The plot line of Zeram is also the basis for an excellent anime OAV series. Although the film is a lot of fun, it has almost no plot or story exposition, often leaving the viewer totally in the dark as to any wider context other than the main characters escaping the monstrous Zeram and eventually defeating him. The anime series has a deeper plot and much more of an ongoing storyline, but as a cheesy alien blast-a-thon Zeram delivers the goods.The two bumbling male lead characters are sympathetic, if at times annoying protagonists. Personally I've never had the opportunity to see this in it's own language so I can't really tell if anyone's a good actor or not. The dub is good, largely trimmed of any excessive Americanised dialogue or pointless swearing, marking it out as a rarity in Manga Video's dubs, as something of half decent quality. Certainly Zeram has faired better then Gunhed on this front. The voice actors are decent, especially the voice-over for leading lady Iria.Physically, acting is good, both solid and convincing despite the amount of plastic and rubber paraphernalia going on, and the Iria actress and the dudes in the alien suits obviously know what they're doing fighting wise, giving the admittedly stodgily directed action scenes a much needed shot in the arm with some impactful fighting moves. The effects are impressive for a low-budget too, especially the monster suits and transformation sequences.Still, Zeram's lack of depth is self-evident from minute one. I admire the decision to focus on kicking things and blowing stuff up, but I wish there was some story to sink my teeth into. After the last rubber alien's been blown up and Iria's kicked in her last head, Zeram is instantly forgettable, and that's it's biggest downfall, it doesn't really grab you at any point. It's a shame, because as the anime series shows, bigger things could have been done. Check this out if you want a blast of dumb action, but definitely check out the anime first. You'll probably like this more if you do.

When I was first starting out watching Japanese cinema, mainly anime (Japanese Animation) I happened to fall upon this title. Zeiram is one of my favorite sci-fi movies, right up their with Aliens. This film starts off with stunning visuals and ends up being a total knockout movie. Zeiram (Japanese title: Zeiramu) is well put together, and so is the dubbing of the film. If you don't speak Japanese, don't worry; you can go rent or buy the VHS copy of the film at a local video store & enjoy it in English! Overall, I would rate this film: 9 1/2 out of 10!

Apart from the dorky telephone repairmen everything in this movie is done perfectly. The monster is the coolest ever, and the kickboxing female bounty hunter is a great hero.Visually stunning despite the sometimes immature tone.

Zeram is a very good movie that shows that dubbed movies can be fun and exciting in a good way. The movie has good special effects that will surprize you at first then jump out and get you. The creatures are amazing in this film.