Hana-Dama: The Origin

Director - Hisayasu Sato (Naked Blood: Megyaku)
Starring - Tomori Abe (Night People), Shun Asada (A Detective's Look), and Kei Fujiwara (The Neptune Factor)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD/Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Japanese horror is one of the many sub-genres that I truly love but I never get to sit down and enjoy them anymore.  I went through a quick phase a few years back where I was watching and reviewing every Japanese horror flick I could find.  I was able to grab a few at local pawn shops and used video stores and the rest on Netflix.  Movies sent to me for review soon took over and I turned my back on these Asian splatter flicks.  Recently, Olive Films released the 2014 film Hana-Dama: The Origin.  This was a new one on me but I am always open to checking out any and every j-horror flick I can get.  Thank you Olive Films for sending this beautifully shot horror film my way!

     The film follows a young girl that is new to the area.  She is constantly being picked up by a group of girls and forced to spend her class time in a locker.  She does stand up for herself somewhat which earns her the admiration of another young girl who finds herself on the business end of the bullies' antics.  The two reluctantly become friends and take up for each other but that is not enough.  Not long after their friendship comes to fruition, the young girl that idolizes her friend is raped while her friend/boyfriend is forced to watch.  This sends the new girl over the edge and something happens to her brain.  A giant flower like formation then appears on her head and she exacts revenge on her tormentors.
     I love j-horror and the stories most of these spin out.  Films like Gothic Lolita, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, Helldriver, and so many more offer outlandish stories and tons of blood and gore.  I like to call these j-splatter and they are truly unique.  I was hoping that Hana-Dama: The Origin would be similar to those films.  In some respects it was while in others it was a let down.  The acting in this one is decent.  The cast does a decent enough jobs in their roles but none really stand out.  No one cast member goes above and beyond with their performance which results in a mediocre flick.  The story for this one is one we have seen so many times before even in j-horror.  There is several films that follow a young girl who keep getting picked on and on until they finally stand up for themselves in a bloody showdown.  The first film that comes to mind is Psycho Gothic Lolita, or Gothic Lolita if you have Netflix.  This is not a unique story but what does set it apart from the others is the mutation the girl undergoes.  Though this was nothing new to j-horror either considering it was the basis for the story Helldriver along with Mutant Girls Squad.  Though the story was fun it wasn't something we have never seen before.  Finally, the film has several on screen kills that are lacking originality and creativity that makes j-horror so much fun.  The practical effects are decent for the kills we do get.  The prosthetic also looks good as well which makes me wonder why the kills were so lackluster.  Overall, Hana-Dama: The Origin is not the film I was expecting.  The film tries hard to capture what makes j-horror so fun but fails.  The film itself is still decent but far from the same quality of j-horror we are accustomed to.  Check it out.