Product Description

In the early 21st century, teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 17 begin dying all over the world. Shortly before they die, the girls succumb to NDH (Near Death Happiness), a "pre-death" state of absolute bliss and joy. Once dead, girls come back as a flesh-eating zombie nicknamed "Stacy". The world is in chaos. Countries suffer from famine, war, and zero-population growth because of this teenage death epidemic. To keep the zombies from returning and eating innocent people, families are urged to kill their daughters before they are allowed to die by this mysterious disease (chopping them up and leaving them in garbage bags for govern-ment-sanctioned pick-up). In a Japanese military base, some undead schoolgirls are held and tested by a scientist who tries to unlock the secrets behind the girls return from the dead. Suddenly, the world turns upside down yet again as a soldier, in a fit of depression, lets the girls free to storm the base and devour anyone in their path. Based on the popular Japanese novel by Kenji Otsuki, Stacy is a bloodbath of extreme gore effects and comedy with elements of Resident Evil and George A. Romer's classic Day of the Dead.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26069 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-22
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

From the Back Cover
In the early 21st century, teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 17 begin dying all over the world. Shortly before they die, the girls succumb to NDH (Near Death Happiness), a "pre-death" state of absolute bliss and joy. Once dead, girls come back as a flesh-eating zombie nicknamed "Stacy". The world is in chaos. Countries suffer from famine, war, and zero-population growth because of this teenage death epidemic. To keep the zombies from returning and eating innocent people, families are urged to kill their daughters before they are allowed to die by this mysterious disease (chopping them up and leaving them in garbage bags for govern-ment-sanctioned pick-up). In a Japanese military base, some undead schoolgirls are held and tested by a scientist who tries to unlock the secrets behind the girls return from the dead. Suddenly, the world turns upside down yet again as a soldier, in a fit of depression, lets the girls free to storm the base and devour anyone in their path. Based on the popular Japanese novel by Kenji Otsuki, Stacy is a bloodbath of extreme gore effects and comedy with elements of Resident Evil and George A. Romer's classic Day of the Dead.

Customer Reviews

An interesting new twist on the Zombie horror subgenre
"Stacy" is a movie that few people who watch it seem to really "get," and I can hardly hold that against them. It does hold a very interesting concept underneath its mindless gore and bizarre characters.

A strange phenomenon is causing girls age 15-17 all over the world to die and come back as flesh eating zombies. Before they die, they are overcome by something called NDH (Near Death Happiness) which causes them to run around acting giddy and lovestruck, and giggling with delight at everything they see. After they die, their friends and family members are asked to chop them up into little pieces before they are brought back to life as something called a "Stacy."

I'm not a great fan of Zombie horror. However, I can appreciate this as a new take on the whole thing. The zombie gore is fun, if you're into that sort of thing. But what made this movie so interesting to me was the whole reason why the teen girls became zombies, and that's that part that's easy to miss. Near the end, the mad doctor studying the "Stacies" says, "I finally know what brings you to life. It's love." If it sounds like I ruined the ending for you, I haven't. This seems like a big explanatory scene near the end of a horror film, except that it makes no sense whatsoever. But as you may know (and you probably do, if you looked up this title), Asian horror doesn't usually have an explanation for everything the way American horror does. And Stacy is no exception. There's much more to it than just that.

The image of a young woman in a school uniform represents an idealized image of female sexuality that doesn't exist. The disease these girls suffer from is caused by (male) society's obsession with a feminine ideal. When the girls first become infected, they act like mindless bimbos, giggling and professing their love for any man who walks toward them. This goes on for a while, until this cultural stereotype kills them, and they are reborn, transformed from nearly mindless bimbos into literally mindless zombies. As it is stated over and over again in the film, the girls have a natural desire to be loved. As if forced by evolution, the girls move toward the mindless state that will allow them to be loved. In short, this film is a metaphor for idealized images of submissive women, and how dangerous those images can be to girls.

Having said all that, this movie is incredibly goofy. I wouldn't blame you if you watched this and failed to see the depth I just described. But that's what I came away with. There are some fun zombie scenes, and the unusual premise makes for some wacky characters. By far my favorite were the three teenage girls who formed an illegal "repeat kill" agency they named after their idol, Drew Barrymore. They contact families who can't bring themselves to chop up their dead daughters, and do it themselves, for a fee. Their goal is to save enough money to pay their favorite star to "repeat kill" them after they die. The girls want to die by the hand of someone they love. When one of them giggles, someone makes a remark to her about "NDH," and she gets very defensive and belligerent. I interpret this, not so much as a fear of dying, but a defiance of what is happening to her. Despite the fact that this comes from a desire to be "loved," she does not want to become what a male dominated society wants her to be. NDH may be a certain "happiness," but she would rather live as a real person with real feelings and ideas. And since she can't, she wishes to be repeat killed, instead of living in a mindless state.

I quite liked this film, although I can't give it a very high rating, because sometimes it just gets way too silly. The "I think I'm at my prettiest" speech just makes you go, "huh?" All in all, this is much better than average cheap, gross out special effects zombie movies. If you're one of those zombie purists who hates zombie movies that don't stick to the arbitrary zombie movie rules, stay away. But if you want a low budget movie with something different, I'd recommend it, because horror movies don't get much more different than this.

You always kill the ones you love.
STACY takes place in a world where teenaged girls everywhere are succumbing to a mysterious condition known as "near death happiness." These girls fall into a dreamlike, ecstatic state before suddenly expiring - and shortly thereafter, rising again as cannibalistic zombies. There is no cure, so parents are urged to kill their own daughters. If they can't do the job themselves, special troops can be called in to do it for them.

An insert included with the DVD package talks about a Japanese concept that describes the obsession many people have with innocence and beauty and things they can't have, and also the notion that by destroying something, you set it free. Even though this is touched on near the end of the film, it is a bit difficult to ascribe such depth to a film in which girls in bunny suits hawk chainsaws dubbed "Bruce Campbell's right hand" on TV for the purpose of using it on NDH victims, and in which a young man embraces an undead girl (who is gagged for his protection, of course) and claims she is his lover. Had the film been more serious than silly, I'd be more inclined to find meaning in it. (I can't help but think such a film could have been quite good.) In any case, you can take it or leave the critical analysis as you please; whatever works for you.

As it stands, STACY is an often funny, gory, moderately entertaining movie. It is also - strangely - occasionally sweet, although again it is hard to take it too seriously. If you are into zombies or schoolgirls or both, and you enjoy the zany Asian attitude toward horror, you will probably enjoy this movie on some level.

DVD notes: This release from Synapse is pretty basic. English subtitles are optional, and default to on which is appreciated. There is also a trailer. The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen.

A movie about Love
Sometimes I think other reviewers turn their brains off when they watch a movie. I thought I was buying a gore movie about zombies. When I watched my new purchase, I learned that I had actually bought a deeply intense and emotional story about Love. Girls need love, and they crave it badly.

This movie does have a lot of gore. Pretty good gore, too. But it is all just background. The Bruce Campbell brand chain saw might seem a little cheesy, but it just adds to the nice atmosphere of the movie.

There is a lot to learn from this movie, and it warrants several watchings to truely grasp the deepness of its message.