CategoryForeign
International horror: J-horror, European extremity, Latin American shocks and the films Hollywood keeps remaking.
909 stories
ForeignMoviesReviews
Joey (Ricky Cheng Tien-chi) and Gary (Chris Lee Kin-Sang) are two dudes adept at martial arts thanks to tutelage of their fathers, fathers who admittedly think they kick a lil’ too much ass in their village streets. All changes however when an in-house betrayal leaves Joey injured, Gary captured, and their respective pappy’s tits up. Joey tears ass into the countryside where he has a chance encounter with The Black Prince of Hell and his other dimensional hell-home, Black Paradise (a misnomer indeed as it appears to be a well-lit cave filled with flashing rainbow-hued lights and wacky electronic noises). Anyway, Black Prince decides he’ll help Joey out and enlists his nine demons (which consist of eight giggling acrobat kids and a lady) to the cause by turning them into blood-drinking human skulls that fly around and give Joey a helping hand… or jawbone… Joey gets balls deep into that Satanic shit too, as he dons a flamboyant costume, complete
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
Serena (U.S., 2026) Official synopsis An unemployed father-to-be is offered a job beta testing a revolutionary new AI chatbot, but as the trial progresses, he realizes that the technology may not be as benevolent as it appears. Review Director Rob Alicea and screenplay writers P.T. Hylton and Jonathan Benecke deliver a riveting, screenlife-driven psychological science fiction tech-noir thriller with Serena. Andi Matichak (Blumhouse’s Halloween trilogy) does an excellent job of portraying the titular chatbot, which father-to-be Chris Sadowski (Steven Strait, The Expanse) — a musician who has gone from being in a popular band to having to record birthday greetings for paying customers — reluctantly agrees to help test to help offset some of the large amount of debt that he has accrued with pregnant girlfriend Vicki Martinez (Maria Gabriela Gonzalez). Serena takes over Chris’s computer, and eventually much of his life as she/it grows increasingly dangerous, all behind a smiling facade of concern. Matichak invests the chatbot with a
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesNewsTrailers
A new film needs to be on your radar: Ramayana: Rise of a Legend. The ambitious cinematic project is officially preparing for a massive global theatrical debut. Director Nitesh Tiwari is helming the two-part Hindi-language mythological feature. Studio executives recently unveiled an official poster confirming the film’s official title, tagline, and premium distribution formats. International moviegoers can experience mankind’s greatest story on the big screen during Diwali weekend. The Story The narrative follows Lord Ram’s heroic journey as a noble prince who faces unjust exile from his kingdom. Accompanied by his devoted wife Sita and loyal brother Lakshman, Ram adapts to a humble life inside the dangerous wilderness. However, peace shatters when the formidable ten-headed demon king Raavan abducts Sita and carries her away to his island fortress of Lanka. Determined to rescue his wife, Ram forms a crucial alliance with the monkey king Sugriva and the mighty warrior Hanuman. Together, they mobilize a massive army to construct a floating
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsStreaming TV
Here are reviews of two gorgeous looking, recently restored films from Deaf Crocodile, now playing on OVID. Alraune Directed by Henrik Galeen Deaf Crocodile, Horror, 1927, 121 mins Germany Official synopsis A deranged Weimar-era erotic sci-fi/horror starring Brigitte Helm (Metropolis) as the unholy offspring of a genetics experiment conducted by her scientist “father” (Paul Wegener), who implants the semen of a hanged man in the womb of a prostitute. As an adult, the lithe, sinuous Helm drives men to suicide and madness – including her own pseudo-father Wegener. Review Brigitte Helm is a force of nature in her portrayal of Alraune ten Brinken in the silent film Alraune (AKA A Daughter of Destiny). Alraune is a young woman who is the product of a mad scientific experiment in which Professor Jakon ten Brinken (Paul Wegener, who played the titular supernatural entity in Der Golem, 1914) implanted the semen of a hanged criminal in the womb of a prostitute. Listen, if
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
The Curse of Tahu’a (La Malédiction des Tahu’a; France, 2026) Official synopsis On a small Pacific island, as a storm approaches, an air traffic controller is contacted by a plane — that no radar can show. Review Director Benjamin Busnel crafts a lean, mean supernatural fear-fare feature with The Curse of Tahu’a. Busnel, who cowrote the screenplay with Myriam Dupuis, strips things down to largely one performer on screen most of the time, with much of the action taking place through radio and phone contact. The aural approach is reminiscent of horror radio plays, of which I am a huge fan, so this style really worked for me. Sometimes leaving things to our imagination can be just as strong, if not more so, then experiencing graphic violence onscreen. Moea (Marie Kauffmann) is a troubled air traffic controller who drinks on the job after losing her pilot husband in an accident. When a massive storm hits her area, a pilot in
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
Dogs Reign (France, 2026) Official synopsis Léa, a young deaf woman, is approached by Raph and Julien, two insistent men whose ‘friendly’ invitation feels slightly off — yet she accepts it. As the night unfolds, their intentions grow increasingly unclear, and the tension rises. Review Axel Zeltser won Dark Nights Film Fest’s Best Short Film Director Award for Dogs Reign, and for good reason. The short uses horror to shine a light on predatory behavior. Léa (Chiara Corbetta) is approached by two young men (Julien Crampon and Julien Le Lons) with bad behavior on their minds. She takes them up on their offer and invites them to her home. Giving away anything further would be a disservice to future viewers, but suffice it to say that Zeltser, who also wrote the screenplay, has plenty of shocking surprises in store. Corbetta gives an excellent lead performance and Crampon and Le Lons add solid support. The pacing is perfect and the payoff
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Visual Vengeance have collected a duo of ninja films and put them out on Blu-ray, the first of which, Commando the Ninja (1988), was produced and co-created by Godfrey Ho (we are just going to go with the gloriously mentally unstable Cynthia Rothrock martial arts experience, Undefeatable… but he has been associated with…sometimes in a rather bullshit way… bananas cinematic fried gold on any number of other features such as Ninja Terminator)… Anyway, a dude named Tanaka went and developed a form of germ warfare during World War II, and nowadays plenty of folks are hot on his ass to obtain that formula right quick! Vying for possession of said formula are evil businessman Martin who desires the formula to sell at a tidy profit… there’s also a ninja named David involved… as well as Brenda, a woman in a bedazzled all-denim outfit who kicks a rather outrageous amount of ass… for instance she pounds another character in a scene
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Long thought lost, Mexican-produced animated feature Roy del espacio (1983) begins as only it… and Flash Gordon… could. Evil space emperor Alome (Rubén Moya) gets a wild hair up his space-ass to put a threat upon the Earth. To counter this, Roy (Salvador Nájar), Dr. Faz (Esteban Siller), and comely psychologist Helena (Rommy Mendoza) launch themselves into the cosmos to battle the threat! While that synopsis won’t exactly start a blaze based on it’s red-hot originality, Rafael Angel Gil and Hector Lopez Carmona’s Roy del espacio (which the duo co-wrote with Ulises Pérez Aguirre) instead offers a ton of heart… if not technical razzle-dazzle. Boasting an animation style that could best be described as a lil’ bit Sport Billy with a dash of Chargeman Ken and all of the jank and animation-whoopsies those pieces contained (including limited movement, costume inaccuracies, and uses of perspective that’ll have you think you snorted a fistful of premium Moon Dust)… but here
Continue reading →
ForeignNetflixNewsStreaming TVTrailers
A highly anticipated project is bringing Filipino horror to a global audience like never before. The ambitious new series titled “Balaraw: Blood Island” represents a major milestone for regional storytelling. The narrative aims to weave dark folklore, deep family trauma, and oceanic mystery into a cohesive whole. Mysterious Island Search Unlocks Family Secrets The story follows a determined protagonist, Sabina Tejeros. Years after her mother vanishes without a trace, Sabina receives a strange, unexpected clue. As a result, her dangerous search leads her to a mysterious, uncharted island. She soon uncovers terrifying secrets that tie her bloodline directly to the land. High-Caliber Cast Assembles for Dark Thriller Acclaimed actress Janine Gutierrez leads the stellar cast as the driven investigator Sabina. Meanwhile, seasoned performer Agot Isidro plays her missing mother, Rebecca. The impressive ensemble also features talented actors Romnick Sarmenta, Ronnie Lazaro, and Nonie Buencamino. Teroy Guzman and Archi Adamos round out the supporting cast. Masterful Creative Team Reassembles for Horror
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
Official synopsis Czech director Otakar Vávra’s astonishing fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s film noir, paranoid thriller, and speculative atomic-bomb sci-fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he’s invented a proto-nuclear weapon. OVID Exclusive Directed by Otakar Vávra Deaf Crocodile, Drama, 1948, 110 mins Czechoslovakia Review Krakatit is a seminal science fiction/film noir hybrid that finds a scientist named Prokop (Karel Höger) on a wild odyssey involving the titular dangerous explosive that he invented. He encounters a former classmate, a mysterious veiled lady, an arms dealer, a princess interested in marrying him, and others, many of whom are intent on getting the secret formula for krakatit from the desperate man. There is also a nameless man in a hospital in dire straits, but no spoilers here. Director Otakar Vávra crafts a genre film carrying a message about the need for world peace, with paranoia and double-dealings galore. The mystery unwraps slowly
Continue reading →
More from Foreign
ForeignMoviesReviews
Joey (Ricky Cheng Tien-chi) and Gary (Chris Lee Kin-Sang) are two dudes adept at martial arts thanks to tutelage of their fathers, fathers who admittedly think they kick a lil’ too much ass in their village streets. All changes however when an in-house betrayal leaves Joey injured, Gary captured, and their respective pappy’s tits up. Joey tears ass into the countryside where he has a chance encounter with The Black Prince of Hell and his other dimensional hell-home, Black Paradise (a misnomer indeed as it appears to be a well-lit cave filled with flashing rainbow-hued lights and wacky electronic noises). Anyway, Black Prince decides he’ll help Joey out and enlists his nine demons (which consist of eight giggling acrobat kids and a lady) to the cause by turning them into blood-drinking human skulls that fly around and give Joey a helping hand… or jawbone… Joey gets balls deep into that Satanic shit too, as he dons a flamboyant costume, complete
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
Serena (U.S., 2026) Official synopsis An unemployed father-to-be is offered a job beta testing a revolutionary new AI chatbot, but as the trial progresses, he realizes that the technology may not be as benevolent as it appears. Review Director Rob Alicea and screenplay writers P.T. Hylton and Jonathan Benecke deliver a riveting, screenlife-driven psychological science fiction tech-noir thriller with Serena. Andi Matichak (Blumhouse’s Halloween trilogy) does an excellent job of portraying the titular chatbot, which father-to-be Chris Sadowski (Steven Strait, The Expanse) — a musician who has gone from being in a popular band to having to record birthday greetings for paying customers — reluctantly agrees to help test to help offset some of the large amount of debt that he has accrued with pregnant girlfriend Vicki Martinez (Maria Gabriela Gonzalez). Serena takes over Chris’s computer, and eventually much of his life as she/it grows increasingly dangerous, all behind a smiling facade of concern. Matichak invests the chatbot with a
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesNewsTrailers
A new film needs to be on your radar: Ramayana: Rise of a Legend. The ambitious cinematic project is officially preparing for a massive global theatrical debut. Director Nitesh Tiwari is helming the two-part Hindi-language mythological feature. Studio executives recently unveiled an official poster confirming the film’s official title, tagline, and premium distribution formats. International moviegoers can experience mankind’s greatest story on the big screen during Diwali weekend. The Story The narrative follows Lord Ram’s heroic journey as a noble prince who faces unjust exile from his kingdom. Accompanied by his devoted wife Sita and loyal brother Lakshman, Ram adapts to a humble life inside the dangerous wilderness. However, peace shatters when the formidable ten-headed demon king Raavan abducts Sita and carries her away to his island fortress of Lanka. Determined to rescue his wife, Ram forms a crucial alliance with the monkey king Sugriva and the mighty warrior Hanuman. Together, they mobilize a massive army to construct a floating
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsStreaming TV
Here are reviews of two gorgeous looking, recently restored films from Deaf Crocodile, now playing on OVID. Alraune Directed by Henrik Galeen Deaf Crocodile, Horror, 1927, 121 mins Germany Official synopsis A deranged Weimar-era erotic sci-fi/horror starring Brigitte Helm (Metropolis) as the unholy offspring of a genetics experiment conducted by her scientist “father” (Paul Wegener), who implants the semen of a hanged man in the womb of a prostitute. As an adult, the lithe, sinuous Helm drives men to suicide and madness – including her own pseudo-father Wegener. Review Brigitte Helm is a force of nature in her portrayal of Alraune ten Brinken in the silent film Alraune (AKA A Daughter of Destiny). Alraune is a young woman who is the product of a mad scientific experiment in which Professor Jakon ten Brinken (Paul Wegener, who played the titular supernatural entity in Der Golem, 1914) implanted the semen of a hanged criminal in the womb of a prostitute. Listen, if
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
The Curse of Tahu’a (La Malédiction des Tahu’a; France, 2026) Official synopsis On a small Pacific island, as a storm approaches, an air traffic controller is contacted by a plane — that no radar can show. Review Director Benjamin Busnel crafts a lean, mean supernatural fear-fare feature with The Curse of Tahu’a. Busnel, who cowrote the screenplay with Myriam Dupuis, strips things down to largely one performer on screen most of the time, with much of the action taking place through radio and phone contact. The aural approach is reminiscent of horror radio plays, of which I am a huge fan, so this style really worked for me. Sometimes leaving things to our imagination can be just as strong, if not more so, then experiencing graphic violence onscreen. Moea (Marie Kauffmann) is a troubled air traffic controller who drinks on the job after losing her pilot husband in an accident. When a massive storm hits her area, a pilot in
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
Dogs Reign (France, 2026) Official synopsis Léa, a young deaf woman, is approached by Raph and Julien, two insistent men whose ‘friendly’ invitation feels slightly off — yet she accepts it. As the night unfolds, their intentions grow increasingly unclear, and the tension rises. Review Axel Zeltser won Dark Nights Film Fest’s Best Short Film Director Award for Dogs Reign, and for good reason. The short uses horror to shine a light on predatory behavior. Léa (Chiara Corbetta) is approached by two young men (Julien Crampon and Julien Le Lons) with bad behavior on their minds. She takes them up on their offer and invites them to her home. Giving away anything further would be a disservice to future viewers, but suffice it to say that Zeltser, who also wrote the screenplay, has plenty of shocking surprises in store. Corbetta gives an excellent lead performance and Crampon and Le Lons add solid support. The pacing is perfect and the payoff
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Visual Vengeance have collected a duo of ninja films and put them out on Blu-ray, the first of which, Commando the Ninja (1988), was produced and co-created by Godfrey Ho (we are just going to go with the gloriously mentally unstable Cynthia Rothrock martial arts experience, Undefeatable… but he has been associated with…sometimes in a rather bullshit way… bananas cinematic fried gold on any number of other features such as Ninja Terminator)… Anyway, a dude named Tanaka went and developed a form of germ warfare during World War II, and nowadays plenty of folks are hot on his ass to obtain that formula right quick! Vying for possession of said formula are evil businessman Martin who desires the formula to sell at a tidy profit… there’s also a ninja named David involved… as well as Brenda, a woman in a bedazzled all-denim outfit who kicks a rather outrageous amount of ass… for instance she pounds another character in a scene
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Long thought lost, Mexican-produced animated feature Roy del espacio (1983) begins as only it… and Flash Gordon… could. Evil space emperor Alome (Rubén Moya) gets a wild hair up his space-ass to put a threat upon the Earth. To counter this, Roy (Salvador Nájar), Dr. Faz (Esteban Siller), and comely psychologist Helena (Rommy Mendoza) launch themselves into the cosmos to battle the threat! While that synopsis won’t exactly start a blaze based on it’s red-hot originality, Rafael Angel Gil and Hector Lopez Carmona’s Roy del espacio (which the duo co-wrote with Ulises Pérez Aguirre) instead offers a ton of heart… if not technical razzle-dazzle. Boasting an animation style that could best be described as a lil’ bit Sport Billy with a dash of Chargeman Ken and all of the jank and animation-whoopsies those pieces contained (including limited movement, costume inaccuracies, and uses of perspective that’ll have you think you snorted a fistful of premium Moon Dust)… but here
Continue reading →
ForeignNetflixNewsStreaming TVTrailers
A highly anticipated project is bringing Filipino horror to a global audience like never before. The ambitious new series titled “Balaraw: Blood Island” represents a major milestone for regional storytelling. The narrative aims to weave dark folklore, deep family trauma, and oceanic mystery into a cohesive whole. Mysterious Island Search Unlocks Family Secrets The story follows a determined protagonist, Sabina Tejeros. Years after her mother vanishes without a trace, Sabina receives a strange, unexpected clue. As a result, her dangerous search leads her to a mysterious, uncharted island. She soon uncovers terrifying secrets that tie her bloodline directly to the land. High-Caliber Cast Assembles for Dark Thriller Acclaimed actress Janine Gutierrez leads the stellar cast as the driven investigator Sabina. Meanwhile, seasoned performer Agot Isidro plays her missing mother, Rebecca. The impressive ensemble also features talented actors Romnick Sarmenta, Ronnie Lazaro, and Nonie Buencamino. Teroy Guzman and Archi Adamos round out the supporting cast. Masterful Creative Team Reassembles for Horror
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
Official synopsis Czech director Otakar Vávra’s astonishing fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s film noir, paranoid thriller, and speculative atomic-bomb sci-fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he’s invented a proto-nuclear weapon. OVID Exclusive Directed by Otakar Vávra Deaf Crocodile, Drama, 1948, 110 mins Czechoslovakia Review Krakatit is a seminal science fiction/film noir hybrid that finds a scientist named Prokop (Karel Höger) on a wild odyssey involving the titular dangerous explosive that he invented. He encounters a former classmate, a mysterious veiled lady, an arms dealer, a princess interested in marrying him, and others, many of whom are intent on getting the secret formula for krakatit from the desperate man. There is also a nameless man in a hospital in dire straits, but no spoilers here. Director Otakar Vávra crafts a genre film carrying a message about the need for world peace, with paranoia and double-dealings galore. The mystery unwraps slowly
Continue reading →
