That scene was a complete waste to me. What was the purpose of the zombie? With a total running time of over 2.5 hrs, that scene could've been easily cut from the film. I thought the film was pretty much a 9 up to that point and the story line was still there to follow, but after that scene the movie strayed all over and fell apart for me.
sharethere were a lot of scenes that could have been cut...
shareThe significance of that scene was to show the demon had left the Jap, the Jap had become good again and was trying to get to the zombie before it could hurt anyone else. It was just to drive home the fact that the Jap wasn't evil it was the possession, so that the scene following with the villagers trying to kill him held more weight for the climax of the film. It would have been less powerful to the viewer with the Jap just being discovered at his hut and chased down. We would still believe that he was a demon and wouldn't care if they villagers killed him.
shareI remember hearing a theory that the woman in white was the one who actually resurrected the zombie, while the Japanese Man was recovering from the failed death hex. His own creation was sent to destroy him, as the zombie was moving towards the hut.
But it can be read either way. It does kind of serve a function, as the demon has a lot of anti-Christ symbolism going on and that is a mockery of the resurrection of Lazarus.
I'd rather it not be cut, just because it adds to the unpredictable nature of the film.
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