Zeiram

1991 Japanese science fiction film

For the Nephite spy in the Book of Mormon, see Zeram (Book of Mormon).

Zeiram

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Keita Amemiya
Screenplay by|

* Keita Amemiya
* Hajime Matsumoto[1]

Produced by|

* Yoshinori Chiba
* Koichi Sugisawa[1]

Starring|

* Yūko Moriyama
* Kunihiro Ida
* Yukijirō Hotaru

Cinematography| Hiroshi Kidokoro[1]
Music by| Koichi Ohta

Production
companies

* GAGA communications
* Crowd Inc.[1]

Release date

* December 21, 1991 (1991-12-21) (Japan)

Running time

| 97 minutes[1]
Country| Japan

Zeiram (Japanese: ゼイラム, Hepburn: Zeiramu), stylized as ZËIЯAM (originally marketed in English as Zeram), is a 1991 Japanese science fiction film directed by Keita Amemiya. The film stars Yūko Moriyama as an extraterrestrial bounty hunter named Iria, who comes to Earth to do battle with Zeiram, a powerful alien creature. With the help of her partner—an artificial intelligence named Bob—and two ordinary Japanese electricians, Iria fights Zeiram in a virtually constructed alternate dimension known as a "Zone".

Zeiram was released in Japan in August 1991. It was dubbed in English and released in the United States in 1994, where it garnered mixed reviews from American film critics. That same year, the film was followed by a six-episode original video animation (OVA) known as Iria: Zeiram the Animation (which serves as a prequel to the film), as well as a sequel film titled Zeiram 2.

## Plot

[edit]

Extraterrestrial bounty hunters Iria and Bob accept a job to apprehend Zeiram, a powerful alien entity, on Earth. They set up a command center in an abandoned building in a Japanese town, and create a virtually constructed alternate dimension called a "Zone" (in this case, the Zone they construct is a simulated recreation of the town, but without any living residents) where they plan to combat and capture Zeiram. Iria and Bob's use of stolen electricity results in electric company employees Kamiya and Teppei investigating their base just as Zeiram enters Earth's atmosphere.

Kamiya accidentally flips a switch that transports Teppei into the Zone. While Kamiya tries to get an explanation from Iria, she transports the two of them to the Zone. Upon arrival, she traps him in a hardened encasing and leaves to destroy the pod Zeiram arrived in. Teppei finds Zeiram, who creates and sends a smaller monster after him; fleeing, Teppei eventually stumbles across the captured Kamiya, and later Iria. Iria's initial attempt to capture Zeiram fails and she finds he has a shield that makes him immune to bullet fire. Iria decides to utilize a special combat suit, despite Bob's protests to not fight Zeiram in close-range combat. After Iria finally manages to capture Zeiram in an encasing, Teppei asks her to free Kamiya, and she obliges. Iria is accidentally teleported back to Earth with one of Zeiram's subordinates, and their ensuing fight damages the teleportation unit. Using weapons left behind by Iria, Teppei saves Kamiya from the monster Zeiram summoned, but Kamiya accidentally shoots the lock to Zeiram's encasing, freeing Zeiram.

Iria tries teleporting back to the Zone but is set back by a power failure. Teppei and Kamiya hotwire a car and use it to incapacitate Zeiram. The human-like face on Zeiram's "hat" attacks them, biting Kamiya. Teppei and Kamiya escape soon after. Bob speculates that Zeiram is a forbidden biological weapon whose "hat" is used to eat other beings and use the organic matter he consumes to produce his monster subordinates. Zeiram's attempt to make a subordinate copy of Kamiya ends in failure and he kills it in anger.

Teppei receives a communicator from Iria. She explains the problems with the transporter and that the Zone itself will not last much longer. Iria and Bob decide to bring a powerful weapon called the Metis Cannon to fight Zeiram, despite the personal risk it causes them to use it without prior approval from the authorities to whom the bounty hunters answer. Teppei loses track of Kamiya but follows Iria's instructions to head towards a building where the Metis Cannon will be transported to. Teppei is impeded by Zeiram along the way, but is reunited with Kamiya, who hijacks an excavator in an attempt to save Teppei from Zeiram. Iria suddenly arrives and shoots Zeiram with a bazooka.

Despite his body being reduced to its skeleton, Zeiram continues to pursue the trio. Iria defends Teppei and Kamiya as they retrieve the Metis Cannon from the spot Bob transported it to. Iria uses the Metis Cannon to reduce Zeiram down to his "hat", and traps him with eight minutes to spare before the Zone breaks down. Teppei and Kamiya are teleported back to Earth, where they meet Bob. Zeiram is teleported to Earth next, but begins to hover and destroys the transport unit needed to bring Iria back. He escapes from the trap, and from Zeiram's "hat" spawns a new form of the creature with prehensile appendages. Kamiya uses his technician skills to help repair the transport unit while Zeiram attacks Teppei. Kamiya succeeds and Iria returns in time to save the two men and Bob from Zeiram. After a brief respite, Iria complements the two on their resilience and offers them two of her braids as a "thank you" gesture. Bob takes a photo of the trio together as a memento.

## Cast

[edit]

Cast  Role | Japanese | English

|
|

Iria  | Yūko Moriyama | Edie Mirman
Teppei  | Kunihiro Ida | Steve Bulen
Kamiya  | Yukijiro Hotaru | Robert Axelrod
Bob  | Masakazu Handa | Jeff Winkless
Murata  | Yukitomo Tochino | Steve Kramer
Store Manager  | Naomi Enami | Jeff Winkless
Zeiram  | Mizuho Yoshida |

### English dubbing staff

[edit]

* Voice Production: Streamline Pictures
* Voice Director: Carl Macek
* Script: Steve Kramer
* Additional Dialogue: Carl Macek
* Recording Engineer: David Walsh, Deb Adair
* Final Mix: Ernie Sheesley
* Production Manager: Scott Narrie
* Recording Studio: Screenmusic Studios

## Production

[edit]

The film was the second film directed by Keita Amemiya, with his first being Mirai Ninja.[2]

## Release

[edit]

Zeiram was released in Japan in August 1991.[1] The film was released in the United States with an English dub by Streamline Pictures in 1994, under the title Zeram.[1] In March 1994, the film screened with Japanese audio and English subtitles at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3] In April 1994, the film premiered in New York at the Westbury Theater.[4]

The English-dubbed Zeram was released on VHS in the United States by Fox Lorber in 1994.[5] It received a DVD release in the U.S. by Image Entertainment in 1998, and was released with both Japanese and English audio as Zeiram by Tokyo Shock in 2006.[6]

## Reception

[edit]

This section needs expansion with: contemporary reviews from Japanese critics. You can help by adding to it. (April 2023)

|

Zeiram received mixed reviews from American film critics. Russell Smith of the Austin American-Statesman gave the film a score of two out of five stars, praising the opening black-and-white sequence but describing the remainder of the film as "90 minutes of enjoyable but unspectacular Japanese science fiction with a fair amount of wit and funky charm, but few real thrills."[7] Newsday's Terry Kelleher, who gave the film two out of four stars, was unimpressed by the comedic banter between the characters of Kamiya and Teppei, but concluded that, "The business of Zeiram is action, and Amemiya keeps it coming, accompanying the abundant violence with a refreshingly small amount of gore."[4]

A reviewer for Fangoria described wanting to "reach into the picture tube and slap the two male idiots [Kamiya and Teppei]," and criticized the English dubbing,[8] but praised the film's imagination and overall called it "loads of hi-tech fun, and although it's primarily aimed at a juvenile audience, it has enough extreme gore and craziness to keep anyone amused, especially fans of '60s superheroes such as Ultraman."[5] Similarly, Betsy Sherman of The Boston Globe wrote that the film "melds the cheesy camp of '60s Japanese monster movies, the resourcefulness of recent Hong Kong fantasy pictures and the sensibility of pulp science fiction. The mix of characters seems to be aimed toward a young audience, but there are some good yucky special effects for genre fans."[3] A reviewer for LA Weekly praised the film's direction and special effects, describing the latter as "so insidious they're the stuff of nightmares and so cheesy they're the stuff of fondue", and writing: "Zeiram may call to mind Blade Runner, Alien and even John Carpenter's The Thing, but Japanese sci-fi director Keita Amemiya never ceases to amaze with his originality and inventiveness."[2]

## Anime OVA prequel

[edit]

Main article: Iria: Zeiram the Animation

Iria: Zeiram the Animation is a six-episode original video animation (OVA) anime series produced by Ashi Productions and directed by Tetsurō Amino. Released in 1994, the series serves as a prequel to the original Zeiram, taking place several years earlier when Iria is still a rookie and detailing the events surrounding a prior encounter between her and the titular entity. Fujikuro from Zeiram 2 makes an appearance in the OVA.

## Sequel film

[edit]

Main article: Zeiram 2

Zeiram 2 (ゼイラム2, Zeiramu 2), a sequel film also directed by Amemiya and featuring Moriyama, Ida and Hotaru reprising their roles from the first film,[9] was released in Japan on December 17, 1994. The plot of Zeiram 2 centers around the creature's core, which was presumed dead, having been recovered by a shadowy organization which installs it as the organic core of a robotic supersoldier. Iria, Bob, Teppei, and Kamiya continue their battle against Zeiram in a Zone created by the monster. The plot plays out similarly to the original Zeiram, with the four getting into cat-and-mouse confrontations with the creature and the monsters that he summons and dealing with complications caused by Iria and Bob's faulty tech. The sequel adds the additional challenge of Fujikuro, a manipulative rival and saboteur who seeks the same ancient teleportation relic called the Kamarite that Iria and Bob returned to Earth to obtain.

## Video game

[edit]

1996 video game

ZeiramZone

Developer(s)| Banpresto
Publisher(s)| Banpresto
Platform(s)| PlayStation
Release|

* JP: 13 December 1996

Genre(s)| Beat 'em up
Fighting
Mode(s)| Single-player
Multiplayer (cheat codes only) [10]

ZeiramZone (ゼイラムゾーン), stylized as ZËIЯAMZΘNE, is a beat 'em up / fighting game for the PlayStation.[11][12][13] It is partially based on the films Zeiram & Zeiram 2.[14][15]

## References

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Galbraith 1996, p. 459.
2. ^ a b Maverick (May 26, 1994). "Film New Releases". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
3. ^ a b Sherman, Betsy (March 15, 1994). "Brattle's Tuesday night at the movies for technophiles". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
4. ^ a b Kelleher, Terry (April 2, 1994). "Resilient Space Monster meets match in Tokyo". Newsday. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
5. ^ a b Dr. Cyclops 1994, p. 36.
6. ^ "Zeram (1991)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
7. ^ Smith, Russell (September 23, 1994). "'Zeram' provides few, cheap thrills". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
8. ^ Dr. Cyclops 1994, p. 37.
9. ^ "Video Watchdog". Video Watchdog. No. 49–54\. 1999. p. 71. Retrieved 9 April 2023.49–54&rft.pages=71&rft.date=1999&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=lpKGAAAAIAAJ&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Zeiram" class="Z3988">
10. ^ "各種裏技 (ゼイラムゾーン攻略法)". sakuhindb.com.
11. ^ "V2EX › Zeiramzone". www.v2ex.com.
12. ^ "ZeiramZone | PlayStation [JP]". VGCollect.com.
13. ^ "ZeiramZone PS1". 2024-10-22. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
14. ^ "Ask John: Could the Zeiram Franchise Get Revived? – AnimeNation Anime News Blog".
15. ^ "ゼイラムゾーン(PS)". gamesoft.ukariko.jp.

### Sources

[edit]

* Galbraith, Stuart IV (1996). The Japanese Filmography: 1900 Through 1994. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0032-3.
* Dr. Cyclops (April 1994). "The Video Eye of Dr. Cyclops". Fangoria. No. 131\. Starlog Group, Inc. ISSN 0164-2111.

## External links

[edit]

* Zeiram at IMDb
* Watch the documentary The True Story of Zeiram 2 (1994) (English with Japanese subtitles)

* v
* t
* e

Keita Amemiya

Films directed|

* Red Crow and the Ghost Ship (TV film, 1986)
* Mirai Ninja (1988)
* Zeiram (1991)
* Kamen Rider ZO (1993)
* Kamen Rider J (1994)
* Zeiram 2 (1994)
* Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995)
* Moon Over Tao: Makaraga (1997)
* Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro: Gekijō-ban (2004)
* Garo: Red Requiem (2010)
* Kiba Gaiden (2011)
* Garo: Soukoku no Maryu (2013)
* Garo Gaiden: Tōgen no Fue (2013)
* Garo: Kami no Kiba (2017)
* Garo: Under the Moonbow (2019)

TV series directed|

* The Mobile Cop Jiban (1989)
* Chōjin Sentai Jetman (1991–1992)
* Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992)
* Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider (1993)
* Tekkōki Mikazuki (2000–2001)
* Tweeny Witches (2004-2005)
* Garo (2005–2006)
* Garo Special: Beast of the Demon Night (2006)
* Garo: Makai Senki (2011–2012)
* Zero: Black Blood (2014)
* Garo: Makai no Hana (2014)
* Garo: Gold Storm Sho (2015)
* Garo: Makai Retsuden (2016)

* v
* t
* e

Seiun Award for Best Dramatic Presentation

1970–2000|

* Charly / The Prisoner (1970)
* UFO (1971)
* The Andromeda Strain (1972)
* A Clockwork Orange (1973)
* Soylent Green (1974)
* Space Battleship Yamato (1975)
* Star (1976)
* Solaris (1978)
* Star Wars (1979)
* Alien (1980)
* The Empire Strikes Back (1981)
* Blade Runner (1983)
* The Dark Crystal (1984)
* Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1985)
* Back to the Future (1986)
* Brazil (1987)
* Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (1988)
* My Neighbor Totoro (1989)
* Gunbuster (1990)
* Ginga Uchū Odyssey (1991)
* Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992)
* Mama wa Shōgaku 4 Nensei (1993)
* Jurassic Park (1994)
* Zeiram 2 (1995)
* Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1996)
* Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1997)
* Ultraman Tiga (1998)
* Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture – Prince of Darkness (1999)
* Cowboy Bebop (2000)

2001–present|

* Gunparade March (2001)
* Kamen Rider Kuuga (2002)
* Voices of a Distant Star (2003)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2004)
* Planetes (2005)
* Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (2006)
* The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2007)
* Dennō Coil (2008)
* Macross Frontier (2009)
* Summer Wars (2010)
* District 9 (2011)
* Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2012)
* Bodacious Space Pirates (2013)
* Pacific Rim (2014)
* Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark (2015)
* Girls und Panzer der Film (2016)
* Shin Godzilla (2017)
* Kemono Friends (2018)
* SSSS.Gridman (2019)
* Astra Lost in Space (2020)
* Ultraman Z (2021)
* Godzilla Singular Point (2022)
* Shin Ultraman (2023)
* Godzilla Minus One (2024)

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