Asian Reviews

SYNOPSIS: An orphaned baby adopted by wolves grows up and becomes a talented martial artist who swears revenge on her parents’ killer. REVIEW: Wolf Devil Woman (1982) is a Taiwanese fantasy-horror (and, I would argue, attempted comedy) film starring, penned, and directed by Pearl Cheung Ling, an actress well-known for her work in martial arts films in the 1970s and …

SYNOPSIS: A teenager called Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Tokoyama, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko’s “family circle”, which grows darker after the mass suicide of 54 high school girls.

Rate This MovieSYNOPSIS: Future Japan has fallen into a state of anarchy and pupils are refusing to go to school. To deal with this the state has instituted the Battle Royale Act. The 9th Grade class from Zenjutsi High School goes on a field trip only to be gassed unconscious in the bus. They come around on an island where …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: Soichi Negishi moved to Tokyo to chase his dream of becoming a musician playing stylish, Swedish-style pop. Instead, he finds himself leading the death metal band Detroit Metal City, or DMC, as the costumed and grotesquely made-up “demon emperor” Johannes Krauser II. Although he hates the role and the things he has to do as a …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: Punk rock gangs and music groups clash with one another and the brutal police force in a futuristic Tokyo setting. REVIEW: The Name Sogo Ishii may not instantly ring bells when talking about Japanese cinema. His filmography, although quite extensive, extending from the mid 70’s all the way to this decade, is not particularly widely known …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: A helpless Taxi driver, a mysterious delivery boy, a 30 years abandoned motel, a touching past, all come together to form a strange tale. One day, a strange passenger Xiao Ma hires a taxi driver named Map King, paying him a huge sum of money to take him to an abandoned old motel. The Chun Lei …

SYNOPSIS: Hikari is a boy who is bullied and teased by the other boys at school because he has the odd distinction of having an electricity pole growing out of his back. However, one of his classmates, a girl named Momo, comes to his rescue. Hikari thanks her by sharing his secret possession with her: a time machine. He then …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: A mother and her six year old girl move into a new building. A tenant who lives below her complains about noises coming from her apartment. Even though she lives very quietly, the complaints of noise continue. The mother soon realizes everyone in the building acts bizarre to the point of being scary. The six year …

SYNOPSIS: A young pathologist seeks answers to the mysterious death of a friend and soon comes into contact with the same cursed videotape that caused the death of the friend’s wife and son, which is haunted by the curse of Sadako, a relentless spirit. REVIEW: Most people haven’t heard of this film, and not without reason. Rasen is the first …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: In a small town in Japan, Kirie comes upon her boyfriend’s father silently videotaping a snail. He seems unaware of her presence and she thinks no more of it. Later, the mans obsession with spirals becomes more and more bizarre, ending in his suicide in a washing machine which turn his body into a spiral. Soon …

SYNOPSIS: A traumatized young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name “Tomie” but is unable to recall where she knows it from. REVIEW: You never forget the first time you encounter Junji Ito. Some of you may have stumbled across the image of a shark with …

Rate This Movie(aka: Batoru gâru: Tokyo crisis wars) SYNOPSIS: A meteor lands in Japan and the fallout creates a “shield” around Tokyo, encasing the city in a foggy darkness. A state of martial law is declared. People are in a panic as violent crime and corruption spreads throughout the region and punk gangs are ruling the streets. As if things …

SYNOPSIS: A sorcerers’ cult resurrects two of their slain members as one dual-sexed monster, who will achieve ultimate invincibility and strength if it is allowed to eat the brain of a female virgin born during a spiritual time. REVIEW: Hong Kong fantasy-action sex-comedy The Wizard’s Curse is directed by Cheung-Yan Yuen, whose previous works include Kung Fu Hero and The …

Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: Often referred to as one of the scariest films ever made PULSE tells the story of a group of young friends rocked by the sudden suicide of one of their own and his subsequent ghostly reappearance in grainy computer and video images. Is he trying to contact them from beyond the grave or is there something …

SYNOPSIS: “The film revolves around Park Hee-bong, a man in his late sixties. He runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Han River and lives with his two sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter. The Parks seem to lead a quite ordinary and peaceful life, but maybe they are a bit poorer than the average Seoulite. Hee-bong’s …