Bio Hunter is an adaptation of the manga book of the same name and written by notable anime director and writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The movie focuses on two molecular biologists who are also university professors and who also work with the government investigating demonic related cases. One of the biologists may be infected with the demonic virus but due to his strong immune system, he does not show any symptoms of being infected and his resistance may be the key to finding a cure for the virus.
The film opens up with a couple having intercourse and during intercourse, the woman who is apparently infected with a demonic virus kills her partner. She is caught and the two molecular biologists are brought in to investigate the cause of the viral infections and to find a cure before it spreads. There is also a series of brutal killings terrorizing the country and the biologist must also stop the killer.
The plot is not the most original one and it is very cliched and seems grafted from other madhouse works. Characters are not really that original and they don’t have fully explained backstories or individual personalities. This was a consequence of a short running time.
Sometimes characters of the film can do really impulsive and reckless actions that would go against the original plan unintentionally. Some of the other parts in the story are not given any explanation or context to the background.
From what is established, one of the professors is mainly focused on work and finding the cure while the other one is emotionally driven and conflicted with his nature as a human and being infected with a demon virus. This subplot is seen in countless other horror films where someone is battling their inner demons. You do feel a sense of sympathy for the professor who is infected as he feels more and more helpless as the demon tries to control him. The film leaves out many parts unexplained or partially explained. It ends abruptly and it feels like there is more to the story that needs explaining.
Bio Hunter has plenty of unnecessary filler that does not go anywhere and this results in a story that seems out of sync and unfocused. As the movie progresses, the pace increases as the biologists race against time to stop the demons from carrying out their plans of world domination.
The concept itself is highly similar to Devil May Cry being crossed over with Resident Evil and it was a pretty interesting idea but just not executed properly.
The art direction and designs for the demons are pretty good. The use of shadow and lighting was good and added to the suspense and creepy atmosphere. The design of Japan looks fairly good and accurate. There is some sexual content and varying degrees of nudity. The character models were ok but none were fully developed or memorable. It has a decent 80s synth like soundtrack similar to Wicked City.
Action in the film is ultra violent and demons are savage, ruthless and bloodthirsty. The opening of the film provides a glimpse of the carnage to is going to happen. Death is always brutal and there is a sense of dread that the characters could be killed at any time. The blood and gore are particularly gruesome and is very unsettling.
The movie looked fuzzy and dated but the animation was generally good. I found the camera angles of the film to be effective and helped with the visual story. Voice acting was generally believable for both English and Japanese.
It is an ok but lacking film that could have been better.
I’ll give it about 2 stars out of 5.
Horror fans who want some quick thrills would be somewhat entertained by Bio Hunter.