Based on the highly successful manga of the same name by Ryo Ikehata and Hagane Tsuguri, “Calamity of a Zombie Girl” was turned into an anime in 2018 by production companies Gonzo and Stingray. Whereas the light novel consists of several volumes, the anime has a duration of 74 minutes but offers the same blend of horror and teenage drama. For those unfamiliar with the source material, you will find a lot of references to all kinds of horror movies, from the slasher sub-genre to more European horror, indicated by the anime's overall design as well as the fair amount of gore.
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However, at its core the anime tells the story of a group of college students who decide to break into one of the buildings on their campus during summer break. Being all members of the Occult Research Club, their leader Sayaka has convinced them there will be a treasure of some sort, hidden within the various rooms in the basements. To their disappointment, they find nothing worthwhile and apart from the macabre sight of two mummies, the trip is mostly a waste of time so that they leave the building without taking anything.
While they were looking for the treasure, Sayaka was focusing on the mummies and stole a shiny red stone hidden in one of them. Shortly after their departure, the two mummies come to life, driven by the need to get back the stone and explore the world around them. Whereas one of them, Alma, scouts the area in search for the students who took what they refer to as the “lifestone”, Euphrosyne Studion, who the stones belongs to, re-discovers her powers and starts chasing the students.
If you manage to ignore the ridiculous plot of the anime, there are some aspects worth mentioning in a review of the film. On the one hand, the fight scenes and some of the horror ones work quite well, especially with the backdrop of the various sets, such as the church in the last third of the movie, which is highly reminiscent of the “Dracula”-films by Hammer Studios or films such as Michele Soavi's “The Church”. Despite its modern context, there is an undeniable Gothic atmosphere, for example, in the various flashback scenes telling the backstory of Euphrosyne and Alma.
Ironically, this also points at the flaws of the narrative. Director Iwami has managed to cram a story which as a manga fills several volumes into 74 minutes, resulting in an uneven and cluttered mess of a film. Nevertheless, even the director would have had more time on his hands, it is debatable if it had helped bringing some kind of structure or indeed appeal to this overall mediocre story. Considering the various references of the film, those familiar with the aforementioned titles will most likely want to re-visit those far superior titles, because while the gory effects of “Calamity of a Zombie Girl” certainly have their appeal, they cannot disguise how convoluted this movie is and how tedious it feels at times.
“Calamity of a Zombie Girl” is a mediocre anime worth mentioning only for its effects and fight scenes. For those looking for a little bit more the 74 minutes of running time may offer a variety of suggestions for titles which are far better and more appealing.
