‘Attack on Titan’: Behemoths’ berserk binge

HARUMA Miura as Eren

Not an exact adaptation of the hit anime and comics, the horror-action flick “Attack on Titan” nonetheless stands on its own. It’s a wonderfully weird, postapocalyptic romp about human survivors reeling from an unexpected, devastating menace—man-eating giants.

Directed by Shinji Higuchi, “Attack on Titan” follows the rebellious Eren (Haruma Miura), who lives in a walled farming town. The high wall was built to keep out the Titans, who mysteriously appeared over a century ago and decimated mankind.

Eren thinks of them as lore, hoping to be free of his “prison paradise” with his friends Armin (Kanata Hongo) and Mikasa (Kiko Mizuhara).

But his dream of seeing the outside world is suddenly dashed when hungry Titans discover the walled area, and violently attack the bustling village.

“Attack on Titan” is gruesome and creepy, even a bit terrifying—despite the occasional oddly well-groomed behemoth. Each giant has its distinctly distorted humanoid look, the monsters reminiscent of the Titans of Greek mythology, gargantuan devourers of their god offspring.

The traumatized survivors provide decent drama, and some comical situations, surprisingly. But it’s mostly dour; Eren shockingly goes through one terrible experience after another.

Still, it’s not entirely a downer; the humans have some things going for them. It’s a big effects-and-stunts extravaganza, enjoyable enough if seen as separate from the source material. This is but the first part, as the trailer for a similarly humongous sequel is unveiled during the end credits.