The Yurei
Akira (1988) is a classic film, no doubt, as a cyberpunk adventure set in a decaying Tokyo, no different from the dystopian lifestyle of Neon Genesis Evangelion in which the traumatic circumstances have parallels. Corruption, terrorism, and crime are rife – safety is a negligible concern in the downtrodden society of casual indifference. The film
Fox Tales (Kitsune no Hanashi) is a Japanese compendium of short horror stories: “Fox Tales”, “The Dragon in the Fruit”, “Phantom”, and “The Water God” penned from the mind of Tomihiko Morimi and published in English by Yen Press. Morimi is most notable as the author of The Eccentric Family, Penguin Highway, The Night is
Paraphrasing the words of a certain author, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a book will be almost always better than its movie adaptation. Yes, almost always because, despite the clear propensity of the written source being much more interesting and developed, sometimes flukes happen and the movie is indeed superior. That is why
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
Recently, disturbing news regarding Masaaki Nakayama, a horror manga author known for his manga Fuan no Tane (2013), has been circulating online. According to many social media posts, he has stopped working in his most recent work to “stay alive”. Dramatic as it sounds, even some relatively reliable sources have been echoing this information as
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
Death Stranding is an oddity as an experience, frequently misrepresented – a melancholic meditation through shattered civilization, humanity desperately endeavouring to reassemble itself in despair; somber music lulls over the desolate landscapes where people try to ascend some resemblance of life into the now hollow nature pervading a ruined world. People have retreated into underground
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.
Saiko no Sutoka (Hepburn: Psycho Stalker) is a survival horror game created by independent Indonesian developer Habupain for PC. The story follows a teenage schoolboy named Akira as he finds himself trapped inside his school with his recent ex-girlfriend—a murderous yandere girl named Saiko-chan—as she tries to apprehend and kill the player. The main objective
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