View source for Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness

{{about|the film|the Wiccan chant|Eko Eko Azarak}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness
| image          = Eko eko azaraku.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = 
| native_name    = <!--(for non-English films: film's name in its native language)-->
| director       = [[Shimako Sato]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
*Yoshinori Chiba
*Shun'ichi Kobayashi}}
| writer         =
| screenplay     = [[Junki Takegami]]{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=271}}
| story          = Shinichi Koga
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[Eko Eko Azarak (manga)|Eko Eko Azarak]]''|Shinichi Koga}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|* [[Kimika Yoshino]]
* [[Miho Kanno]]
* Miho Tamura
* [[Kanori Kadomatsu]]}}
| narrator       =
| music          = [[Mikiya Katakura]]{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=272}}
| cinematography = Shoei Sudo{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=272}}
| editing        = 
| studio         = {{plainlist|
*Gaga Communications
*Tsuburaya Eizo Co.<ref name="variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/wizard-of-darkness-1200443287/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Review: 'Wizard of Darkness'|access-date=October 25, 2015|last=Klady
|first=Leonard|date=October 23, 1995}}</ref>}}
| distributor    =
| released       = {{Film date|1995|04|08|Japan}}
| runtime        = 82 minutes{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=272}}
| country        = Japan
| language       = Japanese
| budget         = 
| gross          = <!--(please use condensed and rounded values, e.g. "£11.6 million" not "£11,586,221")-->
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness'''''|エコエコアザラク -WIZARD OF DARKNESS-}} is a 1995 [[Japanese horror]] film directed by [[Shimako Sato]]. The film is based on the [[manga]] ''[[Eko Eko Azarak (manga)|Eko Eko Azarak]]'', and stars [[Kimika Yoshino]] as a transfer student to a new school, who is secretly a [[witch]] travelling from school to school in order to dispel the work of the devil.

The film was shown at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] in 1995. The film was followed by two sequels, starting with ''Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard'' in 1996.

==Plot==

A mysterious cabal of red-garbed magicians have been murdering inhabitants of an unnamed [[Japan]]ese city. Their latest victim is a woman who is decapitated while the magicians perform a ritual with a [[voodoo doll]]. The object of the murders to provide the five geographical points of a giant [[pentagram]], with a high school in the nexus. The magicians' ultimate aim is to summon [[Lucifer]] himself.

Misa Kuroi, a transfer student at the school, is a witch of considerable power and has come to battle the evil magicians. However, Misa has some difficulty getting classmates to trust her.

==Cast==
*[[Kimika Yoshino]] as Misa Kuroi
*[[Miho Kanno]] as Mizuki Kurohashi 
*Miho Tamura as Maki Yoshida 
*[[Kanori Kadomatsu]] as Kazzumi Tanaka 
{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=271}}{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=272}}

==Production==
[[Shimako Sato]], the director of ''Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness'', had previously filmed ''Tale of a Vampire'' (1992) in the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=271}}{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=59}} She returned to Japan with the desire to make a film about witchcraft and magic.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=59}} She recalled the [[manga]] series ''[[Eko Eko Azarak (manga)|Eko Eko Azarak]]'' from the 1970s, and began adapting it for cinema.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=59}}

The film was shot in two weeks, and featured the cinematic debut of [[Kimika Yoshino]].{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=59}} Yoshino received her script a day before shooting had started and before she had even met the director.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=59}} 
.

==Release==
''Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness'' was released in Japan on April 8, 1995.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=272}} It was shown at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1995.<ref name="variety" />

A [[DVD]] of the film was released by [[Tokyo Shock]] on December 16, 2003.<ref name="allmovie">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/eko-eko-azarak-wizard-of-darkness-v135698/releases|publisher=[[AllMovie]]|title=Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (1995)|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The disc included footage of the films premiere, the trailer, and interviews with the director and [[Kimika Yoshino]].<ref name="allmovie" />

==Reception==
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' gave the film a positive review, referring to it as "high-octane, modestly produced occult thriller is top-notch genre fare", and that "obviously plowing a familiar celluloid field, director/co-writer Sato demonstrates not only a visual flair for the genre, but a wicked sense of humor that deftly counterbalances the per force conventions of this type of story."<ref name="variety" />

The film won the Minami Toshiko Award at the 1995 [[Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yubarifanta.com/index_pc.php?ct=archive.php&langue=21002 |title=Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival Archive |publisher=yubarifanta.com |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718145700/http://yubarifanta.com/index_pc.php?ct=archive.php&langue=21002 |archive-date=2011-07-18 }}</ref> It was also selected for the official competition for best film at the 1997 [[Fantasporto]].<ref>{{cite web | title="Bound" and "Unhook the Stars": Winners of the two competitive sections Of Fantasporto'97 | url=http://www.caleida.pt/fantasporto/97/textos/press.html | publisher=[[Fantasporto]]
| access-date=June 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970801020228/http://www.caleida.pt/fantasporto/97/textos/press.html | archive-date=August 1, 1997}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Shimako Sato returned to the direct the follow-up film ''Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard'' (1996).{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=59}}{{sfn|Sharp|2011|p=108}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

===References===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Sharp |first=Jasper |title=Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|date=2011|isbn=978-0810875418}}
* {{cite book |last=Kalat |first=David |title=J-horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond |publisher=Vertical |date=2007 |isbn=978-1932234084 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0112939|Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness}}
*{{IMDb title|0116178|Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard}}
*{{IMDb title|0130650|Eko Eko Azarak: Misa the Dark Angel}}

{{Shimako Satō}}

[[Category:1995 horror films]]
[[Category:1995 films]]
[[Category:Japanese horror films]]
[[Category:Japanese supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:Live-action films based on manga]]
[[Category:Films directed by Shimako Satō]]
[[Category:1990s Japanese films]]