Asian Film
After File 01 went off with a bang, Koji Shiraishi’s Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! File 02: Shivering Ghost (2012) tries something different and turns out unexpectedly good. The first episode of the mockumentary series didn’t disappoint in serving Koji’s found footage brands and Japanese myth goodness, showing how his knack for storytelling and genre
Audition (1999) is the scariest movie of all time. I say that without hesitation or hyperbole. No other director is as effective with their imagery as Takashi Miike is here, and no other film elicits fright as consistently on a tenth viewing as the first. The film is a delightful descent into madness executed nigh
It’s understandable why Japanese filmmakers focus so often on the feudal era in their horror cinema. It’s a setting so naturally horrific in the plight and pain of the peasant class that few supernatural elements are necessary to invoke dread in audiences. The stark reality of daily life alone is enough to make the viewer
It has now been 24 hours since I watched Pulse (2001), and I still find myself at a loss. It was a movie that I desperately wanted to enjoy, a cardinal sin for a reviewer who should go in with a blank slate and little expectations. The weight of preconceived notions can hang about the
When looking at the origins of sukeban media, the first representation of the genre came in 1967 with Taro Bonten’s Modern Delinquent Girl Stories manga; with the first proper sukeban film, Girl Boss: Broken Justice, not coming later until 1969. That isn’t to say, however, that vestiges of these themes weren’t explored prior to this.
If Ugetsu is what kickstarted the Japanese tradition of Edo Gothic, Kaneto Shindo may have perfected it with Onibaba (1964). It’s a horror film that doesn’t resort to horror, a ghost story with no ghosts. Its evils reside in all too familiar sources: resentment, human nature, and religious hypocrisy, all woven seamlessly through its narrative
Compared to the last few years of veritable stagnation in the film industry, this current year has a considerable treasure trove for film fans around the world. Boasting some of the most unique and original ideas to be released in years, the industry looks to be back in full swing after suffering from severe difficulties
Koji Shiraishi proves his sincerity and devotion to the found footage subgenre in his 2012 low-budget mockumentary Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! File 01 – Operation Capture the Slit-Mouthed Woman. While it’s beyond question that Shiraishi has made an indelible impression on the horror subgenre with his immortal Noroi: The Curse (2005), his undermined respect for
Due to the oversaturation of the genre, you are bound to come across many zombie films you know nothing about beyond containing some form of undead. Sadly, these entries in the genre are often marked by a mundanity or a quick turn of the buck (much like ‘shark’ films) where creativity and ingenuity seem absent.
People who fear centipedes or those with Scolopendrphobia or Chilopodophobia should better steer away from this latest Thai monster flick… unless they want to get nightmares for days. But for those looking for some harmless thrills, then this new creature feature is worth checking out. Penned and directed by Chalit Krileadmongkon and Pakphum Wongjinda, this