Deadball (デッドボール Deddobōru) is a 2011 Japanese splatter comedy film directed by Yudai Yamaguchi. The film stars Tak Sakaguchi as Jubeh Yakyu, a seventeen-year-old who accidentally kills his father with his extra powerful baseball arm. Years later, he is a juvenile delinquent and is sent to a reform school after killing over 50 people within a week.

The film premiered at the Fantasia Festival in 2011. Its reception has been more positive than the joint-directoral effort between Yamaguchi and Sakaguchi on their film Yakuza Weapon.

In modern-day Japan, the young Jubeh Yakyu practices his pitching and catching with his father only to discover that he has super powers by accidentally killing his father with the ball. This is seen by his younger adopted brother, Musashi Nakagawa. Some time later, Jubeh (Tak Sakaguchi), now 17, has become a juvenile delinquent responsible for 50 murders within a week. After being caught for his crime, Jubeh is sent to the Pterodactyl Juvenile Reformatory, run by governor Mifune (Ryosei Tayama), until his trial date. Jubeh shares a cell with the 16-year-old killer Shinosuki Suzuku, (Mari Hoshino) and also comes gets into conflicts with the chief warden Ishihara (Miho Ninagawa), who is the granddaughter of a World War II collaborator in the Nazis’ genocide programme.

In prison, Jubeh finds out that Musashi was also a prisonmate at one point but died there. Ishihara organises the prison baseball Juvie League and wants Jubeh to take his place in the prison’s team, known as the Pterodactyl Gauntlets. Jubeh has not played baseball since the accidental death of his father, but after Ishihara threatens to kill Shinosuki he agrees to play on the condition that the prison food is improved and all the players are pardoned of their crimes. The next day the Pterodactyls take on the St. Black Dahlia High School team, composed of young female psycho-butchers…

Wikipedia | IMDb

“Keita’sscreenplay adds some satirical bite to the schoolboy humor with send-ups of both extreme Right and Left. The epilogue set in North Korea featuring a silly impersonation of Kim Jung-il had South Koreans audiences in stitches during a festival screening. While sets and props are on the crude side, costume designer Masae Miyamotobrings flair to the picture by daringly crossing sexually vamp Goth fashion with the aggressive militaristic pomp of Nazi regalia.” The Hollywood Reporter

“It’s absolutely ridiculous to try to afford any serious critical analysis to a film that is this relentlessly senseless. The film is unequivocally unabashed about pushing all sorts of buttons and responses will vary dramatically based on how squeamish and/or insistent upon political correctness each individual viewer is … Deadball makes no bones about being as provocative, even intentionally offensive, as possible, and so enjoyment comes down to whether you’re going to spend an hour and half lurching from one aghast reaction to the next, or simply surrender to Deadball‘s patent lunacy.” Blu-ray.com

“All the while, the script is filled with quick one liners and subtle points of hilariousness (I laughed quite few times during this one) Such as “your ring-wormed infested genitals stink so bad, you’ll die”!” And if that’s not enough for you all, wait till you get a load of the Nazi super weapon “Glockenheim”…a cybernetic body fused with a human neural system…aka one bad-ass ass-stomping robot annihilator.” HorrorNews.net

Buy Deadball on Blu-ray from Amazon.com

Godzilla vs. Gigan, (released in Japan as Earth Destruction Directive: Godzilla vs. Gigan (地球攻撃命令　ゴジラ対ガイガン Chikyū Kogeki Meirei Gojira tai Gaigan) is a 1972 Japanese Science Fiction Kaiju film produced by Toho.

Directed by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano, the film starred Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi and Minoru Takashima. The 12th film of the Godzilla series, this film featured the return of Godzilla’s greatest foe King Ghidorah. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka was displeased with the previous film, Godzilla vs Hedorah, and wanted to return the series to the more traditional route of well known monsters and an alien invasion plot. This was the last film in which Godzilla was portrayed by Haruo Nakajima who had played the character since the first film in 1954.

The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States in 1978 by Cinema Shares as Godzilla on Monster Island.

Giant insectoid aliens from a dying planet in “Space Hunter Nebula-M” plot to colonize the Earth. The aliens assume the forms of dead humans and work as the development staff of the peace-themed theme park, World Children’s Land, the centerpiece of which is “Godzilla Tower”. The Nebula-M aliens plan to use the space monsters Gigan and King Ghidorah, guided by two “Action Signal Tapes,” to wipe out human civilization.

Manga artist Gengo Kotaka stumbles onto their plan after being hired as a concept artist for the park. When Gengo and his friends accidentally obtain one of the Action Signal Tapes and play it, Godzilla and Anguirus hear the signal and realize something is amiss. Godzilla sends Anguirus to investigate. When Anguirus approaches Tokyo, the Japan Self Defense Forces, misunderstanding the monster’s intentions, drives him away.

Anguirus reports back to Monster Island, and Godzilla follows him back to Japan to save the Earth from Gigan and King Ghidorah. The aliens attempt to kill Godzilla with a lethal laser cannon hidden inside Godzilla Tower, but Gengo and his companions destroy the tower along with the aliens.

Wikipedia | IMDb

Sadako 3D 2 – also known as Sadako 2 3D - is a 2013 Japanese horror film directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa based on a novel by Kôji Suzuki. The film stars Miori Takimoto, Satomi Ishihara, Kôji Seto and Yûsuke Yamamoto. It is slated for an August 30th release by Kadokawa Pictures.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be shown theatrically in a “smartphone 4D” version in Japan, with a free app delivering vibration, flash and sound special effects as well as extra visuals on mobile handset screens!

Set five years after Sadako 3D, a clinical psychologist (Takimoto) is raising her four-year-old niece, whose mother died in childbirth. The cursed online video clip reappears, and strange things begin to occur around the young girl…

IMDb

Undead Pool aka Attack Girls’ Swim Team vs. The Undead (original title: Joshikyôei hanrangun) is a 2007 Japanese erotic comedy horror film directed by Kôji Kawano from a screenplay by Satoshi Owada (Cruel Restaurant). It stars Sasa Handa, Yuria Hidaka, Ayumu Tokitô, Mizuka Arai, Hiromitsu Kiba, Hidetomo Nishida, Sakae Yamazaki, Tôshi Yanagi and Kiyo Yoshizawa.

A laboratory mix-up means that a vaccine is accidentally swapped with a virus causing a high school full of students and teachers to turn into flesh-eating zombies. But all is not lost: New student Aki discovers that the swim team is immune to the plague. With the school rampaged by ravenous monsters, the girls engage in an over-the-top orgy of gory violence to save the day…

Aki, brainwashed and trained (in that order) to become an assassin, is transferred to an all-girl school, just as a virus that turns the young ladies into entrail-twirling zombies has been making the rounds. Everyone – teachers included – are made into gleeful zombies, tearing into necks, chopping off limbs, and decapitating students with metal rulers. Everyone, that is, except the swim team. Turns out the school pool’s chlorine makes them immune to the zomb-virus.

The cartoonish gore is straight grindhouse stuff and is amusingly entertaining. One female teacher uses stringy guts pulled out of a chainsawed stomach to accessorize her fresh-stained wardrobe. The evil scientist turns out to be doubly so, and faces off with Aki in the end, who’s not too happy about that whole “brainwashing through rape” Japanese technique. Aki, without any clothes worth mentioning, has a secret retribution weapon up her, uh, sleeve.

Just so you know, this fine film is in Japanese and the version available does not have sub-titles. As if that’s gonna stop you watching it.

Jeff Gilbert, Drinkin’ & Drive-In

Buy Nihombie! triple-film DVD pack from Amazon.com

Buy Attack Girls’ Swim Team vs. The Undead on DVD from Amazon.com

Wikipedia | IMDb

Aku no Kyōten (悪の教典 literally, “Lesson of Evil”), known in English as Lesson of the Evil, is a 2012 Japanese slasher film directed by Takashi Miike, starring Hideaki Itō, Takayuki Yamada and Mitsuru Fukikoshi. It is an adaptation of Yusuke Kishi‘s 2010 novel of the same name.

An English teacher named Seiji Hasumi (Hideaki Itō) is loved by his students and respected by his peers. Graduated from Harvard College with a MBA, and worked in Morgan Stanley for two years, Hasumi is returned to Japan to pursue high school teaching career. However, his outward charm masks his true nature. In reality, Hasumi is a sociopath who is unable to feel empathy for other human beings. Specifically, he has a severe antisocial personality disorder. Having killed both of his parents in the age of fourteen, Hasumi turns into a master-minded sociopath killer. During his time in the States, Hasumi met a partner in crime who thinks he shares the same “hobby” as Hasumi – killing people for fun. Together, they killed people many times. Hasumi eventually killed his partner in crime, for he thinks he is not killing people for fun but to do it for the will of the God. Back in Japan with his mental condition, Hasumi chooses to deal with problems like bullying and overbearing “monster parents” by systematically murdering his students and parents.

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘ …  Lesson of the Evil will be remembered largely for its admittedly compelling ‘fish-in-a-barrel’ school massacre sequence, which gives both the audience and the sleepwalking director an invigorating slap in the face.  But as a horror film, the prolific Japanese director’s third film so far this year is undone by a fatal lack of suspense and the sheer haste with which script and package were clearly assembled.’ Lee Marshall, Screen

;Putting aside problems of grammar, Takashi Miike’s Lesson of the Evil is nothing more than a slick slasher pic of debatable merit, except to die-hard fans of the genre. Miike has of course never been one to bother with the finer points of taste, let alone decency, yet given recent history, there’s something particularly troubling about a gleeful gorefest that climaxes with high-school students being mowed down by a psychopath.’ Variety

‘For those attuned to this kind of extreme fun and fans of Miike Takashi’s earlier cult hits, Lesson of the Evil should definitely hit the spot, especially during its wildly gruesome final act. While perhaps a little too cold, mocking and excessive to be taken seriously or to be emotionally affecting as well as viscerally shocking, it’s a fantastic piece of well-crafted, gleefully malicious and outrageous shock cinema.’ James  Mudge, Beyond Hollywood

Half Human, originally released in Japan as Jūjin Yuki Otoko (獣人雪男, literally: “Monster Snowman”), is a tokusatsu film produced and released by Toho Film Productions Ltd. in 1955. The film was made by Toho’s Godzilla production team, consisting of Ishirō Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Tomoyuki Tanaka. This was director Honda’s second assignment in the kaiju (or monster) genre, after the original Godzilla (1954).

According to Wikipedia Japan, the film has been removed from circulation due to the original version depicting the inhabitants of the remote village similar to the Ainu people as being deformed from generations of inbreeding as well as showing backwards and violent behaviour. However, no such reference is made in the film’s dialogue, but for this reason broadcasters and media publishing companies have refrained from showing it.

Five young friends, university students, go to the Japanese Alps during for a skiing vacation. Among them are Takashi Iijima (Akira Takarada) his girlfriend Machiko Takeno (Momoko Kochi) and her brother Nakada (Sachio Sakai). The other members of the group are their friends, Gen and Kaji.

Gen and Kaji get a little carried away and decide to ski way on ahead of the others. Takashi warns them that the way down the mountain is a lot more difficult than it looks. Sure enough, when Takashi, Nakata and Machiko return to their lodge, the innkeeper has seen no sign of the other two. Because the weather has taken a sudden downturn: the mountain is about to get hit by a blizzard.

Fortunately there is another shelter down the mountain. The caretaker tries to telephone the remote cabin… but nobody answers. While Takashi takes over trying to ring the cabin, Machiko stares out the window into the deepening storm. She catches sight of a shadowy figure shambling toward the lodge! It’s really a fur-clad young woman named Chika (Akemi Negishi), who lives in a remote village deep in the mountains. However, the night is so brutal that she has little choice but to join them if she wants to stay warm.

The lodge telephone starts ringing. It’s the cabin where Gen and Kaji are. Machiko runs to the phone; but no sooner has she put it up to her ear when she throws it back down again in horror. Through the earpiece comes the sound of screams, followed by a single gun shot. There is a moment of silence. Takashi picks up the receiver, he hears another agonized scream and the line goes dead…

Wikipedia | IMDb | Toho in America

‘All of the Japanese footage is narrated over by Carradine, which kind of makes it feel like a travelogue. Half Human is only worth watching to catch the bigfoot creature sequences which are done very well.’ Horror.net

‘Honda’s film is the nearly perfect monster movie  – it offers an interesting story, scenic locations, suspense (the early sequences film like a crime mystery), interesting characters and solid stock actors, some unusual camera angles and cinematography, and a sympathetic monster.’ Monster Minions

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ対メカゴジラ Gojira Tai Mekagojira), is a 1974 Japanese science fiction kaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Jun Fukuda and featuring special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano, the film stars Gorō Mutsumi, Hiroshi Koizumi and Kenji Sahara. The 14th film of the Godzilla series, it had a slightly bigger budget with higher production values then the previous few films. Aside from the titular mechanical version of Godzilla called Mechagodzilla, it also introduced a character called King Caesar based on the legend of the Shisa.

The film received a very limited theatrical release in the United States in the Spring of 1977 by Cinema Shares as Godzilla vs. The Bionic Monster. Universal Studios filed a lawsuit threat, claiming that the title was too similar to their TV productions, The Six Million Dollar Man and its spin-off The Bionic Woman. After roughly a week into its release, the film was reissued with the altered title of Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster.

In Okinawa an ancient statue is unearthed with a prophecy inscribed on it: When a black mountain appears in the sky and the sun rises in the West, a monster will arise to destroy the world. The statue of the mythical monster King Caesar, protector of Okinawa, is vital should the prophecy come true.

Before long, the signs appear: a giant black mountain shaped cloud is seen and a mirage creates the illusion of a Western sunrise. Godzilla (or so it seems) emerges from Mount Fuji and begins a destructive rampage. Former ally Anguirus confronts “Godzilla”, only to be violently defeated when Godzilla breaks Anguirus’ jaw.

Another Godzilla shows up to battle the rampaging Godzilla and reveals it to be an impostor. It is Mechagodzilla, a robot created by ape aliens of the Third Planet from the Black Hole to destroy the real Godzilla and conquer Earth.

Wikipedia | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Buy Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

” … the fact is that the ‘mythic’ elements are never coherent or impressive enough to match the array of alien technology, and the script seems to forget about fulfilling its own prophesies as it hurries towards the regulation free-style wrestling climax.” Tony Rayns, British Film Institute Monthly Film Bulletin, June 1977

The Complex (original title: クロユリ団地 Kuroyuri danchi) is a 2013 Japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata (Ring, Ring 2, Dark Water) from a screenplay by Junya Kato and Ryuta Miyake.

The film premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival on January 1, 2013, and was released in Japan on May 18 that same year. A twelve episode drama, titled Kuroyuri Danchi ~Josho~ follows events leading up to those that take place in the film. It began airing in Japan on April 9, 2013.

Asuka (Atsuko Maeda), a young nursing student, moves into an ancient apartment complex with her family. After hearing some scratching noises coming from the apartment next door, Asuka discovers that her elderly neighbor has died from malnutrition. This disturbs her, especially after discovering claw marks on the wall that divides his apartment and her room. Asuka becomes frightened when the scratching doesn’t stop with his death. Further investigation not only brings about a confrontation with the ghost of her neighbor, but also with the knowledge that the complex has had several mysterious deaths over the years.

“impressively structured horror film that is likely to thrill audiences” Screen Daily

“disappointingly cliche-bound return to J-Horror inspires more giggles than shivers.” The Hollywood Reporter

Wikipedia | IMDb

Zombie Hunter Rika aka Zombie Killer Rika and High School Girl Rika: Zombie Hunter (original title: Saikyô heiki joshikôsei: Rika – zonbi hantâ vs saikyô zonbi Gurorian) is a 2008 Japanese comedy horror splatter movie directed by Ken’ichi Fujiwara and co-written with Takeyuki Morikaku.It stars Lisa Kudô (as Risa Kudô playing Rika), Mina Arai, Lemon Hanazawa, Chris Ryô Kaihara, Kôtarô Kamijô, Ryûnosuke Kawai and Eiichi Kikuchi.

When typical Japanese high school student Rika skips school to visit her grandfather, she fails to take into account the fact that his remote village is infested with the living dead. What happens next isn’t pretty, but fortunately, Grandpa Ryuhei just happens to be the greatest surgeon ever! Picking up what’s left of Rika, he dusts her off and rebuilds her, better than she was, into the ultimate zombie fighter! Now, together with her friends Takashi and Yuji, Rika must take on the monstrous master of carnivorous cadavers: the grand-high lowest of the low, Zombie Boss Glorian.

“Modern Japanese zombie flicks tend to boast cheap budgets, extreme gore, gonzo comedy, illogical plotting, and are sometimes peppered with an unsettling degree of sleaziness in regards to the treatment of women. You get most of that here, too. Although those looking for an abundance of naked Japanese schoolgirl flesh won’t get nearly as much as they’d like, and while the action and gore effects deliver what you’d expect, some viewers accustomed to truly over-the-top Japanese zombie mayhem might be underwhelmed.” Dread Central

” … this film goes for fun over titillation. Sure, there are some great sleazy moments (3 maids arguing over who has the biggest norks but whipping them out and comparing them) but the overriding essence of this movie is just crazy gory nonsense. Oh yes there is some nice gore going on here – loads of rubbery flesh ripping and head decapitation, blood a plenty and some great makeup too (particularly the suspiciously friendly zombie with the disgusting googly eye!)” Devouring the Zombie Films of the Living

“There were a fair few interesting and uncomfortable moments of gore, lots of blood and there’s plenty of flesh-eating, but I’m scrambling for many positive things to say. An amateur script that felt like it was being made up as it went along, dry lacklustre acting performances from people who genuinely looked like they didn’t want to be there, and shot capture and direction that looked cheap and harried as if Ed Wood with his one take what-ever happens approach was in charge; it’s bad film.” Watching the Dead

“There is not much style to the Ken’ichi Fujiwara’s direction, and the film tends to lack a certain snap, but Tak Sakaguchi’s action choreography adds an occasional burst of liveliness (e.g., a zombie fight featuring a guy flopping around, kicking zombies, and bouncing off cars is fun). The HD cinematography definitely looks like video with an image that skews green. As expected, there is plenty of viscera (practical and CG) and nakedness.” Rodney Perkins, Twitch Film

IMDb

The Human-Faced Dog (original title: ザ・人面犬 (The Jin-Men-Ken) is a 1990 Japanese fake documentary about an urban myth.

Dave Jackson from the wonderfully entertaining blog Mondo Exploito explains:

Look at that video cover. How could I resist? The cover promises a clusterfuck of prosthetic effects, gore and sleazy shot-on-video cinematography. It breaks that promise something rotten, but before I get into the review, I suppose I should briefly explain what a Jinmenken is. Japan’s urban legends and folklore are far removed from the Western world. There’s the yōkai, of course, but there’s also oddities that pop up every few decades like the Kuchisake-onna. Other than the anus-sucking kappa, there’s no folktale stranger than the Jinmenken, the Human-Faced Dog. I won’t go into too much detail here (if you’re really interested, check out this article), but, in short, the Human-Faced Dog is exactly what its name suggests: a human-faced dog.

The legend of the Human-Faced Dog goes all the way to Tokugawa era Japan. In stories, the Human-Faced Dog is initially mistaken for a normal, mangy dog, but as the unlucky passerby gets closer the human features become apparent. Sightings are always at night, and the dog, if approached, will morosely tell people, “Leave me alone”. The Human-Faced Dog took on a new life in more recent times, its peak of popularity in the late 80s and early 90s, where it was claimed to have been seen on highways, chasing cars at enormous speeds and causing car crashes. This brings us to JVD’s The Human-Faced Dog. Released towards the tail end of Jinmenken fever, this video is presented as a faux-documentary exploring the folklore behind the urban legend. I say faux-documentary, but I don’t know if that’s the right term. The Human-Faced Dog betrays its own format. It’s mostly comprised of terribly fake interviews with goofy characters blabbering endlessly about their experiences with the Jinmenken intercut with footage of a puppet hiding in bushes, then suddenly we’re thrust into a making of said Jinmenken puppet!

The behind the scenes footage is probably the most enjoyable sequence of the whole horrible video, but what the hell is it doing in here? Surely this unintentional metatextual stupidity only takes away from the repetitive scenes of the filmmakers showing a poor dog with a human mask strapped to its head to screaming Japanese schoolgirls? I’m guessing it was required to stretch out the video’s already meagre running time. Despite its whopping original price tag, The Human-Faced Dog runs for less than forty minutes. And much of that footage is drawn out, slowed down and reused with almost every second of screen time feeling like filler. JVD even has the audacity to rewind the entire fucking film during the elongated end credits. Yes, we see everything 

again – backwards and in fast-motion – while an atrocious song plays in the background. There’s a pretty funny moment where a guy in a hat shows his Jinmenken drawings. But sadly, this is followed by a really long interview with another guy in a hat (a different sort of hat, for the record) who stands outside Nakano Broadway and dispenses a bunch of bullshit about the Jinmenken.

Fuck me. I would have been furious if I had of bought this back in 1990 for 7000 yen. The Human-Faced Dog is a confusing mess, which would be fine if it wasn’t so damned boring. This video is the definition of nothing. It’s a worthless waste of a good puppet and certainly a worthless waste of tape. And yes, I’m very pleased this worthless waste of nothing is worthlessly wasting space on my shelf.

Dave Jackson, Mondo Exploito

Exte (エクステ Ekusute) — also released as Exte: Hair Extensions  and Hair Extensions — is a 2007 Japanese horror film written and directed by Sion Sono (The Suicide Club). It stars Chiaki Kuriyama, Ren Osugi, and Megumi Satō. The title is a Japanese slang shortening of the English term “extension” from “hair extension”.

In a shipping container, customs agents discover a huge amount of human hair used as materials for hair extensions, along with the dead body of a young girl with a shaved head. The corpse is transported to the morgue, where the results of the autopsy determine that the girl’s internal organs have been harvested, the victim of a black market human organ racketeering ring. The morgue night watchman, a closet hair fetishist named Yamazaki (Ren Osugi), is infatuated by her beautiful hair and steals the body away to his home. He finds that the girl’s body has begun to grow hair—from her head, vacant eye sockets, tongue, and various open wounds. He is delighted and encourages it to grow, harvesting it to make hair extensions to sell. However, the hair controls and kills its wearers, causing them to experience the dying memories of the corpse girl, including the last thing she sees on the bloody operating table: the smiling mouth of the man who killed her.

Meanwhile, Yuko (Chiaki Kuriyama) is a young apprentice hair stylist. One day, her irresponsible older sister, Kiyomi (Tsugumi), dumps her eight-year-old daughter, Mami (Miku Sato), on Yuko and Yuko’s roommate, Yuki (Megumi Satō). Mami shows signs of abuse. Yuko allows Mami to stay with her, telling her to stay home while she goes to work each day, concerned about the abuse she has suffered from Kiyomi.

Out on the street, Yamazaki spots Mami trying to find Yuko’s hair salon and finds her hair exceedingly beautiful. He introduces himself and helps her find Yuko’s work place. When he sees Yuko, he is also enchanted by her hair, but quickly runs off. He returns the next day, explaining that he sells hair extensions. The workers at the salon are impressed by the hair’s quality and try them out. That night, Kondo, one of Yuko’s coworkers who tried on the extensions, is killed when the hair begins sprouting from her eyes, head, and mouth.

‘Having watched this film – with such parallels to, yet so different from Suicide Circle – it has only reinforced my feeling that Sono is one of the most interesting directors Japan has produced.  This may be a crazy horror-comedy but it is told with virtuosity and with many elements of deep interest and power.  As well as wince-inducing and hilarious, it is sometimes haunting, sad, enraging, touching, sweet, bitter, thoughtful and unexpectedly empathetic.  For what is essentially a comedy built on a farcical plot, it is uniquely powerful and intense.’ Strange Reviews

‘CGI hair shouldn’t ever be scary. Wigs skittering around on the floor aren’t scary, they just look silly. But Exte takes the hair horror a step further: a hair extension infects the brain of a hairdresser while she’s with a client, turning her into someone you really don’t want aiming scissors at your head; another girl finds hair growing out of her eyeballs, out of her fingers, out of her tongue; the evil hair coils itself around another girl’s throat, strangling her – it becomes a sort of body horror, rather than a supernatural one, reminiscent of the hair-like growths Jeff Goldblum suffered in the early stages of The Fly. As the film progresses, this will mostly be forgotten in favour of overblown daftness, but the early few victims of the supernatural hair suffer some really horrible fates.’ Sarah Dobbs, Den of Geek

Wikipedia | IMDb

Sanguivorous (original title: Kyuketsu) is a 2011 Japanese film directed by Naoki Yoshimoto. It stars Masaya Adachi, Ayumi Kazizawa, Ko Murobushi and Mutsuko Yoshinaga.

Avant-garde cinema seems to be something of a dying art these days. Despite more outlets for distribution of experimental works, I’m seeing fewer and fewer movies, either short or feature length, that really challenge the notion of conventional film making and narrative in the way that used to be fairly commonplace decades ago. Instead, we have spiritually and intellectually empty turds like A Field in England passed off as edgy and experimental by the easily impressed.

So Sanguivorous is pretty welcome, at least if you have an idea what you are getting into. Described on the press release as “the first Japanese avant-garde, silent vampire movie ever made”, that description is only partly true. The film in fact opens up with dialogue scenes that set the narrative pace of the story before eschewing the spoken word – even then, it still has sound effects. But yes, by most standards, this is a ‘silent’ film, originally designed as part of a multi-media piece that included live accompaniment and performance. Inevitably then, the DVD is perhaps an incomplete work, given that the live elements are naturally missing. Though perhaps it would be more accurate to call it an alternative edition. Backed with a minimalist score by director Naoki Yoshimoto, it certainly doesn’t feel anything less than a finished piece – though I would very much like to catch this in full multimedia mode.

The plot is pretty simple – a young woman (Ayumi Kakizawa) is suffering from strange dreams and hallucinations. Her boyfriend reads her the story of a vampire who arrived in Japan on a ship some centuries earlier (a clear Dracula reference) and spawned a generation who are waiting to have their vampiric blood aroused through the loss of virginity. Our heroine, it is implied, is one of these vampires-in-waiting, and things become increasingly strange and disturbed as her dreams (or reality – it’s never quite clear) are haunted by a silver-skinned, Nosferatu-esque vampire figure (Ko Murobushi) as she slowly evolves into her true self.

Yoshimoto mixes moments of vivid colour with decayed, black and white imagery that recalls both vintage silent cinema and the pxlvision films of Michael Almereyda (Nadja in particular), sometimes highly digitised, sometimes fairly straight looking, to create a strange sense of the bizarre. The film combines morbid eroticism with imagery that isvery Japanese – Ko is a renowned Butoh dancer, leading the field in this experimental dance performance art. With no dialogue after the opening scenes (even the inter titles are suitably vague), the film’s narrative quickly disintegrates and the viewer is instead immersed into a challenging world of visual aesthetic and physical performance. At times, it is like watching a performance art piece, at others it approaches an almost conventional horror aesthetic. In terms of the overwhelming atmosphere, the film brings to mind the early works of Jean Rollin, recalling his sense of the bizarre, the experimental and the melancholic morbidity that runs throughout his best works.

That it still works effectively as a film is down to the director’s skill at crafting these non-narrative, multimedia video elements together into a whole that draws the viewer in. At just 56 minutes long, the film cleverly avoids over doing it – experimental cinema often falls down because it doesn’t know when enough is enough – and remains compelling, intriguing and entrancing throughout.

David Flint, Strange Things Are Happening

King Kong Escapes, (released in Japan as King Kong’s Counterattack (キングコングの逆襲 Kingu Kongu no Gyakushū), is a 1967 Kaiju film. A Japanese/American co-production from Toho and Rankin-Bass (Mad Monster Party). Directed by Ishiro Honda and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred both American actors – such as Rhodes Reason and Linda Miller – alongside Japanese actors – such as Akira Takarada, Mie Hama and Eisei Amamoto. The film was a loose adaptation of the Rankin-Bass Saturday morning cartoon series The King Kong Show and was the second and final Japanese-made film featuring the King Kong character.

Plot:

An evil genius named Dr. Hu creates Mechani-Kong, a robotic version of King Kong, to dig for a highly radioactive Element X, found only at the North Pole. Mechni-Kong enters an ice cave and begins to dig into a glacier, but the radiation destroys its brain circuits and the robot shuts down. Hu then sets his sights on getting the real Kong to finish the job. Hu is taken to task by a beautiful female overseer, Madame Piranha. Her country’s government (which is not named but may be North Korea) is financing the doctor’s schemes, and she frequently berates him for his failure to get results. Meanwhile, a submarine commanded by Carl Nelson arrives at Mondo Island where the legendary King Kong lives. Much like the original 1933 film, the giant ape gets into an intense fight with a dinosaur, a large serpent, and falls in love with a human. In this case, Lt. Susan Watson (Linda Miller).

Dr. Hu subsequently goes to Mondo Island, abducts Kong and brings him back to his base at the North Pole. Kong is hypnotized by a flashing light device and fitted with a radio earpiece. Hu commands Kong to retrieve the Element X from the cave. Problems with the earpiece ensue and Hu has to kidnap Susan Watson, the only person who can control Kong. After Watson and her fellow officers are captured by Hu, Madame Piranha unsuccessfully tries to seduce Nelson to bring him over to her side. Eventually Kong escapes and swims all the way to Japan where the climactic battle with Mechni-Kong transpires. Standing in for the Empire State Building from the original film is the Tokyo Tower where the two giants face off in the finale…

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Reviews:

“The Japanese…are all thumbs when it comes to making monster movies like ‘King Kong Escapes.’ The Toho moviemakers are quite good in building miniature sets, but much of the process photography—matching the miniatures with the full-scale shots—is just bad…the plotting is hopelessly primitive…” Vincent Canby, New York Times, 1968

“It’s difficult to assign a single genre to “King Kong Escapes.” On the one hand, it has all the hallmarks of a kaiju film, with two giant beasts wreaking havoc in the heart of Tokyo. On the other, it adds to the mix elements of science fiction, adventure, and even James Bond spy films. It’s a formula that Toho used successfully in such films as “Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster,” but here the resulting tone often feels uneven. Yet as gloriously mad as it is, “King Kong Escapes” is a thoroughbred descendant of the “King Kong” movie legacy with all the proper provenance. It may be a little out there for purists, but if you’ve got a monkey on your back for all things Kong, it’s absolutely essential.” Ed Glaser, Neon Harbor

“Toho fans, monster kids and generally anyone with a playfully less serious side to their cinema watching will get a kick out of this fun Kong adventure. The Japanese version is essential for Kaiju fanatics, but for most, the dubbed edition works just fine.” Cool Ass Cinema

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Evil Dead Trap, known in Japan as Shiryō no wana (死霊の罠), is a 1988 Japanese horror film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda and produced by Japan Home Video.

Plot:

TV show host Nami asks her viewers to send in home movies; she receives a snuff film apparently shot at a nearby factory. Taking a camera crew out to investigate, Nami finds the factory deserted. As Nami and her crew begin to scour the factory, they are murdered one-by-one in grisly fashion until only Nami remains. She ultimately discovers that the killer is Hideki, a small, fetus-like man conjoined to his fully grown, naive twin-brother, who seems unaware of the killings…

Special effects were by Shinichi Wakasa who would go on to a career as a monster-suit maker for several Godzilla movies. Hitomi Kobayashi who plays the supporting role of Rei Sugiura was a top star for Japan Home Video (JHV) under their adult video (AV) label Alice Japan. JHV financed the film as a vehicle for Kobayashi but director Toshiharu Ikeda, unsure of Kobayashi’s acting ability, instead put Miyuki Ono in the starring role.

Sequels followed in 1992 and 1993. Avoid the UK DVD which has footage substituted, containing a milder version.

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Reviews:

“Overall, Evil Dead Trap is worth watching for fans of Eastern cinema, or for horror fans in general. Though not particularly different from its American or European counterparts and not quite as good as others have claimed, the film at least serves up an atmospheric, if somewhat slow, package of slice and dice. Viewers should be warned, however, that although for most of its running time the film lurches around quite happily in its own semi-coherent universe, the final act will either astound the audience with its sheer weirdness, or have them throwing empty bottles at the screen.” BeyondHollywood.com

“It’s tense, it’s genuinely horrific, it’s beautifully directed by Ikeda with a real eye for colour and marvellous use of the geometry offered by the perspectives of corridors. Really absolutely one of the best horror films (Japanese or otherwise) I’ve ever seen.” MJ Simpson

“Evil Dead Trap starts out with a fresh concept and some clever suprises, but quickly deteriorates into a splatter-by-numbers flick that we’ve been seeing for thirty years now. The final arc of the story is a different tale altogether, but comes as too little too late to redeem the pedestrian middle act. And, as I mentioned, it’s pretty goddamn silly. The movie is aided by a soundtrack whose minimalist aspects could well be ripped from one of its Italian counterparts but still has a distinctively Japanese feel to it. Oh, and if you’re looking for the loudest, most obnoxious foley work you’ve ever heard, you’ve found your movie. I know what they were trying to accomplish by drawing out the senses, but it really just plays out as being more annoying than frightening.” For the Retarded

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Monsterz is a 2014 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata (Ring). It is a remake of Min-suk Kim’s 2010 film Haunters. It stars Tatsuya Fujiwara, Takayuki Yamada, Satomi Ishihara, Tomorowo Taguchi, and Motoki Ochiai. The film is due for release across Japan on the 30th May, 2014.

Synopsis:

A man (Tatsuya Fujiwara) possesses a special ability to manipulate others with just his eyes. Because of this special ability, he killed his abusive father and was abandoned by his mother. He now lives a lonely life in the dark side of a city. Meanwhile, Shuichi Tanaka (Takayuki Yamada) doesn’t have a family and lives with his friends. Even though he is poor, he has a bright outlook on life. One day, these two men meet. The man becomes confused, because he can’t manipulate Shuichi with his eyes.

Thanks to Far East Films for this information.

Splatterhouse (スプラッターハウス Supurattāhausu) is a 1988 arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is also the title of the entire series of subsequent games released in home console and personal computer formats.

Due to its violent nature as well as some questionable enemies, the TurboGrafx-16 port of Splatterhouse had a parental advisory warning of sorts printed on the front of the box that read “The horrifying theme of this game may be inappropriate for young children… and cowards.”

Splatterhouse is a sidescrolling beat ‘em up video game in which the player controls Rick, a parapsychology student who is trapped inside West Mansion. After his resurrection by the Terror Mask, Rick makes his way through the mansion, fighting off hordes of creatures in a vain attempt to save his girlfriend Jennifer from a grisly fate. Players of the game will also recognize a number of western horror film influences, such as Friday the 13th and Evil Dead 2.

Similar to many sidescrolling beat ‘em up games, Rick can only move in a two-dimensional environment. The playing field does not feature a three-dimensional area, a feature that was added later in the series with Splatterhouse 3. He has the ability to jump and can punch and kick. Rick also has a Special Attack, where he will perform a drop kick that sends him skidding along the ground, damaging any enemies he hits. Rick can also perform a low kick, low punch, and jumping attacks, as well as pick up and use various weapons placed in the levels.

Two college students, Rick Taylor and Jennifer Willis, take refuge from a storm in West Mansion, a local landmark known as “Splatterhouse” for the rumors of hideous experiments purportedly conducted there by Dr. West, a renowned and missing parapsychologist. Rick awakens in the dungeon of the mansion to discover that he is still alive thanks to the influence of the “Terror Mask”, or in some versions, the “Hell Mask”, a Mayan sacrificial artifact from West’s house which is capable of sentient thought. The mask attaches itself to Rick, fusing with his body and transforming him into a monster with superhuman strength. With the mask’s encouragement, Rick goes on a rampage through the dungeon and the mansion grounds, killing hordes of monsters…

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King Kong vs. Godzilla (キングコング対ゴジラ Kingu Kongu Tai Gojira) is a 1962 Japanese science fiction Kaiju film produced by Toho Studios. Directed by Ishirō Honda with visual effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, and Mie Hama. It was the third installment in the Japanese series of films featuring the monster Godzilla. It was also the first of two Japanese made films featuring the King Kong character (or rather, its Toho Studios counterpart) and also the first time both King Kong and Godzilla appeared on film in color and widescreen. Produced as part of Toho’s 30th anniversary celebration, this film remains the most commercially successful of all the Godzilla films to date. The US version sported a different edit and Universal Studios library music including cues by Henry Mancini from Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Plot:

Mr. Tako, head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, is frustrated by the ratings the television shows his company is sponsoring. When a doctor tells Tako about a giant monster he discovered on the small Faro Island, Tako believes that it would be a brilliant idea to gain publicity. Meanwhile, American submarine Seahawk gets caught in an iceberg. Unfortunately, this is the same iceberg that Godzilla was trapped in by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces back in 1955, and the submarine is destroyed. Godzilla breaks out and heads towards a nearby Arctic military base, attacking it. He continues moving inland, razing the base to the ground. Godzilla’s appearance is all over the press, making Tako furious.

On Faro Island, a giant octopus attacks the native village. The mysterious Faro monster is then revealed to be King Kong and he defeats the octopus. King Kong then drinks red berry juice, becomes intoxicated, and falls asleep. Tako’s men place Kong on a large raft and begin to transport him back to Japan. However, a JSDF ship orders them to return Kong to Faro Island. Godzilla had just come ashore in Japan and destroyed a train, and the JSDF doesn’t want another monster entering Japan. Unfortunately, during all this, Kong wakes up from his drunken state and breaks free from the raft. Reaching the mainland, Kong meets up with Godzilla…

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Reviews:

“There are two major fights in the film, the short scuffle near the middle and the big climax. The short one is basically a tease for the climax and establishes the hate the two monsters have for each other. Tsuburaya gives some great personality into these battles. These aren’t just two mindless animals fighting, they have reactions and make plans. (Who didn’t laugh when King Kong walks way from the short scuffle while scratching his head like he’s not sure what he’s up against?) The climax is easily one of the most exciting of the Godzilla franchise.” Daniel Alvarez, Unleash the Fanboy

“This marked the first step into a more comical approach to Godzilla. Many on the production crew were displeased with how lighthearted the film was, believing that Godzilla was more appealing when he was something to be feared. However, Toho wanted to broaden the audience and felt targeting children with the more comical scenes was the way to go.” Monster Movie Kid

“Solid fun. The dubbed dialogue hits all kinds of fantastic comedic moments, such as a character’s tendency to ache and complain about his ‘corns’ or the behavior and stuttering of Mr. Tako, the guy who takes over custody of Kong (bet he wishes he didn’t do that now, eh?). Normally I’d be a bit peeved at the infusion of comedy in a monster movies – I tend to like my monster flicks taken seriously – but considering that the humor and satire is part of the script’s DNA, well, I don’t quite mind it at all. And that adds substantially to the overall funness of this flick.” Andrew Simon, The Ramblings of a Minnesota Geek

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Tokyo Gore Police (東京残酷警察 Tōkyō Zankoku Keisatsu) is a 2008 Japanese-American science fiction splatter film co-written, edited, and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura. It stars Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer.

The movie is a remake of an independent film that Nishimura made many years before called Anatomia Extinction.

Plot:

In a near future chaotic Japan, a mad scientist known as “Key Man” has created a virus that mutates humans into monstrous creatures called “Engineers” that sprout bizarre weapons from any injury. The Tokyo Police Force has been privatised to deal with this new threat of engineers, so a special squad of officers called “Engineer Hunters” are created to deal with them. However, unlike the average police force, the Engineer Hunters are a private quasi-military force that utilize violence, sadism, and streetside executions to maintain law and order.

Helping the police force is Ruka, a troubled loner who is very skilled in dispatching the Engineers. Along with helping the police, she is looking for the killer of her father, an old-fashioned officer who was murdered in broad daylight by a mysterious assassin. Ruka soon receives a new case to hunt down Key Man, but once she encounters him, he infects her by inserting a key-shaped tumor into her scar-riddled left forearm before disappearing…

Reviews:

“Propelled by geysers of blood and tidal waves of neuroses, Tokyo Gore Police plumbs wounds both cultural and physical to deliver splatterific social satire.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

“Garishly coloured, wilfully offensive (but always in a cute way), interspersed with hilarious TV commercial inserts à la Robocop, and full of over-the-top action, fetishistic metamorphoses and impossibly bloody body horror, this film has to be seen to be believed. Totally insane.” Anton Bitel, Little White Lies

“Partly because the premise is so fantastical (bloody wounds turning into even bloodier and more disgusting weapons), and partly because the film is so violent (too many decapitations, severed limbs, and melted faces to count), Tokyo Gore Police lives up to its name: a wet-dream for any gore-hound.” Monster Chiller Horror Theatre

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” …the attraction of Tokyo Gore Police lies in its over-the-top action and insane visual effects. Nishimura was not working with a big budget but the choices in set design and effects are very resourceful. The film throws everything at the screen, including blood spraying from dismembered torsos in slow-motion, exotic weapons sprouting from injured body parts, and bondage-garbed quadriplegics walking on swords. TheRoboCop influence is apparent throughout, particularly in a series of tongue-in-cheek television ads for products that make it easier to commit suicide.” Fantastic Fest 2008

“If you haven’t seen a Japanese gore film before, Tokyo Gore Police is probably the only one you’ll ever have to watch to satiate your curiosity. It’s not a horrible film; it’s not a great film; it’s just everything it tries to be — perverse, grotesque, bizarre — and a little more. Check it out, but this time don’t order popcorn: You’ll want to watch this movie on an empty belly.” amctv.com 

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Godzilla: Final Wars (ゴジラ ファイナルウォーズ Gojira: Fainaru Wōzu) is a 2004 Japanese science fiction Kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus), written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the 28th installment in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series’ Millennium era. The film stars Masahiro Matsuoka, Don Frye, Rei Kikukawa, Kane Kosugi, Maki Mizuno and Kazuki Kitamura.

As a 50th anniversary film, a number of actors from previous Godzilla films appeared as main characters or in cameo roles. In addition, various Kaiju (monsters) made reappearances, as most were last seen more than 30 years earlier. Godzilla: Final Wars premiered on November 29, 2004 in Los Angeles, California and was released on December 4, 2004 in Japan. Before the world premiere, Godzilla received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Director Ryuhei Kitamura has compared Godzilla: Final Wars to that of a musician’s “Best of” album, stating “We picked lots and lots of the best elements from the past and combined it in a new way. It’s what I love about Godzilla and what I don’t love about recent Godzilla movies”.

The music in Godzilla: Final Wars was composed by Keith Emerson (Inferno; Murder Rock; The Church) Daisuke Yano and Nobuhiko Morino, while the band Sum 41 contributed the song “We’re All To Blame” to the soundtrack (and received high billing in the film’s opening credits sequence). Some critics expressed concern with the music of Final Wars, arguing that Emerson’s score would be better suited for a campy made-for-television movie or video games, while others pointed out that it made a refreshing change from the music of previous Godzilla films.

Plot teaser:

In 2004, endless warfare and environmental pollution has resulted in dangerous kaiju and the Earth Defense Force (EDF) is created to protect the planet. The organization is equipped with the best technology, weapons and soldiers, as well as mutants with special abilities. Godzilla is the EDF’s only unstoppable opponent. The EDF’s best combat vehicle, the Gotengo, corners Godzilla at the South Pole and buries him under the Antarctic ice, freezing him alive.

Forty years later, the EDF discovers a mummified space monster. The mutant soldier Shinichi Ozaki and the United Nations biologist Dr. Miyuki Otonashi are sent to research it. Shortly thereafter, the two encounter the Shobijin, fairies of the guardian monster Mothra, who reveal that the monster is Gigan, an alien cyborg sent to destroy Earth 12,000 years earlier. They also warn that a battle between good and evil will happen soon and that Ozaki, because of his mutant capabilities, must choose between the two.

Suddenly, kaiju appear in major cities. The EDF attempts to drive them away. The monsters include Anguirus in Shanghai, Rodan in New York City, King Caesar in Okinawa, Kamacuras in Paris, Kumonga in Arizona, Zilla in Sydney and Ebirah near Tokyo. Despite defeating Ebirah, the EDF is unsuccessful in destroying the monsters. After destroying most of the cities, the monsters vanish and an enormous alien mothership appears over Tokyo. The aliens, known as Xiliens, say that they are friendly and have eliminated the monsters…

Reviews:

” … brief missteps are not enough to undermine the film, which is a pulse-pulverizing bit of special effects and martial arts mayhem that truly is good enough to deserve a stateside release. Certainly, the film is over-the-top and utterly fantastic.” Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

“The Matrix influence extends to slow-motion bullets, 360-degree freeze-pans, and Ozaki’s understanding of his divine purpose — but, really, all this tosh accomplishes is to pad Godzilla: Final Wars for a good 35 minutes longer than is necessary. Godzilla himself doesn’t even show up for the first hour and a half, since he’s kept on ice under the South Pole specifically for occasions like this. After a while the shoot-outs, fistfights, and bellowing latex bleed into one unending blur, and you find yourself actively pining for the earth to be destroyed so the end credits can come up.” Ty Burr, Boston Globe

“.. a blithely campy, altogether good-natured love letter to the classic Godzilla films of the 1960s and 1970s directed by… Japan’s adolescent action stylist.” Sean Axmaker, Static

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Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., released in Japan as Godzilla × Mothra × Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS (ゴジラ×モスラ×メカゴジラ 東京SOS Gojira tai Mosura tai Mekagojira Tōkyō Esu Ō Esu), is a 2003 science fiction kaiju film directed by Masaaki Tezuka. It was the twenty-seventh film to be released in the Japanese Godzilla series. It stars Noboru Kaneko, Miho Yoshioka, Mitsuki Koga,

Plot teaser:

Mechagodzilla is undergoing repair modifications after its battle with Godzilla. Prime Minister Hayato Igarashi accepts Lead Scientist Yoshito Chujo’s choice to replace the Absolute Zero Cannon with a powerful Tri-Maser.

The Shobijin (Mothra’s twin fairies) warn the Japanese government that Godzilla continues returning to Japan because they used the original Godzilla’s bones in Kiryu’s design. If they return the bones to the bottom of the sea, Mothra would gladly take Kiryu’s place in defending Japan, but if they do not, Mothra will declare war on humanity. Soon enough, Kamoebas, a giant mata mata turtle, is found washed ashore on a Japanese beach…

Reviews:

” … almost completely disregards story and structure, characterization and emotion in favor of mindless mayhem with only the most basic story-advancing plot elements to allow for some “logical” progression towards the end battle. The movie is very much a Western-inspired one, in that regard, favoring big action and speed rather than depth and meaning. Of course, some viewers might find that a positive, and that’s a justifiable position to take given that Godzilla is a series with its roots in the fantastical.” Martin Liebman, Blu-ray.com

“The music found in Tokyo S.O.S. is one of the better scores for a Godzilla film, composed once again by Oshima. Like Oshima’s previous work, there is some repetition here in the music; however, like Akira Ifukube, Oshima can get away with this as her music works so well even as a stand alone experience … Tokyo S.O.S., at heart, is simply one lengthy kaiju brawl between the three title monsters, who are entangled in a battle that lasts most of the film, something which hasn’t been seen since 1972′s Godzilla vs. Gigan.” Anthony Romero, Tokyo Kingdom

Bereft of characterization, GMMG contains far too many characters for so little time devoted to them. Still, Tezuka imbues a fanciful aura hearkening back to the magical works of Toho’s monster master, Ishiro Honda. GMMG often feels like 90 minutes cut from the previous movie, but is still a lot of fluffy fun replete with spectacular effects work.” Cool Ass Cinema

“Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. features plenty of monster combat, for a change minimizing character inner struggle (it’s still there, unfortunately). Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and Mothra—as well as two new Mothra larvae—get lots of screen time, as Japan is once again obliterated. Fans of atomic breath, light canons, and organic scales and cocoon webbing are in for a treat. The plot is pretty straightforward, but the American dubbing misses many of the nuances of the Japanese version.” Octavio Ramos, Examiner.com

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