CategoryForeign
International horror: J-horror, European extremity, Latin American shocks and the films Hollywood keeps remaking.
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ForeignMoviesReviews
Remember way back to like last week (approx.) when I put a revoltin’ review upon Severin’s second collection of Italian Gothic fright flicks, Danza Macabra Volume 2? Well, it took so long for my arcane as to talk about that set, that a whole new third volume has been conjured forth… this time with a change of scenery as we’re going to Spain baby! First up, Disc One contains 1971’s Necrophagus… Aristocrat Michael Sherrington (Bill Curran) heads back to the town in which his wife Elizabeth has expired after an emergency cesarean to remove her dead fetus… seems wholesome enough so far… Once there he goes sleuthin’ around the place seeking answers about just how his wife died… but beyond the basics, the whole town seems rather tight-lipped (and downright sinister) about the whole, sordid affair… especially family physician Dr. Lexter (Frank Braña) and cemetery caretaker Mr. Fowles (Víctor Israel), as well as Michael’s in-laws and his mother, Lady Anne
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiShort Films
Electrophilia (Los Impactados) Argentinian feature Electrophilia touches on body horror and eroticism involving electricity but never goes full-on with these themes, instead feeling more like a character study of its protagonist, veterinarian Amanda (Mariana Di Girólamo). The young woman is struck by lightning and after she recovers from a six-week coma, she begins to feel changes that have happened to her mind and now-scarred body. She falls in with a group of lightning-strike survivors under the care of Juan (Germán Palacios), a doctor who uses unorthodox methods to treat those under his care, and begins an affair with him. Amanda develops sexual kinks related to electrical charges and shocks, worrying her significant other Jano (Guillermo Pfening). Director Lucía Puenzo, who cowrote the screenplay with Lorean Ventimigila, leaves viewers hanging with plot points that seem to have no resolution, such as Jano secretly going into Juan’s office and finding the doctor’s file on Amanda but then that scene not being addressed
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Darkest Miriam Canadian feature Darkest Miriam is a slow-burn thriller that follows thirtysomething librarian Miriam (Britt Lower), who is grieving over the loss of her father. She spends her days at work following routine— including dealing with an eccentric clientele — until an accident while she rides her bicycle jolts her out of the ordinary. She begins a relationship with foreign taxi driver Janko (Tom Mercier) but also starts receiving mysterious, ominous letters written in the voice of Italian opera character Rigoletto — who sheltered his daughter from the outside world until she was killed. Director Naomi Jaye has fashioned an intriguing character study that deals in genre elements while exploring themes of love and loss. A dreamlike feel pervades the film. Lower is fantastic as the complex title character, and Jank offers fine work in his costarring role. There’s an eccentricity to Darkest Miriam, but it is by no means an inaccessible one. Jaye ultimately aims to inspire, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Cursed Land Thai horror The Cursed Land is an ambitious work that perhaps takes on too much in its attempt to deliver a fear-fare tale involving djinn while addressing issues involving the largely Muslim Malay community in Thailand. Mit (Ananda Everingham) is wracked by guilt over not being able to save his wife, who died in an accident. He moves with his teen daughter (Jennis Oprasert) to a large house — in disrepair and with talismans placed around it — in a Muslim residential area near Bangkok. Mit removes the talismans and diabolical supernatural events ensue. In trying to find solutions to his newfound bedevilment, Mit learns about the tragic past of the region. Director Panu Aree, who cowrote the screenplay with Kong Rithdee, offers much in the way of eerie atmosphere and is assisted by strong performances from his cast members. The pacing is often slow, sometimes because of plentiful flashbacks, and the running time of 131 minutes
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignK-HorrorMoviesReviews
Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary South Korea’s ultracompetitive education system is world-renowned. Students spend years studying for an exam so important that it has the potential to determine their entire future. Imagine being such a hopeless student that your parents and teachers urge you to guess the answers, believing you have a better chance of stumbling upon the correct choice than through any logical reasoning. This is the predicament faced by the protagonists of KIM Min-ha’s horror comedy Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary. We meet Jiyeon (played by Son Joo-yeon), an aspiring film director and avid cinephile; her devoted camerawoman Hyun-jung (Kim Do-yeon), and the budding actress Eun-byul (Jung Da-eun) — three high school seniors with big dreams but an even bigger problem: their abysmal grades and test scores. Success hinges on gaining admission to a prestigious university, which, in turn, requires stellar test scores. However, with the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) fast approaching, these
Continue reading →
DocumentariesEventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsThriller
Whether you’re into horror, thrillers, science fiction, or other genre cinema, Popcorn Frights — Florida’s premiere film festival destination for such fare — has something for you. Running August 8–18, 2024, with both in-person and virtual programming options, you can even join in on the movie madness from the comfort of your own couch! Following is the official press release. Popcorn Frights celebrates its 10th anniversary with a first wave announcement headlined by 24 boundary-pushing and mind-enhancing feature films, including eleven world premieres as well as a stacked cult classics lineup that pays homage to horror’s titans, and with many more screams, surprises, delights, and film premieres, yet to come! To add to the pure mayhem of its anniversary celebration, Popcorn Frights’ in-theater experience will be offered free and open to the public, as a gift back to the community for ten years of their dedicated support and moviegoing love. Popcorn Frights’ free festival is made possible by the generous
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
If you watch J-horror, you have likely heard of director Kôji Shiraishi. He has 95 directing credits on IMDB, with his most well-known film to Western audiences perhaps being the 2016 phantom face-off Sadako vs. Kayako. With his latest feature House of Sayuri (AKA Sayuri; Japan, 2024), he pulls off remarkable magic with tonal shifts to deliver a wholly satisfying haunted house spookfest. Head of the household Akio Kamiki (Sen Kajihara) has worked hard to move his wife, three children, and parents from a cramped city apartment into a spacious house all their own. Alas, the angry spirit of Sayuri, a girl who was murdered there, isn’t as happy about the situation as the new residents, and she would just as soon see them dead. Teen son Norio (Ryoka Minamide), his grandmother who suffers from dementia (Toshie Negishi), and his new school friend Sumida (Hana Kondo) — who happens to have a special sense about supernatural occurrences — need to
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Remember way back to like last year when Severin released their collection of Italian Gothic fright flicks in a handy box set called Danza Macabra? Well, they went and released a second volume (and because I’m woefully behind, a third set as well… review coming soon) so lets do the film by film bag, shall we? First up is Antonio Margheriti’s (Yor: The Hunter From the Future) and Sergio Corbucci’s (1966’s Django) Castle of Blood from 1964, doubtless an answer to then-popular Edgar Alan Poe adaptations coming from legendary producer Roger Corman… hell, Poe even appears as a character in this very narrative (played by The Bloodstained Butterfly’s Silvano Tranquilli)! Speaking of Poe as we are, he’s balls deep into describing the final act of his story Berenice to his chum Lord Thomas Blackwood (Umberto Raho, The Last Man on Earth) when they are joined by journalist Alan Foster (Georges Rivière) who believes that the supernatural is a load of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
Indera (Malaysia, 2024) Although Malaysian horror Indera is, according to the official film description, “set against the backdrop of the violent Memali Incident in 1985,” director Ming Jin Woo’s feature should work fine for viewers with little-to-no prior knowledge of the event. Handyman Joe (Shaheizy Sam) does his best to raise his young daughter Sofia (Samara Kenzo) after her mother (Ashira Shafinaz) — who was also his wife — died in a tragic accident. Penniless and evicted, Joe takes on the position of caretaker for an older Javanese woman (Ruminah Sidek) who is raising three young orphans. The locals give the woman a wide berth for mysterious reasons. Fans of supernatural cinema should find plenty to be impressed with here, with top-notch performances from the main cast members, and although Indera contains some tried-and-true horror tropes, it puts an intriguing local flavor on matters, and Woo directs with a fine sense of building mystery and delivering chills. Help, I’m Alien
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Whale Bones (Japan, 2023) Horror-adjacent Japanese feature Whale Bones delivers social commentary about the fickleness, loneliness, and desperation of life on social media apps, along with a good deal of mystery. Salaryman Mamiya (Motoki Ochiai) is unceremoniously dumped by his fiancée. On the advice of a coworker, he uses a dating app to meet someone for a hook-up, who turns out to be a young lady named Aska (Ano, who also has a singing career). Aska commits apparent suicide in Mamiya’s bed, after which he attempts to bury her body in the woods — only to find it missing from the trunk of his car. Director Takamasa Oe crafts a vibe heavy on the unease as an increasingly paranoid Mamiya then encounters many people who are obsessed with Aska’s online life and are doing their best to learn why she hasn’t added new video posts for some time. The world of Whale Bones exists somewhere between the real, surreal, and
Continue reading →
More from Foreign
ForeignMoviesReviews
Remember way back to like last week (approx.) when I put a revoltin’ review upon Severin’s second collection of Italian Gothic fright flicks, Danza Macabra Volume 2? Well, it took so long for my arcane as to talk about that set, that a whole new third volume has been conjured forth… this time with a change of scenery as we’re going to Spain baby! First up, Disc One contains 1971’s Necrophagus… Aristocrat Michael Sherrington (Bill Curran) heads back to the town in which his wife Elizabeth has expired after an emergency cesarean to remove her dead fetus… seems wholesome enough so far… Once there he goes sleuthin’ around the place seeking answers about just how his wife died… but beyond the basics, the whole town seems rather tight-lipped (and downright sinister) about the whole, sordid affair… especially family physician Dr. Lexter (Frank Braña) and cemetery caretaker Mr. Fowles (Víctor Israel), as well as Michael’s in-laws and his mother, Lady Anne
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiShort Films
Electrophilia (Los Impactados) Argentinian feature Electrophilia touches on body horror and eroticism involving electricity but never goes full-on with these themes, instead feeling more like a character study of its protagonist, veterinarian Amanda (Mariana Di Girólamo). The young woman is struck by lightning and after she recovers from a six-week coma, she begins to feel changes that have happened to her mind and now-scarred body. She falls in with a group of lightning-strike survivors under the care of Juan (Germán Palacios), a doctor who uses unorthodox methods to treat those under his care, and begins an affair with him. Amanda develops sexual kinks related to electrical charges and shocks, worrying her significant other Jano (Guillermo Pfening). Director Lucía Puenzo, who cowrote the screenplay with Lorean Ventimigila, leaves viewers hanging with plot points that seem to have no resolution, such as Jano secretly going into Juan’s office and finding the doctor’s file on Amanda but then that scene not being addressed
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Darkest Miriam Canadian feature Darkest Miriam is a slow-burn thriller that follows thirtysomething librarian Miriam (Britt Lower), who is grieving over the loss of her father. She spends her days at work following routine— including dealing with an eccentric clientele — until an accident while she rides her bicycle jolts her out of the ordinary. She begins a relationship with foreign taxi driver Janko (Tom Mercier) but also starts receiving mysterious, ominous letters written in the voice of Italian opera character Rigoletto — who sheltered his daughter from the outside world until she was killed. Director Naomi Jaye has fashioned an intriguing character study that deals in genre elements while exploring themes of love and loss. A dreamlike feel pervades the film. Lower is fantastic as the complex title character, and Jank offers fine work in his costarring role. There’s an eccentricity to Darkest Miriam, but it is by no means an inaccessible one. Jaye ultimately aims to inspire, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Cursed Land Thai horror The Cursed Land is an ambitious work that perhaps takes on too much in its attempt to deliver a fear-fare tale involving djinn while addressing issues involving the largely Muslim Malay community in Thailand. Mit (Ananda Everingham) is wracked by guilt over not being able to save his wife, who died in an accident. He moves with his teen daughter (Jennis Oprasert) to a large house — in disrepair and with talismans placed around it — in a Muslim residential area near Bangkok. Mit removes the talismans and diabolical supernatural events ensue. In trying to find solutions to his newfound bedevilment, Mit learns about the tragic past of the region. Director Panu Aree, who cowrote the screenplay with Kong Rithdee, offers much in the way of eerie atmosphere and is assisted by strong performances from his cast members. The pacing is often slow, sometimes because of plentiful flashbacks, and the running time of 131 minutes
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignK-HorrorMoviesReviews
Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary South Korea’s ultracompetitive education system is world-renowned. Students spend years studying for an exam so important that it has the potential to determine their entire future. Imagine being such a hopeless student that your parents and teachers urge you to guess the answers, believing you have a better chance of stumbling upon the correct choice than through any logical reasoning. This is the predicament faced by the protagonists of KIM Min-ha’s horror comedy Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary. We meet Jiyeon (played by Son Joo-yeon), an aspiring film director and avid cinephile; her devoted camerawoman Hyun-jung (Kim Do-yeon), and the budding actress Eun-byul (Jung Da-eun) — three high school seniors with big dreams but an even bigger problem: their abysmal grades and test scores. Success hinges on gaining admission to a prestigious university, which, in turn, requires stellar test scores. However, with the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) fast approaching, these
Continue reading →
DocumentariesEventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsThriller
Whether you’re into horror, thrillers, science fiction, or other genre cinema, Popcorn Frights — Florida’s premiere film festival destination for such fare — has something for you. Running August 8–18, 2024, with both in-person and virtual programming options, you can even join in on the movie madness from the comfort of your own couch! Following is the official press release. Popcorn Frights celebrates its 10th anniversary with a first wave announcement headlined by 24 boundary-pushing and mind-enhancing feature films, including eleven world premieres as well as a stacked cult classics lineup that pays homage to horror’s titans, and with many more screams, surprises, delights, and film premieres, yet to come! To add to the pure mayhem of its anniversary celebration, Popcorn Frights’ in-theater experience will be offered free and open to the public, as a gift back to the community for ten years of their dedicated support and moviegoing love. Popcorn Frights’ free festival is made possible by the generous
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
If you watch J-horror, you have likely heard of director Kôji Shiraishi. He has 95 directing credits on IMDB, with his most well-known film to Western audiences perhaps being the 2016 phantom face-off Sadako vs. Kayako. With his latest feature House of Sayuri (AKA Sayuri; Japan, 2024), he pulls off remarkable magic with tonal shifts to deliver a wholly satisfying haunted house spookfest. Head of the household Akio Kamiki (Sen Kajihara) has worked hard to move his wife, three children, and parents from a cramped city apartment into a spacious house all their own. Alas, the angry spirit of Sayuri, a girl who was murdered there, isn’t as happy about the situation as the new residents, and she would just as soon see them dead. Teen son Norio (Ryoka Minamide), his grandmother who suffers from dementia (Toshie Negishi), and his new school friend Sumida (Hana Kondo) — who happens to have a special sense about supernatural occurrences — need to
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Remember way back to like last year when Severin released their collection of Italian Gothic fright flicks in a handy box set called Danza Macabra? Well, they went and released a second volume (and because I’m woefully behind, a third set as well… review coming soon) so lets do the film by film bag, shall we? First up is Antonio Margheriti’s (Yor: The Hunter From the Future) and Sergio Corbucci’s (1966’s Django) Castle of Blood from 1964, doubtless an answer to then-popular Edgar Alan Poe adaptations coming from legendary producer Roger Corman… hell, Poe even appears as a character in this very narrative (played by The Bloodstained Butterfly’s Silvano Tranquilli)! Speaking of Poe as we are, he’s balls deep into describing the final act of his story Berenice to his chum Lord Thomas Blackwood (Umberto Raho, The Last Man on Earth) when they are joined by journalist Alan Foster (Georges Rivière) who believes that the supernatural is a load of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
Indera (Malaysia, 2024) Although Malaysian horror Indera is, according to the official film description, “set against the backdrop of the violent Memali Incident in 1985,” director Ming Jin Woo’s feature should work fine for viewers with little-to-no prior knowledge of the event. Handyman Joe (Shaheizy Sam) does his best to raise his young daughter Sofia (Samara Kenzo) after her mother (Ashira Shafinaz) — who was also his wife — died in a tragic accident. Penniless and evicted, Joe takes on the position of caretaker for an older Javanese woman (Ruminah Sidek) who is raising three young orphans. The locals give the woman a wide berth for mysterious reasons. Fans of supernatural cinema should find plenty to be impressed with here, with top-notch performances from the main cast members, and although Indera contains some tried-and-true horror tropes, it puts an intriguing local flavor on matters, and Woo directs with a fine sense of building mystery and delivering chills. Help, I’m Alien
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Whale Bones (Japan, 2023) Horror-adjacent Japanese feature Whale Bones delivers social commentary about the fickleness, loneliness, and desperation of life on social media apps, along with a good deal of mystery. Salaryman Mamiya (Motoki Ochiai) is unceremoniously dumped by his fiancée. On the advice of a coworker, he uses a dating app to meet someone for a hook-up, who turns out to be a young lady named Aska (Ano, who also has a singing career). Aska commits apparent suicide in Mamiya’s bed, after which he attempts to bury her body in the woods — only to find it missing from the trunk of his car. Director Takamasa Oe crafts a vibe heavy on the unease as an increasingly paranoid Mamiya then encounters many people who are obsessed with Aska’s online life and are doing their best to learn why she hasn’t added new video posts for some time. The world of Whale Bones exists somewhere between the real, surreal, and
Continue reading →
