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A mystical tale set in Japan's Heian era (794-1185 A.D.), when demons and sorcery lent intrigue to the business of ruling the kingdom, Onmyoji was Japan's box office king in 2001. The emperor Mikado and his infant son are the targets of evil spells, and someone amidst the Onmyoji, the longtime supernatural guardians of the kingdom, is suspected of betrayal. A bumbling and somewhat cowardly court official named Minamoto no Hiromaki recruits the famed Japanese folk hero SeiMei, an easygoing yin-yang sorcery master, to help solve the mystery. The two develop a Holmes and Watson relationship while trying to thwart the conspirators. The movie fails to achieve much dramatic tension over a long two hours. With the exception of Mansai Nomura as SeiMei, the acting is exaggerated, as in bad theater. Some shoddy scene and sound editing leads to some clumsy transitions, and the special effects and fight scenes are of the made-for-TV quality. Still, with a lineup that includes Japanese pop idols Kyoko Koizumi and Eriko Imai and villains that cackle with such enthusiasm, Onmyoji nearly qualifies as a campy guilty pleasure. --Eugene Wei
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