Dream Hunter REM OVA 1-2
I've seen both of these before, but it's OVA 2 that really sticks with me. Despite the grue, the first OVA feels more tongue-in-cheek, closer in tone to something like the later instalments of the Elm Street series with its top-hatted, cape wearing boogieman, but the second OVA is full on Dario Argento / Supsiria mode, complete with psychic manipulation, a head teacher who is definitely not a witch, and vengeful spirits in the clock tower. Despite having familiar elements, however, I feel it manages to take the setup and do its own thing with it, rather than just making a simple homage. The content is such that I don't feel REM is something I could recommend to everyone - it seems to be two parts Italian horror movie to one part Sesame Street - but if you're on the same wavelength as it, it's definitely worth seeking out.
Lupin III: Napoleon's Dictionary (1991)
After a failed effort to impress a lady leaves him with a stolen vintage car, Lupin decides to roll with it and enter a prestigious rally event, so that he might get a chance to steal a certain French Emperor's effects being offered as the first prize, in this third TV special. This one doesn't have the best reputation, so my expectations of it were quite low, but it's not that bad - it's just kind of so-so.
There are some solid ideas here, and the script offers up a few good lines, but my overall impression is of this being made very quickly, under the guidance of people whose attention was elsewhere. The story is a bit loose and a bit leisurely for its own good, but the biggest disappointment is the noticeable drop in visual quality compared to the previous two TV films. The deep shadows and quirky visual motifs are gone, and the animation is much choppier than before. Were it not for a few very 1991 tics in the story (the G7 nations take an interest in Lupin's potentially massive family fortune as a way to offset the cost of the first Gulf War), this could easily be mistaken for something about ten years older than it is, looking and feeling like a middling episode of Part 2 that's just outstayed its welcome.
It's by no means unwatchable, but I think it feels worse for following two strong examples of the form, and I don't think there's enough here to recommend the film for anything other than the sake of completion. I hear the next one is better, so I look forward to that.
