ANOTHER HEAVEN: I first read about this film on an online chat board. It sounded pretty interesting so I promptly tracked down the import DVD and checked it out. And I'm sooo glad I did! Think of DAVID FINCHER's crime sleeze drama SE7EN mixed with elements from the Sci-Fi classic INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS with a pinch of THE HIDDEN, and that's what you get with writer, director GEORGE (JOUJI) IIDA's supra-slick Japanese action / horror flick. All the ingrediants for a good time are included here: we've got drop-dead gorgeous Japanese gals covered in blood, grisly crime scenes with mutilated corpses, brains in boiling soup, and a couple of police detectives chasing down super-powered serial killers possessed by the spirits of Angels or Aliens. Frankly, I'm not too sure which, so you can make that decision after watching it yourself. But to say the least, it's a pretty to look at, high-gloss movie with plenty of horror and sci-fi "genre elements" to keep even the die-hards satisfied. It's very enjoyable and, for me, it gets better and better per viewing. So I'd say that the only drawback I could possibly think of would be that not ALL of the goddess-like, beyond-beautiful Japanese women (especially actress YUKIKO OKAMOTO, the super-bad danceclub girl in the red dress that whipped so much ass) in this film didn't have a nude scene other than the main star's (actor YOUSUKE EGUCHI) girlfriend (who looked just too young and innocent for my tastes). It's also alittle more "mainstream" compared to most of the other Asian movies I've reviewed so far. But other than that, this is a much overlooked gem (that even spawned a television series called ANOTHER HEAVEN ECLIPSE which also co-starred KOU SHIBASAKI, the ultra-sexy and full blown nutso psychotic Mitsuko from the greatest Japanese film of all time, BATTLE ROYALE) in the Oriental action / horror cinema and I recommend it to any fan of the genre (or anyone who likes to see Japanese girls cry blood, and honestly, they never looked better).
-Steve