Vintage horror anime classic Vampire Hunter D celebrates its 40th anniversary by swooping onto Shudder next month as part of the streamer's May highlights.
Released in 1985 from director Toyoo Ashida, Vampire Hunter D is based on a novel of the same name from Hideyuki Kikuchi, also known for Wicked City and Demon City Shinjuku.
Marketed in the US as the first animated horror film for adults, an official synopsis for the “dark future science-fiction romance” reads as follows:
In the year 12,090 A.D. technology and the supernatural have overtaken the world, leaving the land desolate and despotic. The remnants of humanity are scattered into small communities and live in fear of vampires who compose the ruling Nobility. When Count Magnus Lee tastes the blood of Doris Lang, she is forcibly chosen to be his next wife. In an effort to escape her ill-gotten fate she hires a mysterious vampire hunter known only as D, who comes from a peculiar lineage.
Starring vocal talents are Kaneto Shiozawa, Ichirō Nagai and Michie Tomizawa.
Other horror highlights hitting Shudder next month include Emilie Blichfeldt‘s The Ugly Stepsister, Julia Max's The Surrender and new episodes of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs.
Repertory new to Shudder include Jacob's Ladder, Cannibal Holocaust, Lady Vengeance, Tremors and much more.
Vampire Hunter D hits Shudder on May 30 in US, AU, NZ, UK&I.
