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James Marsh

4/5 stars
Lead cast: Shun Oguri, Yu Aoi, Suzu Hirose, Kento Hayashi
When a respected scientist explodes live on national television, it launches a wave of terror that sweeps Japan, masterminded by a mysterious serial killer who can seemingly vanish into thin air.
Marking the first collaboration between Netflix and Toho Studios, Human Vapor is the latest creation from Yeon Sang-ho, the South Korean filmmaker behind such genre hits as Train to Busan and Colony. It is a bold reimagining of Toho’s classic 1960 science fiction film of the same name, from original Godzilla director Ishiro Honda.
The victim of this shocking attack, environmental energy expert Professor Sano (Morley Robertson), was being interviewed by JNT chief reporter Kyoko Kono (Yu Aoi) when he was suddenly hoisted into the air by a cloud of mysterious gas, which proceeded to force its way into him and cause his body to burst violently.


This horrific act was followed by a video message, sent to all of Tokyo’s news agencies, from a young man (model Uta Uchida in his acting debut) claiming responsibility for the crime. Calling himself “The Human Vapor”, he declares that the professor’s death is only the first in a series of murders he intends to carry out.
Suspended police detective Kenji Okamoto (Shun Oguri) is hastily reinstated to investigate the gruesome murder, which forces him back into proximity with his former flame, Kyoko.
The reasons for their break-up are not immediately apparent, but it had something to do with Kenji’s investigation of a former yakuza boss (Yutaka Takenouchi), which led to his suspension.
Kyoko scores an exclusive interview with The Human Vapor, during which he lays out the details of his audacious revenge plot. Kenji has no alternative but to collaborate with the woman who broke his heart and jeopardised his career.

Among the other interested parties are Fujita (Kento Hayashi) and Kaho (Suzu Hirose), a brother-sister team of struggling YouTubers desperate to find an audience for their oddball conspiracy show.
When they stumble upon a clue to the killer’s identity, they are inadvertently sucked into a conspiracy that has been festering for decades and reaches to the upper echelons of Tokyo society.
Human Vapor is far from Yeon’s first project for Netflix, having already developed such series as Hellbound, Parasyte: The Grey and The Bequeathed for the streamer.
However, when discussing a possible collaboration with Japan’s iconic Toho Studios, the Korean genre specialist expressed an interest in revisiting Honda’s celebrated tokusatsu (special effects) classic.

Released in 1960, The Human Vapor was the third entry in a loose trilogy of inventive B-movies focusing on mutant characters, which also included The H-Man and The Secret of the Telegian. It followed a mild-mannered librarian (Yoshio Tsuchiya) who develops the ability to transform at will into a cloud of vapour, which he uses to rob banks to fund his girlfriend’s music career.
Ultimately, Yeon lifts little more than the central premise of a shape-shifting antagonist and a few other character names, including a police officer named Okamoto, his journalist girlfriend Kyoko and a nefarious scientist named Doctor Sano behind the transformations.
Under the direction of Shinzo Katayama, whose previous work includes Disney+’s hit thriller series Gannibal, Human Vapor emerges as a far more ambitious and narratively complex story involving high-level corruption, bizarre natural disasters and a number of tragic, romantically charged subplots.
As one would expect, the original film’s practical effects, while widely praised at the time, are now realised using state-of-the-art CGI, which brings a whole new level of kinetic threat to the vaporous entity and its capabilities.
Beyond the numerous action set pieces that pepper the eight-episode series is a genuinely absorbing mystery, with well-drawn characters, layered relationships and a number of unexpected surprises.

Fashion model Uta Uchida – credited here as Uta – makes a striking debut as the show’s enigmatic catalyst, whose tragic origin story is central to the narrative and gifts the performer a layered and nuanced role with which to make his mark.
Oguri and Aoi are as reliable as ever in the leads, while Hirose also carves out an intriguing arc for her character – a reclusive and camera-shy content creator hobbled by a large facial birthmark.
What emerges is a hugely entertaining romp that sublimates the atomic-age paranoia and kitschy monster mayhem of the 1960s original into a thrilling cautionary tale for the modern era, replete with bountiful action, romance, peril and enough renditions of the Southern All Stars’ 70s power ballad “Ellie My Love” to last a lifetime.
Human Vapor starts streaming on Netflix on July 2.


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Netflix drama Human Vapor review: Shun Oguri, Yu Aoi in Yeon Sang-ho’s bold sci-fi reboot

Uta Uchida in a still from Human Vapor. Photo: Netflix.

Shun Oguri as police detective Kenji Okamoto in a still from Human Vapor. Photo: Netflix

Suzu Hirose as YouTuber Kaho (left) and Kento Hayashi as her brother Fujita in a still from Human Vapor. Photo: Netflix

Uta Uchida as the titular character in a still from Human Vapor. Photo: Netflix

Shun Oguri (left) as police detective Kenji Okamoto and Yu Aoi as reporter Kyoko Kono in a still from Human Vapor. Photo: Netflix

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Lee Sung-min as Education Minister Choi Gang-seok in a still from Teach You a Lesson.

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Film & TV

This exciting tale of a mysterious serial killer who can turn into a murderous cloud of gas is a reimagining of a classic Japanese thriller


This exciting tale of a mysterious serial killer who can turn into a murderous cloud of gas is a reimagining of a classic Japanese thriller.


Netflix

Asian cinema: Korean films

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Asian cinema

Cinema

South Korean celebrities

Fame and celebrity

Japan

Science fiction

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}This exciting tale of a mysterious serial killer who can turn into a murderous cloud of gas is a reimagining of a classic Japanese thriller

This exciting tale of a mysterious serial killer who can turn into a murderous cloud of gas is a reimagining of a classic Japanese thriller