CategoryForeign
International horror: J-horror, European extremity, Latin American shocks and the films Hollywood keeps remaking.
913 stories
ForeignIndieMoviesParanormal
Teen mom Chloe returns home to Eden Rock in order to have the support of her mother in raising her infant son. Man it would suck if the place was a concentration camp a hundred or so years ago where babies were summarily executed. Anyway, that baby gets to constantly cryin’, Chloe falls into a depression, and begins seeing and hearing signs that her baby may be haunted. Despite the fact that her family and psychologist think she is just stressed the F out being a new mother and all, the evil omens grow ever more intense and dark secrets are revealed that push our heroine further over the edge. The Lullaby is a dreary, dark, and at times difficult fright flick to endure. Chloe (played to perfection by Reine Swart) is a stressed out, angsty hot mess, which definitely helps audience unease, and the underlying subject matter of violence towards infants is rather off-putting as well. I’m of two
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesTrue CrimeTrue Story
This is probably going to be one of the shorter reviews I have ever written…mainly because I think if I spend any more time time thinking about Cruel Summer I may get sick. Cruel Summer tells the charming (and supposedly true) tale of a young autistic man named Danny (Richard Pawulski) from the inner-city that gets a chance to go to the country thanks to a Governmental program. While there he encounters a real psycho of a human being who plans Danny’s demise after his equally atrocious girlfriend concocts a lie about the youth. You can guess the rest. Let’s see if I can put a positive on some of this…I guess if you want to see a film that fully displays the cruelty and unfairness that life can throw at someone then Cruel Summer is the picture for you. There is no epic revenge, no hope, barely any retribution…it’s just one unfortunate soul encountering a force that is out
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Det. Azman (Shaheizy Sam) is charged with investigating a series of bizarre murders all marked by the same horrific details; veins torn from the bodies and drained of blood, beads placed under the victim’s eyelids, and strange puncture wounds on their jugulars. Adding to the mystery, heron feathers (a bird that is native to Borneo) and shards of glass are found at each crime scene. Azman enlists the help of ex-crime scene photographer Adam (a man that now spends his time taking pictures of his comely neighbor from his apartment window) who quickly identifies the shards as glass plates that were utilized in photography a century ago. Adam takes the plates to Uncle Heng (Chew Kin-wah) who develops them revealing they were taken by Norwegian explorer Carl Lumholtz, who recorded native customs in Borneo a century ago…customs that resemble the fates of the murder victims. The strangeness escalates as Belian (Nicholas Suprata) enters the film…because B-man is a sort of
Continue reading →
ForeignParanormalTrue Story
Japan is a unique country because of its ability to embrace the changing world around them while still having hold of its cultural roots. Storytelling, a fixture in Japanese entertainment, evolved over the years and the introduction of motion picture help not only tell stories of the past to newer generations but to outsiders curious about Japan’s culture. One story that’s been told for generations has been seen on stage numerous times and performed at Kabuki venues for as long as many can remember. This tale of betrayal and vengeance from the other world has made an impact on the entertainment industry that it can be said it inspired movies like Ju-On: The Grudge and The Ring, not only is the story famous for its impact on modern Japanese ghost stories but it’s said to be cursed because the vengeful spirit that’s center of the story is real. The story is called Yotsuya Kaidan, sometimes referred to The Story of
Continue reading →
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Terror Film’s sister company Global Digital Releasing is gearing up for the digital release of Dain Said’s supernatural thriller Interchange The film is slated for a Tuesday, February 20th launch on digital platforms. In the film, a photographer suffers from strange hallucinations, after witnessing a bizarre murder. He requests help from a detective only to be drawn into a deeper mystery. Written and directed by Dain Said (Bunahon), Interchange stars Ledil Putra, Prisia Nasution, Shaheizy Sam and Nicholas Saputra. After premiering at TIFF in 2016, the film has toured festivals that includes L’Etrange Film Festival (Paris, 2016), BFI London International Film Festival (Thrill, 2016), Singapore International Film Festival (Opening Film, 2016) and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (Belgium, 2016). The film has met with critical claim, at many of these prestigious appearances. The story follows Adam (Putra), a forensic photographer who has become emotionally distraught and suffers from strange hallucinations, since witnessing the aftermath of a bizarre murder; he
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Lone (Michael Ning) and Yeung (Louis Cheung) are two anime-lovin’ dudes (with their fav being Double Dragons of Heaven and Earth…with protagonists that look a lot like our heroes…or do our heroes look like the characters…more on that in a bit) who dress as pandas to make a living. As perfectly peachy as that sounds, our man Lone has a few problems in his life; like the fact that his ex-con father has returned after a decade in the big house, to try and make amends for injuring Lone’s step-mother, Shan (Carrie Ng), in a car crash that left the former Cantonese opera star crippled and housebound (and resulted in her brother’s death to boot)…or that his last relationship was six years ago (though he and Yeung both have a crush on the paranormal researcher Yit (Cherry Ngan) who happens to be Shan’s niece)…well, at least nothing could be stranger than that, right? You know the answer to that is
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Oh man, things are tough all over for Sheila…her sis has gone and got herself mixed up (courtesy of those lovely ol’ drugs and brainwashing) in a religious cult holed up in a commune in the jungles of New Guinea (totally not Jonestown) led by the enigmatic Jonas (real subtle flick…real subtle). As if the whole evil cult wasn’t bad enough, the surrounding area is home to some carnivorous cannibals (are there any other kind really?) who want to make a meal out of Sheila-baby, the cultists…pretty much anyone they can sink their terrible teeth into. Soon Shelia, along with her hard-ass mercenary pal Mark, infiltrate the cult and then attempt to escape with their lives and asses intact! Eaten Alive is indicative of all that is great, and all that kinda sucks about the Italian cannibal sub-genre. Brought to life by legendary director Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City…and 1972’s Man From Deep River who’s one scene of cannibalism
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviewsTrailers
We all had or still have that fear of growing up, where we have to abandon the little things that entertained us as children, see the world differently, and overall just changing into someone different than who we once were. In Thierry Poiraud’s 2015 horror drama film Don’t Grow Up or as it’s called in Europe Alone (Don’t Grow Up), makes the idea of growing up a death sentence on a fictional island where a strange virus only affects the adults, turning them into ravenousness killers. Warning: lots and lots of Spoilers ahead! Don’t want the story spoiled? Scroll down to the final picture. The story revolves around a group of teens who live in a home for children. Bastian (Fergus Riordan) who tried committing suicide as a result of blaming himself for his little sister’s death, Liam (McKell David) a brash individual who always brags about how rich his father is all the while being neglectful to his girlfriend
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Red Krokodil tells the tale of a man hopelessly addicted to a drug that causes him to fall into physical decay in a tiny apartment located within a post-apocalyptic city. His mental state begins to fall to hell in a hand basket as well as he begins to have strange hallucinations of a rabbit headed interloper…then the nightmares become worse, and so does reality! What’s good about Red Krokodil? Well for starters, the effects utilized to show our protagonist’s rotting away are really well done. There’s plenty of weeping sores, gaping holes, and bodily fluids to keep the gore hounds well fed. The fantasy elements presented featuring rabbit masks, strange openings within the apartment, peering disembodied eyes et. al. were really well done as well, and made the piece more of a fever dream than just the drug induced nightmare it could have been…in other words, this ain’t just a body horror flick creeps (and the allegories to war both
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieTrailers
Warning: Potential spoilers ahead! I’m a fan of zombies, I’m a fan of movies, so, therefore, I’m a fan of (a good) zombie movie. When I heard about a new movie starring Ellen Page coming out called The Cured about zombies that were cured and trying to re-enter society, I thought, “Oh they made In the Flesh into a movie?” but after seeing the trailer and reading what critics are saying, I’ll be honest I was shocked. Many are hailing the upcoming Irish film as “original” and “unique” but what I saw is a copy of an original. Over time many zombie films have had little moments where zombies act human again or show signs that they remember a small part of themselves, granted usually for dramatic effect before they are killed right before the eyes of a past loved one. In 2013 there was Warm Bodies, a horror rom-com about a zombie falling in love with a human girl
Continue reading →
More from Foreign
ForeignIndieMoviesParanormal
Teen mom Chloe returns home to Eden Rock in order to have the support of her mother in raising her infant son. Man it would suck if the place was a concentration camp a hundred or so years ago where babies were summarily executed. Anyway, that baby gets to constantly cryin’, Chloe falls into a depression, and begins seeing and hearing signs that her baby may be haunted. Despite the fact that her family and psychologist think she is just stressed the F out being a new mother and all, the evil omens grow ever more intense and dark secrets are revealed that push our heroine further over the edge. The Lullaby is a dreary, dark, and at times difficult fright flick to endure. Chloe (played to perfection by Reine Swart) is a stressed out, angsty hot mess, which definitely helps audience unease, and the underlying subject matter of violence towards infants is rather off-putting as well. I’m of two
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesTrue CrimeTrue Story
This is probably going to be one of the shorter reviews I have ever written…mainly because I think if I spend any more time time thinking about Cruel Summer I may get sick. Cruel Summer tells the charming (and supposedly true) tale of a young autistic man named Danny (Richard Pawulski) from the inner-city that gets a chance to go to the country thanks to a Governmental program. While there he encounters a real psycho of a human being who plans Danny’s demise after his equally atrocious girlfriend concocts a lie about the youth. You can guess the rest. Let’s see if I can put a positive on some of this…I guess if you want to see a film that fully displays the cruelty and unfairness that life can throw at someone then Cruel Summer is the picture for you. There is no epic revenge, no hope, barely any retribution…it’s just one unfortunate soul encountering a force that is out
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Det. Azman (Shaheizy Sam) is charged with investigating a series of bizarre murders all marked by the same horrific details; veins torn from the bodies and drained of blood, beads placed under the victim’s eyelids, and strange puncture wounds on their jugulars. Adding to the mystery, heron feathers (a bird that is native to Borneo) and shards of glass are found at each crime scene. Azman enlists the help of ex-crime scene photographer Adam (a man that now spends his time taking pictures of his comely neighbor from his apartment window) who quickly identifies the shards as glass plates that were utilized in photography a century ago. Adam takes the plates to Uncle Heng (Chew Kin-wah) who develops them revealing they were taken by Norwegian explorer Carl Lumholtz, who recorded native customs in Borneo a century ago…customs that resemble the fates of the murder victims. The strangeness escalates as Belian (Nicholas Suprata) enters the film…because B-man is a sort of
Continue reading →
ForeignParanormalTrue Story
Japan is a unique country because of its ability to embrace the changing world around them while still having hold of its cultural roots. Storytelling, a fixture in Japanese entertainment, evolved over the years and the introduction of motion picture help not only tell stories of the past to newer generations but to outsiders curious about Japan’s culture. One story that’s been told for generations has been seen on stage numerous times and performed at Kabuki venues for as long as many can remember. This tale of betrayal and vengeance from the other world has made an impact on the entertainment industry that it can be said it inspired movies like Ju-On: The Grudge and The Ring, not only is the story famous for its impact on modern Japanese ghost stories but it’s said to be cursed because the vengeful spirit that’s center of the story is real. The story is called Yotsuya Kaidan, sometimes referred to The Story of
Continue reading →
ForeignTrailers
Terror Film’s sister company Global Digital Releasing is gearing up for the digital release of Dain Said’s supernatural thriller Interchange The film is slated for a Tuesday, February 20th launch on digital platforms. In the film, a photographer suffers from strange hallucinations, after witnessing a bizarre murder. He requests help from a detective only to be drawn into a deeper mystery. Written and directed by Dain Said (Bunahon), Interchange stars Ledil Putra, Prisia Nasution, Shaheizy Sam and Nicholas Saputra. After premiering at TIFF in 2016, the film has toured festivals that includes L’Etrange Film Festival (Paris, 2016), BFI London International Film Festival (Thrill, 2016), Singapore International Film Festival (Opening Film, 2016) and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (Belgium, 2016). The film has met with critical claim, at many of these prestigious appearances. The story follows Adam (Putra), a forensic photographer who has become emotionally distraught and suffers from strange hallucinations, since witnessing the aftermath of a bizarre murder; he
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Lone (Michael Ning) and Yeung (Louis Cheung) are two anime-lovin’ dudes (with their fav being Double Dragons of Heaven and Earth…with protagonists that look a lot like our heroes…or do our heroes look like the characters…more on that in a bit) who dress as pandas to make a living. As perfectly peachy as that sounds, our man Lone has a few problems in his life; like the fact that his ex-con father has returned after a decade in the big house, to try and make amends for injuring Lone’s step-mother, Shan (Carrie Ng), in a car crash that left the former Cantonese opera star crippled and housebound (and resulted in her brother’s death to boot)…or that his last relationship was six years ago (though he and Yeung both have a crush on the paranormal researcher Yit (Cherry Ngan) who happens to be Shan’s niece)…well, at least nothing could be stranger than that, right? You know the answer to that is
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Oh man, things are tough all over for Sheila…her sis has gone and got herself mixed up (courtesy of those lovely ol’ drugs and brainwashing) in a religious cult holed up in a commune in the jungles of New Guinea (totally not Jonestown) led by the enigmatic Jonas (real subtle flick…real subtle). As if the whole evil cult wasn’t bad enough, the surrounding area is home to some carnivorous cannibals (are there any other kind really?) who want to make a meal out of Sheila-baby, the cultists…pretty much anyone they can sink their terrible teeth into. Soon Shelia, along with her hard-ass mercenary pal Mark, infiltrate the cult and then attempt to escape with their lives and asses intact! Eaten Alive is indicative of all that is great, and all that kinda sucks about the Italian cannibal sub-genre. Brought to life by legendary director Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City…and 1972’s Man From Deep River who’s one scene of cannibalism
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviewsTrailers
We all had or still have that fear of growing up, where we have to abandon the little things that entertained us as children, see the world differently, and overall just changing into someone different than who we once were. In Thierry Poiraud’s 2015 horror drama film Don’t Grow Up or as it’s called in Europe Alone (Don’t Grow Up), makes the idea of growing up a death sentence on a fictional island where a strange virus only affects the adults, turning them into ravenousness killers. Warning: lots and lots of Spoilers ahead! Don’t want the story spoiled? Scroll down to the final picture. The story revolves around a group of teens who live in a home for children. Bastian (Fergus Riordan) who tried committing suicide as a result of blaming himself for his little sister’s death, Liam (McKell David) a brash individual who always brags about how rich his father is all the while being neglectful to his girlfriend
Continue reading →
ForeignMovies
Red Krokodil tells the tale of a man hopelessly addicted to a drug that causes him to fall into physical decay in a tiny apartment located within a post-apocalyptic city. His mental state begins to fall to hell in a hand basket as well as he begins to have strange hallucinations of a rabbit headed interloper…then the nightmares become worse, and so does reality! What’s good about Red Krokodil? Well for starters, the effects utilized to show our protagonist’s rotting away are really well done. There’s plenty of weeping sores, gaping holes, and bodily fluids to keep the gore hounds well fed. The fantasy elements presented featuring rabbit masks, strange openings within the apartment, peering disembodied eyes et. al. were really well done as well, and made the piece more of a fever dream than just the drug induced nightmare it could have been…in other words, this ain’t just a body horror flick creeps (and the allegories to war both
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieTrailers
Warning: Potential spoilers ahead! I’m a fan of zombies, I’m a fan of movies, so, therefore, I’m a fan of (a good) zombie movie. When I heard about a new movie starring Ellen Page coming out called The Cured about zombies that were cured and trying to re-enter society, I thought, “Oh they made In the Flesh into a movie?” but after seeing the trailer and reading what critics are saying, I’ll be honest I was shocked. Many are hailing the upcoming Irish film as “original” and “unique” but what I saw is a copy of an original. Over time many zombie films have had little moments where zombies act human again or show signs that they remember a small part of themselves, granted usually for dramatic effect before they are killed right before the eyes of a past loved one. In 2013 there was Warm Bodies, a horror rom-com about a zombie falling in love with a human girl
Continue reading →
