1942 – Now Out on DVD3 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutesIt has been about 2 years since we first got to see the stylish trailer from Kelvin Tong’s 1942. The film’s kick-ass website has been teasing and causing so much anticipation since it was last updated with film information and downloads. Sadly, I don’t think we’ve ever got the chance to see this (one of the first HD productions from our shores) in our cinemas.
Was out today and saw the DVD in our friendly video store (damn, it went straight to DVD). Nonetheless, waiting to see it tonight. Meanwhile here is the official synopsis and some images found on the internet.
“On the 60th anniversary of World War II, Boku Films presents 1942, a suspenseful horror movie set against an unforgettable war. The year is 1942. The setting – Malaya.
SGT. YASUO FUJII, a war cameraman, is huddled in a trench, waiting to film the Japanese 6th Army cross the Slim River on its way south to Kuala Lumpur. An enemy mortar shell lands in the trench and, in a heartbeat, SGT. FUJII is running through the jungle for his life. Armed with nothing except his 8mm camera, the young soldier soon hooks up with the remnants of the scattered 6th Army.
There is SGT. TAKESHI SATO, a steely veteran of the China war. Then, there is PCF. JIRO GOTO, an awkward radioman from Hokkaido. In addition, there is CPT. HIROSHI TANAKA, an artillery officer with a life-threatening stomach wound. Before long, the four men are joined by a fifth – CPL. YOSHIO SUZUKI, a nervous wreck who swears that he saw a ghost in the jungle. Taking CPL. SUZUKI to be mentally unsound, the rest head south to rejoin their division. Immediately, they sense that something is amiss. All their maps are wrong. Then, PCF. GOTO’s radio malfunctions. SGT. FUJII starts sighting mysterious figures through the viewfinder of his 8mm camera. And then, CPL. SUZUKI’s warning comes true. A female ghost singing an eerie song starts haunting the five men.
Racing against time to get the wounded CPT. TANAKA back to the division, the five men fight the vicious jungle, thirst, and hunger as they dash south towards Kuala Lumpur. But conditions worsen. Rivalries break out and the group is divided. The five men are lost inside the maze-like jungle. And CPT. TANAKA’s life hangs in the balance. A cameraman rather than a soldier, SGT. FUJII finds the job of keeping everyone alive falling on his shoulders.
Survival is at stake. And the ghost is hot on their heels. Will the five soldiers make it to safety?”
SonicWinter
Not as bad as I thought. But you can see why it didn't get a theatrical release if you've watch it. Nice effort though. Japanese movie by a local director - who would have thought?!