Asian Film
Techno-horror is a fertile subgenre. Since technology constantly evolves, so must our relationship to it. Our increasingly teach-reliant existence offers countless angles from which to tackle what are, essentially, cautionary tales. From Frankenstein’s nervous awe towards the Godlike power of electricity, all the way to computer-screen horrors like Unfriended and Host, there is little ground
Despite being one of Japan’s biggest film studios throughout the late 40s and 50s during the golden age of Japanese cinema, Daiei were struggling by the mid-60s and had to slash budgets for their productions. This eventually led to a merger with Nikkatsu in 1970, followed by bankruptcy in 1971. Somewhat overlooked is Daiei’s 1968-1969
Punk Samurai Slash Down is a 2018 Japanese period action/drama, written by Kankurô Kudô and directed by Gakuryû Ishii (formerly known as Sogo Ishii). The film is based on the novel Panku-zamurai, kirarete sôrô penned by author Kou Machida. Ishii is most notable for his Jishu eiga (self-made films) such as Charge! Hakata Gangsters (1978),
Despite being Japan’s oldest film studio, Nikkatsu by the late 1960s was struggling: with TV quickly becoming the go-to source of entertainment, ticket sales for films were at an all-time low. In order to compete with TV, Nikkatsu needed something that couldn’t be broadcast, and their attention, like many other studios at the time, turned
At Grimoire of Horror, we want to celebrate both Women in Horror Month and International Women’s Day by celebrating female trailblazers within horror who are paving the way for women to have autonomy, both as creatives within the industry, and as characters within film! The goal of initiatives such as Women in Horror Month and
The 17-volume horror manga Karadasagashi (Shōnen Jump+, 2014-17) began life as a web novel of the same name. With a story from Welzard and art by Katsutoshi Murase, it concerns high school student Asuka who, along with some classmates, is tasked with reassembling the dismembered corpse of a fellow student. Transported to their empty school
The curse of endless sequels has plagued horror films for years with multifarious results. The Ringu series kicked off back in the late 90s and is no exception to this curse. With the previous effort in the series, Sadako (2019), seemingly failing to meet fan expectations—high expectations that were set by the involvement of Hideo
Electric Dragon 80.000V is a 2001 experimental sci-fi fantasy, written and directed by the legendary Gakuryû Ishii (previously known as Sogo Ishii). Most notable for films such as Crazy Thunder Road (1980), and, most recently, Punk Samurai Slash Down (2018); Ishii started his career creating autonomously produced films or Jishu Eiga such as Charge! Hakata
Invitation Only (Jue ming pai dui) is a 2009 Taiwanese extreme horror, written by Sung In and Carolyn Lin and directed by Kevin Ko as his first feature-length film. Kevin is best known as the director behind the recent hit supernatural found footage horror Incantation (2022), whereas Carolyn and Sung only have this work in
Zombies, vampires, mechanical men, mad scientists, monsters, killer apes, living statues, ghosts, demons – all the iconic figures of bizarre cinema can be found in Japan’s early film output, filtered through that country’s unique lens of culture and myth. Carnal Curses, Disfigured Dreams from Author: Kagami Jigoku Kobayashi lists over 500 films in a detailed,