Tag: Japanese Film
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The adage above—from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet—has stood the test of time, having been referenced in countless other books, television shows, and films. The assertion that the names of things do not affect what they really are is perhaps more relevant now than
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
Eichi Sato, known better in the following years for his work on the live-action adaptations of Lychee Hikari Club (2016) and Miso Misou (2018), found his way to shock us from the very beginning with his debut movie. Let’s Make the Teacher Have a Miscarriage Club (2011) is a film with many flaws, but its
Guzoo: The Thing Forsaken by God – Part 1 is a 1986 Japanese monster horror film written and directed by Kazuo Komizu with additional writing from Hitoshi Matsuyama and Junzô Takagi. Kazuo is most notable for directing the gore films Entrails of a Virgin (1986), Entrails of a Beautiful Woman (1986), and Rusted Body: Guts
After a hard day of work, 36-year-old Yuko Sawamatsu returns to her apartment for an evening to unwind. However, her memories of a recent affair with a married man keep coming back to her in the form of flashbacks. Although these memories are painful, Yuko is resolved in her choice to have ended the relationship.
I want the truth. No matter how terrifying. I want the truth. ~ Masafumi Kobayashi When I think about the genre of mockumentaries, the first image that comes to my mind is that of Trailer Park Boys (2001-2018) doing crazy stuff while drinking lots of alcohol. Little did I know, director Koji Shiraishi utilised the
The term “remake” is often met with blatant vitriol and is usually accompanied by assertions that Hollywood is either running out of ideas or is cashing in on the nostalgia of the audience. But what if Hollywood isn’t the wizard behind the curtain of the remake? What are the opinions when a country outside of
There’s a funny kind of serendipity when you’re a fan commentator on popular entertainment, where you can sometimes just barely miss a critical piece of information that hits a smidge after you’ve published your piece. For example, in July of 2020, Kyle Byrd and I gave a presentation titled “Great Yokai War or GREATEST Yokai