- Directed by Hiroyuki Yokoyama
- September 16, 1989 (Japan)
Voice Cast
- Ikurou Hashizawa/Baoh-Brian Hinnant
- Sumire-Kimberly Helms-Stewart as Kem Helms
- Dr. Kasuminome-Michael S. Way
- Colonel Dordo-Dave Underwood
- Sophine-Sara Seidman-Vance as Sara Seidman
- Walken-Chuck Denson Jr.
- Number 22-Sean P. O’Connell
- Masked Men-Marc Matney, Mark Franklin, and Paul Johnson
- Technician-Patrick Humphrey
- Soldier-Jim Clark
- Girl-Sandy Clubb
Baoh, a parasitic entity living in its host’s brain, is relentlessly pursued when he and a young girl escape from a Japanese “black projects” organization that seeks to make Japan superior.
From the start Baoh: The Visitor shows itself to be something different. That is mostly due to the main character of Ikurou Hashizawa/Baoh running around like some animated pervert that had just raided an S&M shop. Which was weird because I had gone in expecting body horror and in those few seconds was thinking this was going to be animated fetish porn.
Neither turned out to be the case. The focus of the movie visually was horror-tinged stylized combat with heavy though not strongly graphic gore. There is plenty of animated blood with face melting though not the most detailed I have ever encountered in animation. It is less like the guy from Raiders and more like burning a shaped candle.
‘Baoh’ in the title refers to a parasite that, when it inhabits its host, makes that host a superpowered badass. These parasites give psychic powers, but the storytellers were much more interested in battle scenes over demonstrations of ESP. Mentions of ‘psychic powers’ is often code for physics defying battle scenes.
How the organization Doress came into possession of these things was perhaps being left for future films because I do not recall an explanation here. Not that one is needed for this story, but it does occur to you eventually. Ones does not simply walk into a store and purchase such a thing.
As a film Baoh: The Visitor contains a lot of info drops and very on point dialog that serves as a recap of what we’ve just seen or an explanation so the audience doesn’t misinterpret what had just occurred. A bit of a regular cliché in such things. I already know that the alien organism gives great power. This contains some of the most labored dialogue in that aspect I have ever heard in any film.
This bit of OVA I find reminiscent of those animated videogame tie ins that were once plentiful. Perhaps some of its also cultural whether it be the fan base that consumes this or the nation from which it all came, but I felt a little lost here and there. For example, I get that the guys in the gold masks are the evil scientist’s bosses since he defers to them quite regularly, but we never learn exactly if they are a government agency or some nefarious organization or what. My knowledge of Doress comes largely from extraneous sources rather than from the film.
There were some elements of philosophy but Baoh is mostly cool action sequences and an interesting character design with plenty of animated gore though not too intense based on other examples I have encountered.
I can’t say I understood too much about the characters before or after I watched the movie. They are essentially strangers from beginning to end. Even names are a mystery to me. Perhaps because there just wasn’t much here. It was a very small idea stretched out into a slightly longer idea. Occasionally sequences were extended further than they needed and some things were just plain down weird and nonsensical but not in a unique vision kind of way.
Visually impressive though narratively lacking Baoh: The Visitor wasn’t a bad watch. It certainly satisfied an action itch but not so much on a good story.
