Tokyo Vampire Hotel is a Japanese nine-part horror miniseries written and directed by Sion Sono, the inventive movie-making mad scientist behind such cult hits as Love Exposure and Suicide Club. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, you are in for a wild ride. Known for his insane movies, Sono’s bizarre vampire epic is sprawling, messy, and, according to IndieWire, “maybe the wildest thing he’s ever made.” That’s really saying something, considering Sono’s previous films have dealt with up-skirt photographers, pig-faced ghosts, and killer hair extensions.
The series follows Manami, a young woman who is attacked by rival vampire clans on her 22nd birthday. She is rescued by a mysterious vampire named K, and soon the duo ends up at Hotel Requiem, an apparent safe haven for vampires. When the vampires invite a large group of unsuspecting humans to the hotel for a party, a bloody feeding frenzy ensues and a struggle for power over the vampire underworld hangs in the balance. If you’re into vampires and creative, mind-melting cult classics, you’d be remiss not to check out this ridiculously fun vampire miniseries. Here’s why you should be watching this iconoclastic Prime Video miniseries.
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A Fully Realized and Original Vampire Mythos
Sion Sono is a filmmaker known for his lack of restraint, with many of his best movies being over 3 hours long and stuffed to the gills with rich world-building and highly detailed character development. Knowing this, it should go without saying that when given a whole 9-part television series, Sono is going to indulge. Tokyo Vampire Hotel presents a vampire lore that is wholly original and exceedingly detailed, trickling out intriguing backstory and bits of vampire clan-war history with each subsequent episode.
The history of the titular hotel is slowly revealed throughout the show, as is the story of the vampires’ maniacal matriarch, and an explanation of the vampires’ way of life under the nose of mankind. Each of the main characters is allotted their own flashback-fueled character studies, which give context to their actions and leave no character feeling one-dimensional. All of this adds up to a sprawling vampire epic that is constantly introducing new twists and surprises, and never gets bogged down in filler.
Joyously Offbeat Vampire Drama
Tokyo Vampire Hotel is a drama series about vampires, yes, but Sono’s show is so aggressively weird that it can’t be fully described in so few words. It also contains elements of grotesque body horror, steamy romance, slice-of-life drama, post-apocalyptic survival, and over-the-top action. It depicts the war between two centuries-old vampire clans, outfitting each clan with a colorful cast of characters. Corrupt politicians, a desperate group of human survivors, and a shriveled-up, doll-like monster who used to be the queen of the hotel round out the eclectic lineup. The drama and horror of the show are complemented by loads of slapstick violence, gratuitous gore, and a wry sense of humor.
The romantic moments are sincere and heartfelt, and even the wackiest of characters are entirely convincing. With all of these seemingly incongruous elements working perfectly in tandem, Tokyo Vampire Hotel may just be the peak of Sono’s aesthetic. His abilities to make both genuinely terrifying horror films and offbeat comedies synthesize and make for a truly memorable series. Though not as prestigious as Sono’s 2011 masterpiece Guilty of Romance, Tokyo Vampire Hotel is a blast and one of the most unique shows you can stream today.
Style as Substance
Sono always brings his signature style to his work, a style which Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com perfectly describes as “inimitable,” and notes that in his films, “nothing is subtle.” Although his lack of subtlety polarizes critics from time to time, it is this signature style that frequently gets his movies into lists of the best Japanese movies. The style of Tokyo Vampire Hotel is a big part of what makes it great. The colors are bold, the action is choreographed like it’s some kind of beautiful death ballet, and the editing has an addictive rhythm to it that brings it all together. Influences from Italian giallo films and modern classics such as Oldboy are present, and are perfectly fused into a new, highly original action-horror aesthetic.
The narrative jumps back and forth with flashbacks and visions of the future, and shocks with sudden twists that are nearly impossible to see coming. The best way to describe the crazed style of Tokyo Vampire Hotel is to say that it’s exciting, though no words can truly do it justice. It is a rollercoaster of creative ideas and contradicting emotions that might leave some viewers perplexed. The ones who are willing to jump on and go for the ride, however, will be rewarded with a piece of vampire media that is totally unlike anything they have seen before.
