Asian Film
Sana: Let Me Hear (2024), also known as Ano Ko wa Dare or Who’s That Kid, is a direct sequel to Takashi Shimizu’s Sana (2023), a film which I thoroughly enjoyed. Admittedly, I was oblivious to the fact that Sana would even receive a sequel, as I felt like everything was wrapped up nicely in
Lost Paradise: Riding Habit Harakiri (‘Shitsurakuen’: jôbafuku onna harakiri) is a 1990 extreme horror/Ero Guro short film written and directed by Masami Akita. While best known as one of Japan’s leading noise music composers under the stage name Merzbow, Masami Akita has also directed the similarly themed horror short Bandage Anatomy Woman (1995)—a film often
Exit 8 is a 2025 Japanese psychological horror film written and directed by Genki Kawamura, with additional writing from Kentaro Hirase. The film is based on the video game of the same name, created by Kotake Create. Genki is known as a producer for such titles as the live-action adaptations Parasyte: Part 1 (2014) and
Splatter: Naked Blood is a 1996 extreme splatter horror film written by Taketoshi Watari and directed by Hisayasu Satô. Watari is known as a screenwriter and actor who worked closely with the director, collaborating on numerous titles in both roles. Satô is notable as a boundary-pushing director, known for films such as Lolita Vibrator Torture
When About a Place in the Kinki Region (2025) was first announced, I wasn’t able to discern that it was directed by Koji Shiraishi—the announcement came in the form of two poster reveals on my feed, with the description in all Japanese—but when I looked at the poster with the female character’s face on it,
It’s that time of year again, when we take a look back at some of our favourite releases over the last 12 months. While 2025 has been a challenging year, with many ups and downs in multiple aspects of life, there have been some fantastic films released over the course of 2025. From slapstick comedy
To start, this is indeed an indirect sequel to 2020’s Stigmatized Properties, directed by none other than J-horror icon Hideo Nakata (Ringu, Dark Water). I’ve said and written this numerous times before: Nakata-san’s films have been hit or miss for me after The Complex (2013)—which I thoroughly enjoyed—with more misses than hits. The first Stigmatized
We meet Elena, a “gajin” with a British father and Japanese mother, at her lowest, in a hospital bed after an implied attempt at taking her own life, or self-harm to the point of hospitalization. This incident acts as a catalyst to send her to a new school, where, while she still feels the prejudice
After stepping away from filmmaking since 2019’s charming musical comedy Dance with Me, director Shinobu Yaguchi makes his return with Dollhouse (2025), a horror tale centered on a cursed doll, of all things. Those who are only mildly familiar with Yaguchi-san’s filmography may find this genre jump to be rather jarring, but I assure you
The manner in which mainstream Bengali cinema sidesteps serious horror, almost as though it were a contagious disease, is a phenomenon deserving scrutiny. Bengali culture, from its expansive literary canon and oral storytelling to its everyday chatter in the 21st century, has never lacked horror elements. It overflows with supernatural entities, some benevolent and absent-minded,