Parasaito Ivu (1997)

Director:

Masayuki Ochiai

Writers:

Ryôichi Kimizuka (writer)
Hideaki Sena (novel)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The worst foe lies within the self...

Plot:

Toshiaki Nagashima is a biologist who is doing major research on mitochondria. When his beautiful young...

Plot Keywords:

Mitochondria | Species | Car Accident | Female Frontal Nudity | Massacre

Cast

Hiroshi Mikami	...	Toshiaki Nagashima
Riona Hazuki	...	Kiyomi Nagashima
Tomoko Nakajima	...	Sawako Asakura
Ayako Omura	...	Mariko Anzai
Gorô Inagaki	...	Tatsuro Ohno
Hisako Manda	...	Etsuko Odagiri
Tetsuya Bessho	...	Takatsugu Yoshizumi
Noboru Mitani	...	Mutsuo Ishihara
Kenzô Kawarasaki	...	Shigeru Kataoka
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sanshô Shinsui		(as Sanshô Shinsui)
Ikkei Watanabe

Also Known As:

Parasite Eve

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Filming Locations:

Saitama, Japan

Company:

Fuji Television Network

Goofs:

Factual errors: About halfway through the movie, the scientist is using a microscope to watch cells multiply. When the cells split apart they make a noise, and the electrical activity makes noise as well, though it is all at a microscopic level.

Movie Connections:

Spin off Parasite Eve (1998) (VG)

Mitochondria, the modern day Tingler.

This movie could well be a modern version of William Castle's THE TINGLER. But in this case, it's not a parasite hidden in the human spine which wants to free itself and have its own life but rather the mitochondria in the human body. "Mitochondria" is a term of cell biology. They are self-replicating organelles, bounded by 2 membranes, that are found in the cytoplasm of all eukaryotic cells and produce cellular energy in the form of ATP via the oxidative phosphorylation reactions.

The theory of PARASITE EVE is that mitochondria are very much a species with their own intentions. And all those years since evolution spat out the first humans, they were waiting for the day when they could finally break free. This day is NOW, and their outbreak of the human bodies would surely mean the end of all human life on earth. It's up to one lonely and desperate Japanese scientist to stop them after his beloved wife was killed as it was long-term planned by the mitochondria.

Like in many other modern Japanese horror and science fiction movies, the pace of PARASITE EVE is slow and often melancholic. But the daring storyline of the movie and the tension which is built slowly but surely until the climatic finale is worth watching anyway.

Japanese cinema has become an interesting alternative for lovers of the fantastic film genre. The way how Japanese films tell their story differs a great deal from Hollywood productions. If you have a chance to see PARASITE EVE, go see it or even buy it on DVD or VCD. If you're not an action-only fan, you won't regret it.