CategoryForeign
International horror: J-horror, European extremity, Latin American shocks and the films Hollywood keeps remaking.
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Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Once again, our coverage of Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) reviews is cowritten by Film Festival Editor Joseph Perry and Guest Contributing Writer Chris Weatherspoon. A man of the world, guest reviewer Chris Weatherspoon has lived in South Korea for “quite a bit.” A huge fan of all cinema, Chris also works locally in the entertainment industry, and knows what he is talking about . . . alright!? Focus (South Korea, 2026); review by Chris Weatherspoon Director Sim Gyu-ho’s Focus is a slowly unraveling ghost story about a man who can’t stop looking through a lens even when it’s costing him everything in front of it. The film opens on a campsite, where photographer Kim Eun-ho and his girlfriend Woo-jung are settling in for the night; a walk to borrow salt turns into something stranger, something the film wisely doesn’t explain. After the opening sequence, we learn that Eun-ho is a struggling photographer who has been with the same girlfriend,
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Italian filmmakers well and truly got balls deep into any and all American genre cinema trends in the ‘70s and ‘80s in order to make some dough. That eloquent statement brings us to the subject of Discoploitation… yup, that’s right, or pals in Italy saw Saturday Night Fever and said “Fuck yeah, we can do that!” And they did… in a way… and now I’m going to take a gander at the results courtesy of Severin’s new Blu-ray boxset; Disco Italiana! Things kick off with American Fever (1978)… Our hero Tony (Mircha Carven, SS Experiment Love Camp) works as a mechanic by day and tears it up in his white suit on the disco floor at night… he’s also an aspiring actor. All isn’t carburetors and the Hustle however, and Tony finds himself getting involved with Lisa (Zora Kerova, Antropophagus, Cannibal Ferox)… yet another aspiring thespian that he talks down from a suicide attempt. While contending with that, Tony has
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Unholy Night (Canada, 2026) Official Synopsis Gino’s traditional family Christmas Eve turns into a bloody battle for survival when his long-dead grandma drops by and goes on a murderous rampage. Amid the chaos, Gino reunites with his ex and the dysfunctional duo must avoid his dead Italian relatives popping up all around the neighbourhood as they search for a way to get rid of these Yuletide revenants and survive his family Christmas. Review Unholy Night is a horror comedy with heart. Squabbles between the Italian family members on Christmas Eve and the problems that arise when relatives return from the dead drive the comedy elements winningly. Director Michael Gabriele balances the humor and the horror nicely, along with relationship and family drama. The ensemble cast members all give solid performances, and the makeup for the revenants is satisfyingly creepy. These living dead can speak, cook, and move around well, and can sometimes be calmed down when they become aggressive enough
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Official Fantasia synopsis from program notes written by Vincenzo Nappi After learning of an evil rock ’n’ roll music promoter’s plan to use heavy metal as a means of enforcing society’s cyclical self-destructive nature and to keep individuals from true self-realization, a metallic-skinned and incredibly well-dressed alien beams down to earth to try to save humanity. However, as his presence attracts the attention of private investigators and corrupt police forces, the stranger must fight to keep society from reaching its hedonistic end. Review Devotees of genre-film musicals that combine horror and science fiction elements with rock and roll are bound to get a kick out of Canadian International Pictures’ terrific new 4K restoration of director Tibor Takács’ 1978 Canadian feature Metal Messiah. Written by Stephen Zoller and based on his play, the film is a gritty journey from the mind of noirish detective Philip Chandler (Richard Ward Allen) to the streets and rock clubs of late seventies Toronto, to places
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Official Fantasia synopsis from program notes written by Rupert Bottenberg: There’s a rumour going round about a cursed tree standing in the middle of a supposedly haunted cemetery, deep in the forest. For Shota and his university friends, it’s a chance to tempt fate and give themselves a proper scare by visiting this legendary spot in the dead of night. Once there, their courage immediately falters at the gloomy sight of the place. There is also the abnormally deafening sound of cicadas, which adds to the eerie aspect of the site. Things quickly spiral out of control for the four of them, as one of them, Ann, starts babbling strange words and behaving completely irrationally. Review Famed J-horror filmmaker Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge franchise, Ox-Head Village, Sana) helms The Mouths (Japan, 2026), an intriguing approach to the genre that feels somewhat uneven in its pacing and approach but that also delivers some solid chills. The ensemble cast members are all
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Official Fantasia synopsis from program notes written by Rupert Bottenberg: The Divine Heir of the sacred land of Ashina has been kidnapped for malevolent purposes. His sworn protector, the stoic shinobi Sekiro, must rescue the child—the fate of all Ashina depends on it. Adapting SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE, the award-winning video game released by FromSoftware in 2019, the highly anticipated anime adventure SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT sees the war-torn Japan of the Sengoku period further fractured by conspiracy, betrayal, and bloody boss battles to beggar belief. Review Genre film aficionados, the Japanese anime combining supernatural elements and shinobi swordplay that you have been hoping for has arrived in the form of director Kenichi Kutsuna’s Sekiro: No Defeat (Japan, 2026). Having never played the video game that is the original source for this anime, I can only view this feature as a stand-alone film. The animation is gorgeous, the storytelling is both classic and timeless, and the Japanese voice actors deliver brilliantly.
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Once again, our coverage of Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) reviews is cowritten by Film Festival Editor Joseph Perry and Guest Contributing Writer Chris Weatherspoon. A man of the world, guest reviewer Chris Weatherspoon has lived in South Korea for “quite a bit.” A huge fan of all cinema, Chris also works locally in the entertainment industry, and knows what he is talking about . . . alright!? Knock (South Korea, 2026); review by Chris Weatherspoon Official BIFAN synopsis from program notes written by Kim Hyeung-Seok: In his first feature, The Berefts (2024), co-directed with Huh Jang, director Jung Bum presented a desolate portrait of home and family. With Knock, his first solo feature, he turns to a reality just as bleak—perhaps even darker. A documentary crew filming a youth care facility turns its camera on the teachers and children there. Yet there are truths the camera cannot capture. When In-a, a former resident of the facility who now works
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Once again, our coverage of Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) reviews is cowritten by Film Festival Editor Joseph Perry and Guest Contributing Writer Chris Weatherspoon. A man of the world, guest reviewer Chris Weatherspoon has lived in South Korea for “quite a bit.” A huge fan of all cinema, Chris also works locally in the entertainment industry, and knows what he is talking about . . . alright!? Killing Time (South Korea, 2026); review by Chris Weatherspoon Official BIFAN synopsis from program notes written by Kim Hyung-Seok: The popular horror YouTube channel ‘Killing Time’ is forced to shut down after a fatal accident during a live broadcast. Later, in hopes of making a comeback, the channel’s staff plan even more sensational content, this time set in an abandoned psychiatric hospital deep in the mountains. Can they make it through the broadcast without another disaster? Review Director Jang Jun-yeop’s Killing Time opens with unease baked right into the premise: a mysterious
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesParanormalReviewsThriller
In a seaside 19th Century German Village, young Laurin’s (Dóra Szinetár) pappy, Arne (János Derzsi) is shipping out for another long sojourn at sea leaving our heroine with her mother, Flora (Brigitte Karner) and grandmother, Olga (Hédi Temessy). Meanwhile, a sinister cloaked figure stalks the fog-shrouded nights, putting a murder on the local child populace. One such murder is witnessed by Flora, and she ends up six feet under right quick! But has time passes, it becomes ever-more apparent that Laurin can seemingly receive visions from her mother from beyond the grave… visions of not only the face and corpse of her mother herself, but ominous portents such as a black dog and obsidian kite… but will she be able to identify the psycho terrorizing the village?!! Coming from Director Robert Sigl (who also co-wrote the picture along with Ádám Rozgonyi), Laurin is an atmospheric journey into a surreal, and at times sinister, world. While at it’s heart, the film
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Ancestral Beasts (Canada, 2026) Official Synopsis After cutting ties with her toxic sister, Elyse (Morgan Holmstrom) retreats to her rural ancestral home to rebuild her mental health. But a grotesque, centipede-like creature begins to stalk her, a physical manifestation of buried trauma. As it feeds on her emotional turmoil, Elyse must confront the past she tried to escape to save herself and those she loves. Review Morgan Holmstrom is excellent in Ancestral Beasts as Elyse, a Red River Métis woman who goes back to the family home where her mother committed suicide in an attempt to get away from her verbally abusive older sister Nikki (Darla Contois). Writer/director Tim Riedel takes Elyse on a riveting, harrowing journey in which a diabolical creature is a metaphor for mental illness, and Holmstrom nails her character in a role that certainly wouldn’t be easy to play. She portrays the different emotions through which her character goes winningly, and is reason enough to recommend
Continue reading →
More from Foreign
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Once again, our coverage of Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) reviews is cowritten by Film Festival Editor Joseph Perry and Guest Contributing Writer Chris Weatherspoon. A man of the world, guest reviewer Chris Weatherspoon has lived in South Korea for “quite a bit.” A huge fan of all cinema, Chris also works locally in the entertainment industry, and knows what he is talking about . . . alright!? Focus (South Korea, 2026); review by Chris Weatherspoon Director Sim Gyu-ho’s Focus is a slowly unraveling ghost story about a man who can’t stop looking through a lens even when it’s costing him everything in front of it. The film opens on a campsite, where photographer Kim Eun-ho and his girlfriend Woo-jung are settling in for the night; a walk to borrow salt turns into something stranger, something the film wisely doesn’t explain. After the opening sequence, we learn that Eun-ho is a struggling photographer who has been with the same girlfriend,
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Italian filmmakers well and truly got balls deep into any and all American genre cinema trends in the ‘70s and ‘80s in order to make some dough. That eloquent statement brings us to the subject of Discoploitation… yup, that’s right, or pals in Italy saw Saturday Night Fever and said “Fuck yeah, we can do that!” And they did… in a way… and now I’m going to take a gander at the results courtesy of Severin’s new Blu-ray boxset; Disco Italiana! Things kick off with American Fever (1978)… Our hero Tony (Mircha Carven, SS Experiment Love Camp) works as a mechanic by day and tears it up in his white suit on the disco floor at night… he’s also an aspiring actor. All isn’t carburetors and the Hustle however, and Tony finds himself getting involved with Lisa (Zora Kerova, Antropophagus, Cannibal Ferox)… yet another aspiring thespian that he talks down from a suicide attempt. While contending with that, Tony has
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Unholy Night (Canada, 2026) Official Synopsis Gino’s traditional family Christmas Eve turns into a bloody battle for survival when his long-dead grandma drops by and goes on a murderous rampage. Amid the chaos, Gino reunites with his ex and the dysfunctional duo must avoid his dead Italian relatives popping up all around the neighbourhood as they search for a way to get rid of these Yuletide revenants and survive his family Christmas. Review Unholy Night is a horror comedy with heart. Squabbles between the Italian family members on Christmas Eve and the problems that arise when relatives return from the dead drive the comedy elements winningly. Director Michael Gabriele balances the humor and the horror nicely, along with relationship and family drama. The ensemble cast members all give solid performances, and the makeup for the revenants is satisfyingly creepy. These living dead can speak, cook, and move around well, and can sometimes be calmed down when they become aggressive enough
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Official Fantasia synopsis from program notes written by Vincenzo Nappi After learning of an evil rock ’n’ roll music promoter’s plan to use heavy metal as a means of enforcing society’s cyclical self-destructive nature and to keep individuals from true self-realization, a metallic-skinned and incredibly well-dressed alien beams down to earth to try to save humanity. However, as his presence attracts the attention of private investigators and corrupt police forces, the stranger must fight to keep society from reaching its hedonistic end. Review Devotees of genre-film musicals that combine horror and science fiction elements with rock and roll are bound to get a kick out of Canadian International Pictures’ terrific new 4K restoration of director Tibor Takács’ 1978 Canadian feature Metal Messiah. Written by Stephen Zoller and based on his play, the film is a gritty journey from the mind of noirish detective Philip Chandler (Richard Ward Allen) to the streets and rock clubs of late seventies Toronto, to places
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Official Fantasia synopsis from program notes written by Rupert Bottenberg: There’s a rumour going round about a cursed tree standing in the middle of a supposedly haunted cemetery, deep in the forest. For Shota and his university friends, it’s a chance to tempt fate and give themselves a proper scare by visiting this legendary spot in the dead of night. Once there, their courage immediately falters at the gloomy sight of the place. There is also the abnormally deafening sound of cicadas, which adds to the eerie aspect of the site. Things quickly spiral out of control for the four of them, as one of them, Ann, starts babbling strange words and behaving completely irrationally. Review Famed J-horror filmmaker Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge franchise, Ox-Head Village, Sana) helms The Mouths (Japan, 2026), an intriguing approach to the genre that feels somewhat uneven in its pacing and approach but that also delivers some solid chills. The ensemble cast members are all
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Official Fantasia synopsis from program notes written by Rupert Bottenberg: The Divine Heir of the sacred land of Ashina has been kidnapped for malevolent purposes. His sworn protector, the stoic shinobi Sekiro, must rescue the child—the fate of all Ashina depends on it. Adapting SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE, the award-winning video game released by FromSoftware in 2019, the highly anticipated anime adventure SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT sees the war-torn Japan of the Sengoku period further fractured by conspiracy, betrayal, and bloody boss battles to beggar belief. Review Genre film aficionados, the Japanese anime combining supernatural elements and shinobi swordplay that you have been hoping for has arrived in the form of director Kenichi Kutsuna’s Sekiro: No Defeat (Japan, 2026). Having never played the video game that is the original source for this anime, I can only view this feature as a stand-alone film. The animation is gorgeous, the storytelling is both classic and timeless, and the Japanese voice actors deliver brilliantly.
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Once again, our coverage of Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) reviews is cowritten by Film Festival Editor Joseph Perry and Guest Contributing Writer Chris Weatherspoon. A man of the world, guest reviewer Chris Weatherspoon has lived in South Korea for “quite a bit.” A huge fan of all cinema, Chris also works locally in the entertainment industry, and knows what he is talking about . . . alright!? Knock (South Korea, 2026); review by Chris Weatherspoon Official BIFAN synopsis from program notes written by Kim Hyeung-Seok: In his first feature, The Berefts (2024), co-directed with Huh Jang, director Jung Bum presented a desolate portrait of home and family. With Knock, his first solo feature, he turns to a reality just as bleak—perhaps even darker. A documentary crew filming a youth care facility turns its camera on the teachers and children there. Yet there are truths the camera cannot capture. When In-a, a former resident of the facility who now works
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Once again, our coverage of Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) reviews is cowritten by Film Festival Editor Joseph Perry and Guest Contributing Writer Chris Weatherspoon. A man of the world, guest reviewer Chris Weatherspoon has lived in South Korea for “quite a bit.” A huge fan of all cinema, Chris also works locally in the entertainment industry, and knows what he is talking about . . . alright!? Killing Time (South Korea, 2026); review by Chris Weatherspoon Official BIFAN synopsis from program notes written by Kim Hyung-Seok: The popular horror YouTube channel ‘Killing Time’ is forced to shut down after a fatal accident during a live broadcast. Later, in hopes of making a comeback, the channel’s staff plan even more sensational content, this time set in an abandoned psychiatric hospital deep in the mountains. Can they make it through the broadcast without another disaster? Review Director Jang Jun-yeop’s Killing Time opens with unease baked right into the premise: a mysterious
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesParanormalReviewsThriller
In a seaside 19th Century German Village, young Laurin’s (Dóra Szinetár) pappy, Arne (János Derzsi) is shipping out for another long sojourn at sea leaving our heroine with her mother, Flora (Brigitte Karner) and grandmother, Olga (Hédi Temessy). Meanwhile, a sinister cloaked figure stalks the fog-shrouded nights, putting a murder on the local child populace. One such murder is witnessed by Flora, and she ends up six feet under right quick! But has time passes, it becomes ever-more apparent that Laurin can seemingly receive visions from her mother from beyond the grave… visions of not only the face and corpse of her mother herself, but ominous portents such as a black dog and obsidian kite… but will she be able to identify the psycho terrorizing the village?!! Coming from Director Robert Sigl (who also co-wrote the picture along with Ádám Rozgonyi), Laurin is an atmospheric journey into a surreal, and at times sinister, world. While at it’s heart, the film
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Ancestral Beasts (Canada, 2026) Official Synopsis After cutting ties with her toxic sister, Elyse (Morgan Holmstrom) retreats to her rural ancestral home to rebuild her mental health. But a grotesque, centipede-like creature begins to stalk her, a physical manifestation of buried trauma. As it feeds on her emotional turmoil, Elyse must confront the past she tried to escape to save herself and those she loves. Review Morgan Holmstrom is excellent in Ancestral Beasts as Elyse, a Red River Métis woman who goes back to the family home where her mother committed suicide in an attempt to get away from her verbally abusive older sister Nikki (Darla Contois). Writer/director Tim Riedel takes Elyse on a riveting, harrowing journey in which a diabolical creature is a metaphor for mental illness, and Holmstrom nails her character in a role that certainly wouldn’t be easy to play. She portrays the different emotions through which her character goes winningly, and is reason enough to recommend
Continue reading →
