Tales of the Bizarre (1990)

series

(64)

Country: Japan
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Release: 1990-04-19
Director: N/A
Writers: N/A
Language: Japanese
Stars: Tamori , Junji Takada , Ryō Iwamatsu , Toshiya Sakai , Masatoshi Nagase , Miho Nakayama , Kumiko Ohba , Kaori Sakagami , Hironobu Nomura , Naomi Oki
Runtime: 54 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: Tales of the Bizarre (United States of America) , Tales of the Bizarre , Yonimo kimyô na monogatari (Japan) , Tales of the Bizarre (India) , Yonimo kimyô na monogatari , Tales of the Bizarre (United Kingdom)
Plot: This is a long running horror TV series hosted by Tamori (In the early days it was hosted by Shigeru Saiki). The format is loosely based on the Twilight Zone. It started as a late night TV show, but has since moved to regular hours.The format of the show is an omnibus of short stories, but some episodes were later remade into feature length drama, or a movie.I'm going to comment on one of the episode from this series called "Uwasa no Makio" which aired in April of 1990.Natsuko Yamazaki (Kaori Sakagami) is a high school student. One day she notices a floppy disk by her brother's computer. She inserts it into the computer to check its contents, and realizes that it's filled with urban legends. She types in her own version of an urban legend that revolves around a fictitious character named Makio. If you see Makio playing in the park during night time, you shouldn't talk to him. Otherwise, you'll end up being taken to his world. Next day, she's surprised to find that the rumor of Makio Has already spread throughout her school. Then her brother disappears. She goes and looks for him at the park only to find him taken by Makio.Unlike Rod Serling who played the host in a straight laced way, Tamori usually injects humor into his part. The series that started out small have become long running major series. It continues to be broadcast on a regular basis with two specials broadcast each year in the Spring, and Fall.It was a daring attempt in the beginning by the production staff to put this series on air, but has become one of the most significant TV series in Japan since then.Recommended for viewing.
IMDB:tt1466867