Arrow Video Blu-ray Synopsis: From the makers of Daimajin comes a trilogy of terror ripped from the pages of Japanese folklore, with ghosts and monsters from ancient myths and legends brought to life through stunning special effects. In the final film, Along With Ghosts (released only 12 months after 100 Monsters), the yokai are roused to defend a little girl on the run from deadly yakuza. (78 Mins)

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Views: The final chapter of the Yokai Monsters Trilogy is a different kettle of fish altogether when compared to its previous entries. Much like 100 Monsters, the oddly named Along With Ghosts is predominantly a samurai drama, this time telling the story of a young girl who is on the run from a number of yakuza members with an incriminating document. Although saved by a friendly swordsman, the girl finds extra help from the yokai after the blood of her grandfather is spilled on sacred ground, rousing the vengeful spirits from their sleep!

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Although presented as the final chapter of the Yokai Monsters Trilogy, with the directors of both previous films joining forces, Along With Ghosts saves the majority of its ghostly happenings until the last ten minutes – albeit for a few groans and moans throughout that provide an eerie atmosphere at times. But for what it lacks in scares and fantasy, the film makes-up for with plenty of sword-fighting action which keeps things interesting. Cinematographer Hiroshi Imai returns to provide more stunning visuals, backed by a wonderful score by composer Chumei Watanabe, with the cast doing a great job in their performances as always. While the collection of movies each carry their own story, they are clearly connected by the theme of yokai – this time weaving the legend of these fantastical beings within a neatly made period drama. Along With Ghosts keeps its audience watching with its offer of great production design, moments of comedy, and spooky atmosphere – especially in its closing ten minutes that sees a host of floating severed heads attack the villains in the forest.

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While still far from perfect, Along With Ghosts has enough going-on to entertain and makes for a decent closure to a classic trilogy. Sure it may be missing the yokai favourites from the first two films, but it still works and is worth checking out if you've already made it through 100 Monsters and Spook Warfare. I was lucky enough to snatch up a copy of the gorgeous Yokai Monsters box-set from Arrow Video – a stunning collection of all 3 movies on Blu-ray, as well as including Takashi Miike's highly-entertaining reboot of sorts, The Great Yokai War (2005). The set also contains a wonderful collection of postcards and a pretty thick book that displays the original cinema poster artwork, a collection of wonderfully illustrated yokai, and a ton of text describing the type of yokai you might just happen to meet if you ever go to Japan. It's all wrapped up in a beautiful display box that just won me over instantly, and while all three movies probably weren't quite as exiting for me as this Blu-ray release was respectively, they still proved to be quite entertaining and very impressive for their time – and I certainly can't take that away from them. The Yokai Monsters Trilogy may seem dated to today's audience, but they still offered up as much innovation and entertainment than what the west had to offer around the same period. Any true fan of cinema will be able to see that...

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Overall: Although it plays like a samurai movie with a hint of the supernatural, Yokai Monsters 3: Along With Ghosts entertains and looks fantastic!

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Blu-ray Extras: Trailers, Photo Gallery

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Watch my unboxing video of this Arrow Video release HERE

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Get your copy HERE