Tag: Japanese Cinema
Meiruko-chan is a 2025 Japanese supernatural horror/slice of life film written and directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. Beginning his career with the horror film series Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video, Yoshihiro Nakamura would proceed to write and direct the first seven films in the series–later returning to the series to narrate films eleven through to
Director Kenichi Ugana is profoundly interested in exploring societal outcasts and obsessives in his work, whilst maintaining a distinct punk and transgressive style. With titles such as Visitors: Complete Edition (2023), Extraneous Matter: Complete Edition (2021), and The Curse (2025), to name a few, the young director’s vast number of films feature elements from all
Extraneous Matter: Complete Edition (Ibutsu – Kanzenhan) is a 2021 Japanese horror drama film written and directed by Kenichi Ugana. Renowned for directing bloody horror, Kenichi is recognised as the creator behind films such as Visitors: Complete Edition (2023), the Japanese-Taiwanese collaborative horror The Curse (2025), and the upcoming Incomplete Chairs (2025). The film compiles
Born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1984, Kenichi Ugana is a Japanese film director and screenwriter who graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Aoyama Gakuin University. Beginning his career in film with his short films, Access (2010) and Smell (2011), Kenichi would break into feature-length titles with Gangro Gal’s Riot (2016), a film based on the Ganguro
The Curse is a 2025 Japanese/Taiwanese supernatural horror film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Kenichi Ugana. A prolific up-and-coming horror director, Kenichi has written and directed a slew of films in recent years, such as the blood-soaked demon horror Visitors: Complete Edition (2023), the tentacle horror Extraneous Matter: Complete Edition (2021), and the upcoming
Known as one of the most gruesome series of Japanese rape-revenge and torture films ever made, the All Night Long Series has long been associated with a sense of infamy. Consisting of six films written and directed by Katsuya Matsumura from 1992 to 2009, these films are known for their graphic portrayal of mutilation, torture,
Less based on and more inspired by themes of obsession explored in the acclaimed book of the same name by Kobo Abe, The Box Man (2024) marks the return of director Gakuryû Ishii after 2018’s Punk Samurai Slash Down. The story, or what semblance of narrative there is, follows a nameless man who lives in
Did you know Hideaki Anno, best known for Evangelion, has also tackled themes of inner turmoil and depression in live action? If you don’t, no one can blame you. It’s easy to associate Anno with mechas, apocalyptic imagery, and psychological breakdowns. But in his 1998 live-action debut Love & Pop, he trades in the esoteric
Wings of the Abyss is a 2025 Japanese crime thriller written and directed by Yuki Kobayashi. The director is known for the action thriller Kamikaze Cowboy (2015), the comedy-drama Death Row Family (2017), and the sci-fi action thriller Rise of the Machine Girls (2019). A young intern, Jin, who loves skateboarding, struggles to balance his
Neu Mirrors is a 2024 Japanese short horror film written and directed by Keishi Kondo. The film is a direct sequel to Keishi’s 2022 feature-length horror drama New Religion (2022), picking up moments after its explosive conclusion. There remain stories yet to be told after New Religion. It begins with Mizuki waking up in a