Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 24, 1993                   TAG: 9307240031
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

THE END IS HERE, AND IT IS NOT PRETTY

"Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend" approaches the subject with such bizarre energy that it's almost impossible to describe. Though this is a Japanese animated film, the box states "WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR CHILDREN" and it isn't kidding. In many key scenes, the film attempts to recreate the hellish nightmares of Dutch painter Hieronymous Bosch. It often succeeds in stomach-churning fashion.

This is actually the first three volumes of a serial that tell a barely coherent, open-ended story. As is often the case with "Japanimation," the plot doesn't make much sense. It mixes "realistic" and supernatural elements without any real differentiation. A brief prologue explains that every 3,000 years the three levels of reality - the human world, the demon world and the world of the man-beasts - will be united when a savior, or "overfiend," is born to a human woman.

The woman in question is a young college student, Akemi, who is pursued and ravished by a variety of folk, human and otherwise, from those various levels. Watching over the action, commenting on it and sometimes taking part are two man-beasts, Amanojaku and his sister Megumi.

Fans familiar with such imports as "The Guyver" and "Akira" will recognize some of the same conventions and plot twists. Monsters are insinuated into and then burst forth from human bodies in graphically bloody scenes. The threat of complete destruction looms over the individual characters. Director Hideki Takayama spins it all out with the fast pace and raw energy of an early Godzilla film.

If the whole thing didn't go so far beyond the bounds of good taste, "Overfiend" could be dismissed as misogynist junk. But this is Grand Guignol on a grand scale. Intentionally offensive and provocative, it will shock many viewers, including this one. But that's its point.

\ "Nemesis" is a more conventional futuristic shoot-'em-up, combining elements of "The Road Warrior" with the conspiratorial mindset of television's "Wild Palms." The loosely woven story has to do with a secret agent sort (Olivier Gruner) who hunts down renegade cyborgs until he gets sick of his work and becomes a freelance "information cowboy." He operates in the bleak, sun-blasted landscape that's typical for this kind of movie.

The ridiculous violence and stylized look of the characters - sunglasses, long overcoats, ugly haircuts, European accents, dozens of exotic automatic weapons - could have come straight from the pages of a comic book. Director Albert Pyun ("Cyborg") keeps the action moving quickly, if pointlessly. The special effects sequence at the end, shamelessly lifted from "The Terminator," is a mistake.

\ "TC 2000" probably had half the budget of "Nemesis" and it's not particularly well made but, for my money, this martial arts flick is a lot more fun. It's set in another post- apocalyptic future where humans live underground with clean air and water while the surface mutants try to break in. Jason (Billy Blanks) is a guard who questions his role and is kicked upstairs for punishment.

Director T.J. Scott mishandles some of the fight scenes and once even lets a microphone boom swing into a shot (reflected in a mirror), but he's saved by his cast. Billy Blanks has the looks and the moves to become a star in this genre. He's given solid support by Bobbie Philips and the incredible Bolo Yeung, who is usually cast as villain. With his commanding screen presence, Yeung may be the most graceful and impressive martial artist in the business today, and he's at his best here.

The Essentials:

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend: *** Central Park Media. 108 min. Rated NC-17 for graphic violence, strong sexual content, brief nudity.

Nemesis: ** Imperial. 92 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language, nudity.

TC 2000: ** 1/2 MCA/Universal. 92 min. Rated R for martial arts violence, strong language.

New releases this week:

Scent of a Woman: ***

Starring Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell. Directed by Martin Brest. MCA/Universal. 157 min. Rated R for strong language, subject matter.

Al Pacino won last year's best actor Oscar for his portrayal of a hard-drinking, bitter and possibly suicidal retired colonel. The film itself loses little and gains a lot on home video. It tries to tell two stories and is really too long. (An occasional pause doesn't hurt at all.) The finely shaded performances by Pacino and O'Donnell are just as effective on the small screen as they were on the large. Strongly recommended.

Nowhere To Run: ** 1/2

Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rosanna Arquette. Directed by Robert Harmon. Columbia TriStar. 92 min. Rated R for violence, nudity, sexual content, strong language.

This is a perfectly acceptable little formula action picture built on familiar Hollywood stereotypes and an off-the- shelf plot about an escaped convict, a pretty widow and an evil land developer who wants her farm. One of Jean-Claude's best.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ** 1/2

Staring Macaulay Culkin, Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. Directed by John Hughes. Fox Video. Rated PG for strong language and slapstick violence.

You've seen it all before. Cute Kevin is separated from his family during vacation and battles inept bad guys. Culkin, Pesci and Stern keep the comic energy going in this sequel that never strays from formula.