types of vampire clay creatures and other clay molds. I created Kakame and other figures, like Mitazuka, which was created by myself. During post-production, some of the sequences such as the blow-up scenes of Tokyo and the fire were done by the CGI team. However, I did all the claymation scenes and the sequences where I could use photoshop, I also did them by myself.
The movie was shown in many horror festivals around the world (USA, UK, Canada. Brazil, Spain etc.). Did you travel to any of these festivals and how was the experience for you?
I only attended three festivals. Toronto International Film Festival, Sitges and Black Movie Festival in Geneva. Toronto International Film Festival was such a big festival and I could not believe that my feature-debut film would be showing at that festival. I had such a great time and useful experience. The food and people were great at Sitges and I really thought I want to live there. The festival was awesome, supported by enthusiastic genre film fans and I also had a great time. Black Movie Festival was a small film festival, but the homemade feeling there was lovely and I had a great time there as well. Enthusiasm and excitement of the audience are great at every fantastic film festival.
From what I know, VAMPIRE CLAY 2 is currently in post production and it will also star Asuka Kurosawa, who played one of the lead roles in the first film. Can you tell us some details about this sequel?
This will be the story before Kakame integrates with the earthworm. The story will start with Aina/Asuka Kurosawa burying the “clay” deep into the ground. The body of Fushimi was found at Aina Academy and his daughter Karin collects her father’s ashes. The story will then develop and Kakame will revive from the ashes, therefore the terror begins once again.
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| Umezawa, Kurosawa and 'Kakame' at Toronto International Film Festival |
In VAMPIRE CLAY you used mostly practical effects (latex,stop-motion animation etc) and not CGI effects, which gave the movie a wonderful old-school horror aesthetic, reminding me of 80's and 90's horror. However, since many movie makers in Japan prefer working with CGI nowadays, do you think that CGI is the future and soon nobody will work with practical effects?
Around early 2000, when CGI became popular, I seriously worried that practical effects might disappear. Indeed, the creatures that were created with molded objects/sculptures became CGI, but the make up effects will not disappear, as long as the actors and actresses exist. I truly think CGI is a great tool. However, whether it’s good or bad, the practical effects are very attractive and appealing as the personal style and finger marks of the artist remain in each product. I guess many directors think the same too. Therefore, I don’t think practical effects will disappear completely.
May 31 sees the worldwide premiere of the American movie GODZILLA:KING OF THE MONSTERS. Since the whole 'kaiju' cinema phenomenon started in Japan with Toho's GOJIRA in 1954, why do you think there is still international fascination with kaiju movies?
I used to love the Ultraman series a lot when I was little and I used to design many original “kaiju” monsters. However, as I got older, I lost my enthusiasm towards Ultraman. The same happened with Godzilla. Maybe Godzilla is still very popular, as there are no other giant monsters other than King Kong that have gained so much of popularity and he is now largely accepted by people. But maybe also “giants” and “heros” attracts people. I lost interest when I grew up, but in reality “kaiju” movie fascinate people, as they remind them of their innocent childhood heart.
We see many manga comic adaptations to the big screen from Japanese producers in the last years. Would you be interested if someone offered you to direct a big budget adaptation of a manga comic or is there any manga comic you would like to adapt as a movie?
If I receive an offer, it would be an honor to direct it. However, I think my current skills are not up to par yet. The manga comic I want to adapt as a movie is Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Domu: A Child’s Dream”. I read the manga when I was in high-school, during a time I was influenced by movies like CARRIE, FURY, SCANNERS etc. The psychic theme was very interesting and the setting in a peculiar Japanese “Danchi” (danchi is the Japanese word for a large cluster of apartment buildings or houses of a particular style and design, typically built as public housing by government authorities in the past) were very attractive. I was very much influenced from this manga as well.
Closing and thanking you for the interview, apart from VAMPIRE CLAY 2, do you have any other projects you are currently working on or any other future plans you can inform us about?
I am now working on a new project with Yukihiko Yamaguchi, one of the producers of VAMPIRE CLAY. Currently I am working on the plot and script and it will be a horror film. However, this will be a completely different style from VAMPIRE CLAY.
Many thanks to Soichi Umezawa for the interview and to Akiko Uchida from King Records for her help with the translation! You can have a look at mr.Umezawa's website here :http://www.soychiume.com/ and you can also check King Records Movie collection (that includes DVD and Blu-Ray releases of HENRY:PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, EVILDEAD:ARMY OF DARKNESS and DEATH WISH II) here : http://kingmovies.jp/
NOTES : The review of VAMPIRE CLAY was published in SHOCK#46 (March 2019) and the text here is translated from Greek. The interview was published in SHOCK#47 (August 2019) and in this post we used the original script of my e-mail communication with the director, which was in English.
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