Catching a Screening of 'Reiko'!

The "ghost helmet" from Reiko. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, May 14, I attended a screening of Reiko, the Psyche Resurrected (1991) in 35mm. It was my first time to see the film, so I was quite curious to see it. (I suppose it was one of the rare Toho tokusatsu films that I still hadn't seen.) 

Takao Okawara and Ken Osawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The guests of the event were the film's writer-director Takao Okawara, as well as actor Ken Osawa, who played Shiro Ogata. Osawa-san watched the film with the audience. After the film, the "ghost helmet" from the film's climax was also on display.

As for the film itself, I enjoyed it, although it was certainly not a major tokusatsu film. I actually knew very little of the movie going into it and wondered if it would be similar to Cross Fire (2000) and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was completely different. There are some nifty scenes, and one jump scare caused the person next to me to jump in his seat.

The inclusion of clips from Sayonara Jupiter (1984) was quite amusing. It sure made me wish I went to a high school where you could get to see screenings of movies like that!

I also got a definite "early '90s Toho" vibe from the film, so, if you enjoy Okawara-san's other works, you'd probably like this one.

Takao Okawara. Photo by Brett Homenick.

During his Q&A, director Okawara clarified that Reiko is not a horror film. He said that it was more like suspense or a supernatural drama. ("Supernatural" is my word for the Japanese he used.) In any case, I can see his point. While there are horror elements, and some of the visuals can get rather gruesome, it really isn't structured like a horror film intended to deliver scares to the audience. 

He also talked about wanting to use the explosion scene from Sayonara Jupiter in the background for the scene involving Reiko during the climax. Osawa-san said that he had seen and enjoyed The Imperial Navy (1981), on which Okawara-san had worked as an assistant director.

Okawara-san remembered me and our previous conversations about director Shiro Moritani and continued them. He also talked about his career as an assistant director, including The Longest Tunnel (1982), starring Ken Takakura and directed by Moritani. 

Okawara-san also spent a lot of time discussing cinematographer Daisaku Kimura and his shooting style with the other attendees. One attendee was surprised to hear Okawara-san reveal that a shot of a lake from a different movie was actually a composite shot, as he had never noticed that before. (I haven't seen that particular film, so I can't say.) 

And that's a wrap! It's always fun to get to spend time with Okawara-san and hear stories about Toho's past.

Tokusatsu Tonight with a Pair of Awesome Guests!

Eiichi Asada (left) and Satoshi Narumi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the evening of Saturday, May 13, I went to an event with former Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada and tokusatsu technician Satoshi Narumi, a gentleman I would meet for the very first time. It was following a screening of Reiko, the Psyche Resurrected (1991).

In between Eiichi Asada and Satoshi Narumi.

As you'd expect, it was another fun evening, although the crowd this time was quite small. During the discussion, someone mentioned how popular Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) was in the U.S., which made the guests wonder why that was. I explained the film's dubious copyright situation, which allowed a bevy of public domain VHS tapes flood the market from at least the mid-1980s through the mid-'90s. 

The shooting script for Reiko. Photo by Brett Homenick.

During the course of the evening, I asked Narumi-san about Tokyo Blackout (1987), a somewhat obscure tokusatsu production he worked on. Narumi-san said he said he worked on it for three months, making many clouds. It was quite interesting to hear about this film directly from a person who worked on it.

Satoshi Narumi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The evening's crowd started off small, but it got even smaller as the night wore on. By the end, it was just the guests, myself, and another attendee. Shortly thereafter, the event came to an end, and it was time to go home. 

The guests left a bit ahead of me, but, as luck would have it, I soon caught up with them. The conversation continued on to the train station. At the station, I asked Narumi-san about his first projects.

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

He told me that his debut work was Himitsu Sentai Goranger (1975-77), after which he worked on numerous Toei tokusatsu shows. He also said his first Toho movie was The Phoenix (1978), directed by Kon Ichikawa. I was a bit surprised to hear it, as it contradicted some English-language information I found online about his career. But I'm glad to have the correct information!

We changed trains after the next stop and went our separate ways. It was great to meet Narumi-san, who was most certainly a nice guy. Asada-san, as always, was a true gentleman. Another one for the history books!