One of the most creative filmmakers in Japan, Shinya Tsukamoto made a huge impact with his debut film, the cyberpunk classic “Tetsuo”. His second feature film, “Hiruko the Goblin”, is now returning in a brand new 2K restoration. Based on stories from the “Yokai Hunter” series by Daijiro Morohoshi, who is a manga artist with many enthusiastic fans, from creators to researchers in different fields. Starring Kenji Sawada, a performer from the Group Sounds era in the latter half of the 1960s, who delivers a rich expressive. “HIRUKO THE GOBLIN” was produced using all forms of special effects available in the 1990s, such as miniature work, doll animation, matte paintings, and HD composition.
An archeologist named Hieda, who has virtually been ousted from the archeology academy for his radical ideas, receives a letter from Yabe, a junior high school teacher, who writes that he has discovered an ancient burial mound built by a people who believed in evil spirits. Imagining that working on exploring the mound might reinstate him in the academy, Hieda leaves immediately to visit Yabe, only to find him missing together with a co-ed student called Reiko. During summer vacation Yabe’s student Masao and his pals scour the empty school buildings in search of Yabe and Tsukishima. Strangely they discover Tsukishima, alone, singing in an otherwise deserted classroom. All the school buildings are shrouded in an eerie atmosphere, and unidentified objects are curiously moving about. Something lunges at Masao, but he is saved by Hieda, who also has been searching the school. While Masao and Hieda investigate, a series of bizarre and lethal incidents befall them; they find headless corpses sprawling in a sea of gore followed by other frightening events. Then a strange spiderlike goblin with Tsukishima’s head assaults them. After narrowly escaping the monster’s attack, Hieda and Masao find Yabe’s notebook, where the spell to open the ancient burial mound is written. Research shows that the goblin that assaulted them is called Hiruko, one of many legendary vicious creatures that are clearly more than just myths as they had actually seen them. Apparently Hiruko was trying to release its fellow goblins, which had been sealed in the mound for eons. Hieda finds an old map which shows that the mound is located beneath the school and its entrance is in the tool shed. Having found the way, Hieda and Masao negotiate a dank subterranean labyrinth to the core of the mound. They chant the spell and the door grinds open to reveal a vast cave. In it they behold hundreds – if not thousands – of Hiruko goblins. Emitting grotesque sounds the goblins focus on the two human invaders. Some of them have replaced their own heads with that of a human being; those who have died or been declared missing. One of those heads is Yabe…