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      Hiruko the Goblin

      1991 1h 29m Comedy Fantasy List
      Reviews 53% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings A goblin is sent to Earth to behead students and turn their bodies into demons. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (4) Critics Reviews
      Jake Cole Slant Magazine Tsukamotos grisly, goofy second feature, which cemented his status as a new master of Japanese extremity, gets a solid HD presentation. Feb 22, 2022 Full Review Pieter-Jan Van Haecke Psychocinematography Tsukamoto’s film is a classic, a narrative that expertly blends two contradictory atmospheres, a campy one and a threatening one, into an unforgettable experience that is as touchingly lighthearted as is it disturbingly horrifying. May 8, 2022 Full Review Michelle Kisner The Movie Sleuth While Hiruko seems like a departure from Tsukamoto's intense metal infused body horror, it is fascinating to see him make something a little more lowkey, comparatively, and explore a different, more tender side of his artistic expression. Apr 1, 2022 Full Review Paul Attard In Review Online None of it is very funny, nor even vaguely amusing - it's a lot of shouting and blood-spurting about, if that's your bag - and it brings the pace to a complete stand-still Sep 8, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (41) audience reviews
      Audience Member Shinya Tsukamoto made this after Tetsuo and instead of the monochromatic cyrber punk madness of that movie, he's somehow taken a manga by Daijiro Morohoshi and made a movie that is at once horrifying and charming, as if Spielberg wanted to make a Fulci movie and decided that it should be as cartoony as possible while having nightmare fuel embedded insie every frame. Archaelogist Reijiro Hieda (Kenji Sawada, the only Japanese person other than Yoko Ono to be on the cover of Rolling Stone) has some out there supernatural ideas that get him almost disbarred. Yet his brother-in-law Takashi Yabe (Naoto Takenaka) has discovered an ancient tomb built to seal in a yokai behind the school that he teaches at, but has disappeared along with a student named Reiko Tsukishima (Megumi Ueno). Tabe's son Masao (Masaki Kudou) is searching for his father when he sees Reiko at the school, but several people he knows get murdered and each of their faces appear on his back as smoke rises off it. The culprit? Her singing head, floating around the building. Yeah, Hiruko the Goblin has just started and it's already beyond wild. It turns out the Masao's grandfather had the same faces on his body sixty years ago and he had promised to keep the school sealed, as it contains a demon named Hiruko, who has turned all of her victims into spiders with human heads that chase our heroes through a system of caves as monstrous mouths come out of the ground and scream for them. Monster hunting homemade technology, fighting demons with bug spray, demons that crawl on the floor and come shooting at your throat, incantations and rituals, plus slapstick? Man, they don't make movies like this ever. Get this now -- it's really and truly unique and wonderful. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Strange, campy and almost incoherent Japanese demon film that works most of the time although the "wacky" acting rather pushes it to its breaking point. Still a nice change of pace after Tsukamoto's previous film the even more confusing Tetsuo. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Fantastically bizarre and creepy creature feature from the director of "Tetsuo: The Iron Man". Inventive use of stop motion, puppets, practical effects, and makeup effects. Fun stuff. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member "This will provide us with the information we need." Yep, that won't actually happen in this movie, not as good as "House" but still sure as hell entertaining. Fitting ending too. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member B-movie madness, reminds me of EVIL DEAD's energy. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Hiruko the Goblin is a crazy horror film from Japan that revolves around a demon that is awakened during an archiological dig by a school. Of course all hell breaks loose and the demons must be put away, good effects and the camerawork is well done. The main problem is the film really doesn't offer much in the scary department and filled with out of place music. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      Photos

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      Hiruko the Goblin

      Hiruko the Goblin (1991) Hiruko the Goblin (1991) Hiruko the Goblin (1991) Hiruko the Goblin (1991) Hiruko the Goblin (1991) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A goblin is sent to Earth to behead students and turn their bodies into demons.
      Director
      Shin'ya Tsukamoto
      Producer
      Yasuhiro Hasegawa
      Screenwriter
      Shin'ya Tsukamoto
      Production Co
      Shochiku-Fuji Company [jp]
      Genre
      Comedy, Fantasy
      Original Language
      Japanese
      Runtime
      1h 29m