23rd July

‘The Coffin’ goes international

A quick update on Ananda Everingham’s latest foray into the genre that is Horror. A suitably spooky International poster for Thai frightener ‘The Coffin,’ has appeared. While an encouraging first sign of life for the movie outside of Asia, there’s still no word as to if and when American distributor Arclight films (who own the U.S distribution rights) will release the film theatrically. We will keep on digging on that front. In mean time, you can see the poster larger from the link below.

The Coffin Poster

23rd July

'Dark Corners' DVD: Review

Dark Corners: Director - Ray Gower
R2 DVD: Review by - Pete Higgins

There are few things more disappointing than wasted potential. Thora Birch’s almost heartbreaking movie career is a classic example. From the practically perfect “Ghost World” to the virtually unwatchable “Dark Corners”. How did it come to this?

To give Thora some credit, at least she has the sense to look faintly bemused and/or disgusted by the whole thing. It’s not her fault that the film stinks worse than month-old milk. No, the blame lies firmly at the door of director/writer Ray Gower. “Dark Corners” is his first film. In an ideal world it would also be his last, but no: he’s currently hard at work on something called “Necrogenesis”. I can’t wait.

For what it’s worth, the plot of “Dark Corners” is actually interesting. In safer hands than those of Mr. Gower, it could have made a decent, creepy little thriller. The idea of a film in which the audience is never quite sure what is “real” and what is “fantasy” is interesting, if not entirely original. Here, however, it is handled so crassly that any goodwill on the part of the viewing public is quickly replaced by irritation, revulsion, disbelief and, perhaps worst of all, boredom.

The film’s obviously low budget is no excuse – cheap doesn’t have to mean stupid - and everyone in the cast does his or her best, but really, what more can you say about a film in which the main source of “humour” is a corpse’s unfortunate erection, and how to get rid of it?

Dark Corners Trailer

22nd July

Korean promo reel for Clive Barker's 'Midnight Meat Train'

Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura’s film adaptation of Clive Barker’s The Midnight Meat Train has been a troubled affair. Ever since the production neared completion there have been rumours that the films U.S. distributor were to say the least unkeen on giving it a theatrical release. After opening dates were changed, then change again, they finally settling on a "limited" theatrical release for the U.S. All that coupled with a less than aggressive marketing campaign and lack-lustre trailer, haven't made for an easy ride for the Meat Train. Not so in Korea. There the pic has been scheduled for a theatrical run for months now - and with the opening date drawing near, a great promo reel has just been released to support the movie. Now this is a horror movie trailer. MMT opens in Korea, August 14th.

Midnight Meat Train (Korean Promo Reel)

21st July

'Infected Island' teaser trail

Well isnt it always the way. No sooner do we drop the news (July 16th) on Japanese disaster horror Infected Island, than they go and release a teaser trail on us. It's very short, but the clip leaves you no doubt this is going to be a disaster movie - right down to the doom-laden The Omen-esk Choral theme track. To see the clip, head over to the official site.

Infected Island (Official site)

20th July

Director Benny Chan returns with new action thriller - 'Connected'

Hong Kong action director Benny Chan is back with his new film Connected. Last year Chan wowed us all here with his superb Cop/Gangster pic Invisible Target, so we are keen as mustard to see this new movie.

Connected is apparently the first ever Chinese remake of a Hollywood blockbuster. The film, which takes its concept from David R. Ellis Cellular, stars Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu and award-winning leading man Liu Ye. Chan spent two years working closely with writers Alan Yuen and Xu Bing to hone and adapt Chris Morgan's original screenplay to Chinese culture and sensibilities. Currently in post production Connected opens in September. Link to teaser trail below.

Story: Bob (Louis Koo)'s life isn't going well at all. A single father in a dead-end job as a debt collector, he's trapped in a job that goes against his usual easy-going helpful nature and he's under tremendous pressure to be a better dad, a better brother, a better worker, even a better person. While dealing with all this and his sister (Flora Chan)'s threat to move to China with his son to force him to clean up his act, Bob receives a call out of the blue. It's a stranger called Grace (Barbie Hsu) who claims a mysterious kidnapper (Liu Ye) is keeping her against her will and begs him to save her and her young daughter. Is it just a heartless prank? The detective (Nick Cheung) he tried reporting the call to seems to think so but Bob's instincts tell him that he may just be the only thing standing between them and a painful death. But does he have the mettle to rise above his own self-centred concerns and risk everything – including his own son – for two people he has never met and who may not even exist?

Connected (Teaser Trailer)

19th July

DVD release roundup

There are a load of great Asian/Cult titles due out at the end of this month, so we’ve decided to cover as many as possible, in one big hit. Ok, here goes…

‘Tai Chi Master’ R1 DVD

Jet Li teams up with Michelle Yeoh in ‘Tai Chi Master’ (aka Twin Warriors), a period martial-arts tale of revenge and retribution filmed in 1993. Directed by Yuen Woo Ping (who also directed Jackie Chan's popular Drunken Master and Yeoh's Wing Chun), it matches over-the-top melodrama with fantastical fight scenes. Li and Chin Sui Hou play Junbao and Tienbao, two misfit monks who get into trouble at their Shaolin temple since childhood.

Order the DVD

‘Carved 2’ (aka Kuchisake-Onna 2) R2 DVD

Posted by: Daniel

Earlier this year, 24fps readers were given a taste of Carved 2 (Kuchisake-Onna 2) with an official site/trailer. Carved 2, although directed by Kôtarô Terauchi, and not Kôji Shiraishi (who directed the film's predecessor), is a follow-up featuring the infamous, slit-mouthed woman of Japanese urban legend - setting its focus more on the events that led to her becoming a killer, rather than the terrifying aftermath and effect on society.

Good news – It’s just been released on Japanese R2 DVD. Bad news - Sadly, the release comes without English subtitles. So unless you speak Japanese, this is for die hard ‘Slit Mouthed Woman’ fans.

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‘Vengeance’ R1 DVD

Directed by Preaw Sirisuwan, Mono Films, Thai (B-movie) horror adventure pic ‘Vengeance,’ comes to R1 DVD. A team of police officers must track down a group of ruthless criminals who have entered a mysterious forest that is said to be cursed.

Once inside the forest the police and the criminals discover a bizarre world where mythical creatures exist and the curse of ancient treasure hidden within the forest is in fact real. As they make their way through the forest they must fight against the creatures within and each other - in hopes of escaping alive.

Vengeance (Official site)

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‘Dark City’ (Director's Cut) R1 DVD

The critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I Robot, The Crow) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fi’s most exciting and revered tales. When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder he soon finds himself hunted by the police a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city. Starring Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt and Kiefer Sutherland.

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'Doomsday' (Unrated Widescreen Edition) R1 DVD

Loud, violent, and proudly derivative, the post-apocalyptic action-thriller Doomsday is the latest from UK cult director Neil Marshall, who impressed horror fans with his previous efforts, Dog Soldiers and The Descent. Both pictures established Marshall as a director with a knack for reinventing well-worn genre pictures, but here, he seems more interested in stitching together favorite scenes and elements from established horror and science-fiction films. Escape from New York is the main source for Doomsday, though there are plenty of nods to The Road Warrior and its multitude of Italian-made carbon copies, as well as the zombie/plague subgenre; the lovely but impassive Rhona Mitra is the Snake Plissken-esque loner sent by police (represented by Bob Hoskins) to infiltrate Scotland, which has descended into anarchy following a viral outbreak.

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'Psycho Beach Party' R2 DVD

Psycho Beach Party comes from screenwriter and dragtress extraordinaire Charles Busch. It's an audaciously funny whodunit and psycho thriller parody set on the sun-drenched beaches of ‘60s Malibu. When pouty-lipped misfit Chicklet, (Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under) finally makes her way into the cool crowd, she begins having insanely bizarre blackouts. At precisely the same time, all of her beefcake surfer pals mysteriously drop like flies and she quickly becomes the chief suspect. A madcap romp with shirtless hunks, a wannabe surf babe with a split personality, oh, and a few severed body parts.

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'The Tiger Blade' Blu-ray

When the police are challenged with a highly volatile and dangerous case a young maverick cop with mystical powers is put on the job. Yosthana teams up with the seductive Duang Dao to hunt down and capture the deadly Five Bullets Bandit and the brutal female warrior G.I. Jenjira.The fearsome gang is led by the lethal Mahesak who like Yosthana is skilled in the art of sorcery and magic. Mahesak can only be defeated with The Tiger Blade an ancient sword that holds the powers of nature and the forces of good. Yosthana must find The Tiger Blade and bring Mahesak to justice. The stage is set for a gruesome battle between the two archenemies.

The Tiger Blade (Official site)

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'Madame O' R1 DVD

Madame O: Director - Seiichi Fukuda
R1 DVD: Review by - Pete Higgins

“Madame O” is not your average female-revenge flick. For one thing, its sedate pace (it was made in 1967) takes some getting used to. For another, its languid, poised, quietly beautiful heroine is hardly the stuff of modern J-horror. And, for yet another, the unrelenting gaze with which it observes some pretty disturbing goings-on is brutally effective.

The plot, for what it’s worth, is your average female revenge-flick: Madame O, a successful gynaecologist, was gang-raped on the beach that summer, and now she picks up guys in bars, sleeps with them, and kills them. Pretty standard stuff, right? Not this time. Prepare yourself for a film that packs a real emotional punch.

The star, Michiko Sakyô, is in practically every scene, and she brings a truly mesmerising quality to her role, going about her business with a steely determination that’s never less than compelling. Whether she’s injecting her sleeping lover with some unnamed substance, or just driving home from work, you can’t take your eyes off her for a second. As the film progresses and things get really far out, you might want to stop looking, but resistance, as they say, is futile.

Switching, seemingly at random, between colour and black-and-white, “Madame O” is quite unlike any other film I’ve ever seen. Perhaps it’s just that I haven’t seen many Japanese films from the sixties. Anyway, even in its dubbed version, this is a film worth tracking down, because no amount of dubbing can detract from the superb cinematography and the film’s stately but hypnotic progress. And then there’s the surprising subtlety of the sex scenes, which, like those in “Lust, Caution” actually advance the plot and teach you something about the people involved, rather than just spicing things up. Yes, whatever it takes to make a cult classic, “Madame O” has got it.

Madame O Trailer

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Like to suggest a DVD release we might have missed? Why not drop us a line and tell us about it.

18th July

'Gosa: Bloody mid-term exams' Theatrical trailer

The theatrcial trailer has just been uploaded to the offical site for Korean horror 'Gosa: Bloody mid terms.' The film holds two real distinctions. Number one being its only about the second home grown horror pic to be released in Korea this year - And two, it does actually look really quite good! Very light on the long haired ghosts, 'Gosa' seems instead to give a large nod of recognition to the world of slasher horror. 'Gosa' opens in Korean in August.

Gosa (Official site)

18th July

'The Good, the Bad, the Weird': Review

The Korean Times reporter Lee Hyo-won reviews one of the hottest tickets in Korean cinema this year. Kim Jee-woon's Western extravaganza - 'The Good, the Bad, the Weird.'

Director Kim Jee-woon (``A Bittersweet Life,'' 2005) finally brings home what had judges in awe at 2008 Cannes in its out-of-competition section. While inspired by Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western ``The Good, the Bad, the Ugly,'' 1966, ``kimchi'' Western (as the Toronto International Film Festival calls it) ``The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' achieves, with finesse, the creative struggle of transforming self and heritage into something new.

``Good'' is seductively entertaining in the way you expect a Western movie to be: three of Korea's most endearing actors ride around with guns on horseback and engage in a pulsating train robbery, cross-country treasure hunt and three-way shootout. But the films has that inherent Koreanness; it capitalizes on heritage in a new playing field. Exceeding all domestic records in terms of budget and number of takes for shoots, it recreates the exoticism of 1930s Manchuria, the natural born child of the ancient Silk Road where all of Asia seems to melt together in one pot....

Read the full review here

The Good, The Bad (Official site)

17th July

Norwegian slasher sequel 'Cold Prey 2' teases

A teaser poster has just dropped for the sequel to last years surprise international horror hit, the Norwegian slasher ‘Cold Prey.’ We loved the first movie and are looking forward to seeing this second installment big time. All we can say is - U.S./ U.K distributors, buy the rights to this movie now!

The sequels story follows directly after the bloody events of the first movie and apparently promises to be even more action packed. You can see the poster full size on the pics official site. 'Fritt Vilt 2' (aka 'Cold Prey 2') is scheduled to open in Norway on Oct 10th.

Cold Prey 2 (Official site)

16th July

Japan becomes an 'Infected Island' in 2009

Due out in the new year is Japanese disaster horror 'Infected Island' (aka 'Kansen Rettou'). Directed by Takahisa Zeze the pic is apparently about the outbreak of an unknown virus in Japan. We've just tracked down a teaser poster for the film, but the boys at Nippon Cinema have some additional background info.

Kansen Rettou official site (Not yet active)

15th July

‘Exte: Hairy Extensions': DVD winners

Our contest to give away 3 copies of of Sion Sono’s 'Exte Hairy Extensions’ has come to an end and the winners have been drawn. Congratulations are due too: Min Kim, Jacob Robins and Dan Wu. If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep a look out - More great giveaways soon.

Exte Trailer

Read our review of EXTE here

14th July

Teaser poster and trailer for 'SexyKiller'

Well as premises go for a film we've seen weirder. Well maybe. The official site for Spanish comedy splatter-fest 'SexyKiller' is now online, with a downloadable version of the teaser trailer. 'SexyKiller' gives new meaning to "Fashion Victim." Macarena Gómez plays the lead - the murderous "SexyKiller" who appears to be a cross between "Paris Hilton and Hannibal Lecter": A cannibal psychopath but with a closet full of exclusive designs. The blood and mayhem lets fly, when the film opens in Spain in October.

Synopsis: The Campus of an exclusive faculty of medicine begins to sown with corpses. The police have no clue as to who is responsible for the carnage. Nobody suspected Barbara, an innocent-looking young woman whose only concern seems to be fashion. However, under this frivolous facade hides the most lethal and unforgiving of killers.

Sexy Killer (Official site)

*Update* To save time downloading the trailer, we've also found it to see on Youtube.

14th July

'Grindhouse Trailer Classics Vol. 2' up for pre-order on DVD

Hot on the heels of the successful - and critically acclaimed - Grindhouse Trailer Classics vol 1, Nucleus Films have been busy polluting their minds watching a mind-twisting plethora of movie trailer trash in preparation for this much requested follow up volume of Grindhouse trailers, which promises to be just as audacious as the first volume – and then some!

Be prepared to venture on a second two-hour trip into the demented minds of the folks at Nucleus Films, and have your brain knocked out of gear by this stunning assault on the senses of demented and deranged movie previews, the likes of which you never dreamed of!

Grindhouse Trailer Classics vol 2 brings you a hand-picked collection of mind-blowing trailers for the 1960s and 1970s cult movies that have inspired and informed the works of a whole generation of contemporary directors including the likes of Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof), Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror), Eli Roth (Hostel) and Rob Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects) – films such as THE BLACK GESTAPO, TEN VIOLENT WOMEN, THE BODYGUARD, THE DEPRAVED, BLOODY PIT OF HORROR, THE PINK ANGELS, FOXY BROWN and many more.

To see a couple of clips (not safe for work) from Grindhouse Trailer Classics vol.1, go here and here.

Pre-order the DVD

13th July

Thai teaser trail for 'The Coffin'

The Thai website for Ekachai Uekrongtham’s (Beautiful Boxer) supernatural thriller ‘The Coffin’ is now up and running, with a teaser trailer for the flick. Unusually for Thai horror movie trailer its light on the blood n gore, going instead for atmosphere and claustrophobic chills. For background on the pic and to see the Korean trailer for the movie, check our posts on June 15/17th.

The Coffin (Official site)

Source

12th July

'A Tale of Legendary Libido' on DVD

Korea's answer to Austin Powers? A Tale of Legendary Libido stars comedy sensation Bong Tae Gyu (The Two Faces of My Girlfriend) as a timid loner suddenly bestowed with an incredible mojo that allows him to have super strength erection. In this latest raunchy sex comedy loosely based on the ancient Korean folklore song Byeon Kang Swe Tale about a macho sex icon named Byeon Kang Swe, director Shin Han Sol (The Art of Fighting) offers a modern day interpretation of machismo and male sexuality that clearly sets his film apart from previous adaptations like Garujigi (1988).

In a small mountainous village during the Joseon era, there lived a young timid rice cake seller named Kang Swe (Bong Tae Gyu), who suffered from impotency due to a freak accident some years ago. The target of the town's mockery, he hides himself in the mountains, but his stay is cut short after running into a monk who passes on the ancient secret of never-ending erection. Now in full gear, Kang Swe returns to the village and finds out that all healthy men have been sent out to war. With sex-hungry, lusty women fighting to get a piece of the action, Kang Swe certainly has some work cut out for himself.

Tale of Legendary Libido Trailer

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12th July

‘Exte: Hairy Extensions': DVD giveaway ends soon!

A quick reminder to any that may have missed it. Our latest DVD giveaway to win a copy of Sion Sono’s J-Horror ‘Exte: Hairy Extensions,’ is drawing to a close. We have three copies up for grabs and entry closes July 14th, after which 3 winners names will be picked at random. To enter, send us an email to the address on our contact page, with your name and the title "EXTE DVD" in the subject field. Easy as pie.

Exte Trailer

Read our review of EXTE here

11th July

Tokyo Gore Police: Review

Tokyo Gore Police (2008) Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
Reviewed by: Luis Muniz.

Ignorance is bliss if blood-spatter can’t get any better then this. As a partial fan of Japanese Anime, finally, someone seems to be implementing that particular style into live action cinema. I wondered who the master mind could be that is taking makeup to a whole new level making it possible to take some of that uncanny substance that’s created into that lost terminology i.e., Japanimation, and put it to the test on the big screen for an audience to realistically see.

Lucky for us (admirers of that caricature culture) a film like this gives promise for more Anime to be converted to cinema like Stan Lee’s comic book to movie invasion. Special effects wizard Yoshihiro Nishimura (Meatball Machine, The Machine Girl) scores big with his gruesomely bizarre Tokyo Gore Police starring Eihi Shiina, (Audition) a nearly forgotten actress that remains a mystery as to why stardom hasn’t come to pass. This film that I phrase in one word “insanity” takes you on a journey of bloodshed where carnage, amputation and absolute gore is a way of life in future Tokyo.....

Continue reading 'Tokyo Gore Police' review

Tokyo Gore Police trailer

10th July

Teaser trailer for 'Truck'

It appears Korean has jumped on the hand cam film production band wagon, with the release of the teaser trailer for Hyung-jin Kwon's horror thriller 'Truck.' Other than the films plotline we don't know that much about the production. But from the trail, its looking like one intense piece of filmaking. Check out the trailer on the pics official site - Link below.

(Yu Hae-jin) is a simple truck driver transporting liquor, vegetables and other goods. When his daughter is diagnosed with a congenital heart disease, he scrambles to borrow money from his friends to pay for for the operation but cannot raise the necessary amount. He follows a friend to a gambling house to raise the outstanding money, but luck deserts him and he loses everything. In a further bout of bad luck, he enters the wrong room in the gambling den only to witness a gang boss stabbing several victims to death in a murderous rage.

After his friend begs for Chul-min's life, the gang boss sends him to a faraway province to dispose of the corpses. Carrying the dead bodies in his truck, Chul-min listens to the radio for company on the nerve-racking journey. The news program is about extraordinary serial killer Young-ho (Jin Ku) who is under police escort to a mental asylum. As Chul-min passes a country lane, he spots a car that has fallen into the ditch. Inside, he finds the bodies of several murdered policemen. After some hesitation, he leaves to complete his duty to bury the corpses. However, a policeman unexpectedly flags his truck down and orders him to drive him to the exact province that he is heading to. As Chul-min unravels the real identity of his passenger, his nightmare really begins...

Truck (Official site)

10th July

'Fermat’s Room': Review

Fermat's Room (2007) Director Luis Piedrahita/Rodrigo Sopeña
Reviewed by: Peter Higgins

The more movies you see, the less likely it is that you are ever going to be genuinely surprised by one. Will the cop come out of retirement to handle the case? Will the couple who seem so ill-suited get together in the end? Will the crook who just wants to go straight get entangled in one last, messy, caper? Why, yes!

OK, but how about: will the four mathematicians locked in the inexorably-shrinking room manage to escape before they all get reduced to little more than a pocket calculator and a pair of glasses? That’s the premise of the splendidly entertaining Spanish film “Fermat’s Room”. Directed by Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena, “Fermat’s Room” is a white-knuckle ride into terror, guilt and mathematics.

After a brief introductory sequence, the basic set-up is in place, and we are stuck in that room with our “heroes”. The four mathematicians in question are: the brash youngster; the sexy one with whom the brash youngster may or may not have once had an affair; the no-nonsense, slightly dull one (with beard); and the older (and wiser?) one (also with beard).

Why are they here? Who is setting the fiendish puzzles which they have to solve in order to survive? How many sweets do you have to pull out of the jar in order to label the jars correctly? And just where can I get one of those nifty PDAs the bad guy uses? Genuinely surprising, utterly gripping, at times very funny, “Fermat’s Room” is enough to entertain even those of you who hated maths at school. Especially those of you who hated maths at school.

Fermat's Room (Official site)

9th July

Korean horror 'Wide Awake' on R1 DVD

Director Lee Kyu Man horror thriller 'Wdie Awake (aka The Return) is up for pre-order on R1 DVD. A hair-raising, whodunnit mystery incorporates a medical enigma for extra suspense. The pic stars a great ensemble cast including Kim Myung Min (Into The Mirror), Kim Tae Woo (Epitaph), Jung Yoo Suk (You Are My Sunshine), and Kim Yoo Mi (The Doll Master).

Synopsis: Surgeon Ryu Jaeu gains recognition from his colleagues for carrying out Korea’s first ever operation using hypnotic anaesthesia, together with psychiatrist O Chihun. Jaeu ignores opposition from his surgical partner, anaesthetist Jang Seokho. But with the return of childhood friend Gang Ukhwan, strange events start to unfold in the lives of Jaeu and his wife. One day, Jaeu’s wife collapses with an inexplicable fever. Jaeu himself
takes charge of the operation, but is unable to save her. Plunged into despair, Jaeu makes an unexpected discovery about his wife’s death and sets out to find out the truth. The truth gradually emerges As Jaeu digs deeper, he realizes there is a shocking secret behind not only his wife’s death, but the whole chain of events surrounding him.

Wide Awake Trailer

Order the DVD here

9th July

Palisades picks up Tartan’s UK library

New York based Palisades Media has acquired the majority of Tartan Films UK's film library of more than 400 titles several weeks after the company went into administration. The move follows Palisades' acquisition of Tartan's US film library in May. The news is small consolation, considering just a year ago Tartan was the name in Asian film distribution. But, trying to look at the glass half full, at least it means the entire catalog will stay together under one distributor.

Source

8th July

FrightFest is coming!

A date of note for U.K horror film fans! Now in its ninth year, The Film4 FrightFest the UK’s premiere festival of horror and fantasy has announced its full lineup. Taking place at the Odeon West End in Leicester Square London, the fest runs from Thurs 21 August to Monday 25th August with the best in horror and gore screenings, premieres and personal appearances. Just some of the treats to see, for genre fans will include: New Brit shock horror ‘Eden Lake,’ Swedish Vampire chiller ‘Let the Right One In’ and (highly anticipated around these parts) Yoshihiro Nishimura’s Japanese mega splatter fest ‘Tokyo Gore Police.’ For the full screening schedule, event guide and ticket into, check out the festivals website.

FrightFest (Official site)

8th July

New 'Dragonball' poster

Posted by: Daniel

Justin Chatwin stars as our hero, Goku, in the 2009 anime-movie adaptation by James Wong, and judging by Goku's clothes in the poster, it seems that the movie is going for a more modern setting, and not the traditional, ancient one as in the anime. This modernisation, and the fact that Goku is played by an American (not to mention a fairly unknown one) has angered some, believing that an actor more close to home should have perhaps been cast. The movie includes some big names though, like Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and is James Wong's fifth film as director.

Casting aside, I will be busting at the seams to see this movie when it comes out, being a lifelong Dragonball(/Dragonball Z) fanatic, and while it is hard to imagine Goku appearing on the big screen, I will be eagerly awaiting the day that he does.

Dragonball is still in post-production and is expecting an April 2009 release, worldwide. Via

Posters 1 2

7th July

The Orphanage (aka El Orfanato) DVD: Review

The Orphanage (2007) Director - Juan Antonio Bayona
R2 DVD (Optimum Releasing) Reviewed by: Peter Higgins

Remember the first time you saw "The Others"? How the tension was expertly drawn-out and you thought you couldn't stand it any more until... bang: that moment when the door slams shut on Nicole Kidman, and from then on, the pace never lets up and you know you're in the hands of a master film-maker. Older readers may have had a similar experience at their first viewing of "Aliens"... just when they were ready to think, "actually, this film isn't really that exciting..." all hell broke loose, and then they didn't have time to think at all. So now here comes "The Orphanage", a film of such power and finesse and skill, a film so brilliantly-crafted that you won't mind its minor faults, maybe won't even notice the way its plot is so riddled with holes. Because, trust me, when that first jaw-dropping (pun intended...) moment comes, the only way you're not going to be out of your seat with shock is if you're asleep (unlikely), or dead.

But let’s start again, at the very beginning. The film’s opening images are of children's hands peeling away layers of antique wallpaper, to reveal... what? An inky black nothingness, that's all. Then we get a scene-setting flashback, with soft-focus and bleached colours. Our heroine arrives at the titular building, with grand plans for the place. There will be a party for all the lucky children who will make this their home. But things are not as they should be. Who, exactly, is the almost ludicrously weird social worker? What the hell does she want? And why is our heroine's husband behaving so strangely?

And why, in spite of everything, are we still lulled into believing we are way ahead of the story, when, in fact, we are miles behind? Too late: all hell has broken loose. Now you're on the edge of your seat and you're staying there for the duration. Cue creepy psychics, children wearing horrible masks, ill-advised journeys into dark cellars, revelations that might come just in time, or might not.

Keeping a film like this from descending into mediocrity or stupidity is no easy task, but director Juan Antonio Bayona knows exactly what he’s doing. He is helped immensely by excellent performances from the entire cast, and a perfectly-judged screenplay (by Sergio G. Sánchez). With its startling mixture of familiar horror clichés, sentimentality, brutally well-timed shocks and dazzlingly well-directed set-pieces, "The Orphanage" already feels like a modern classic.

The Orphanage (Official site)

6th July

Gala NA Premiere for 'The Good, The Bad and The Weird' at TIFF

Oh you lucky Canadians. The North American premiere of KIM Ji-woon’s eagerly anticipated ‘oriental western’ The Good, The Bad, The Weird' will have a Gala showing at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this September. KIM’s western, which had its World Premiere at Cannes this May, is apparently the first Korean film to receive a Gala screening at the Toronto fest.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird will be released in Korea on July 17th. The film, revolving around a treasure map, stars SONG Kang-ho, LEE Byung-hun and JUNG Woo-sung and is set in Manchuria during the Japanese colonial period. The CJ Ent.-backed film has already sold to 11 nations, with CJ handling international sales. Source

The Good, The Bad (Official site)

The Good, The Bad (English subtitled trailer)

6th July

Theatrical trailer for Indonesian horror 'Karma'

The website for upcoming Indonesian movie 'Karma,' has just a had a makeover with a shiny new theatrical trailer holding pride of place. The pic will boast visuals by Hollywood art director Martin Surya (The Hulk, Paycheck) mixing a blend of ancient Chinese/Indonesian traditions and Hollywood visuals.

"The Guan family is put under an eternal spell: every woman in the family is bound to suffer a tragic death. Still, this does not deter Sandra (Dominique Agisca Diyose) to marry Armand Guan (Joe Taslim), and pull out every possible effort to put the long-lasting bad karma to an end."

'Karma' opens in Indonesia, in July.

Karma official site

5th July

'A Tale of Two Sisters' on Blu-ray Disc

A big 24fps welcome to another new contributor the site Luis Muniz, with news of a Korean horror classic arriving on Blu-ray.

Posted by: Luis Muniz

For those who are in demand to see some excellent picture & sound quality from an instant classic, Janghwa, Hongryeon a.k.a A tale of two sisters goes Blu-ray on July 28th 2008. Although there is no mention of any new material added that could possibly surpass what was applied to the Tartan Asia Extreme DVD, a Blu-ray experience of a beautiful horror film is worth the watch.

Synopsis: Bae Soo-yeon (Geun-yeong Mun) and Bae Soo-mi (Su-jeong Lim) are sent to a mental hospital after the intimate death of their mother. When released, they are welcomed by their wicked stepmother Eun-joo (Jung-ah Yum) only to find themselves wondering in a house full of tension amongst their father and an eerie paranormal that lurks about.

Ed: With the unfortunate demise of Tartan UK going into administration, it's still not 100% clear what will happen to the brand. This could well be one of the last releases under the Tartan label. A great shame indeed.

A tale of two sisters trailer

Order the Disc here

5th July

A glowing review of John Woo's 'Red Cliff'

The Korean Times reporter Lee Hyo-won has just written a positively glowing review for John Woo's 'Red Cliff.'

By Lee Hyo-won. Korean Times

Finally. Asian cinema sees the birth of a movie with the grandeur in both budget and inspiration of epic franchises like ``The Lord of the Rings.'' ``Mission Impossible II'' and ``Face/Off'' helmer John Woo brings ``Red Cliff'' (``Chi Bi'' in Chinese), a pulsating, two-part battle flick based on the historical tome ``The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.''

To drive up the heat, it stars not one but three iconic actors: Tony Leung (``Lust, Caution''), Takeshi Kaneshiro (``House of Flying Daggers'') and Chang Chen (``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.''). This $80 million co-production by South Korea's Showbox/Mediaplex is yet another story about the three warring ancient Chinese states. Recently, there was another domestic production geared for a pan-Asian audience, ``Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon'' with Andy Lau and Maggie Q. ``Red Cliff'' not only satisfies those who grew up reading the novel, but will also appeal to a wider audience.... Read the full review here.

Red Cliff Trailer

5th July

'Repo Man’ sequel on the way?

British writer-director Alex Cox (Sid & Nancy) is planning a sequel to his 1984 cult hit ‘Repo Man.‘ Cox has already completed the screenplay for the project, ‘Repo Chick,’ and is looking for studio backing. The new movie is billed as "a 21st-century look at the issues of Repo Man." The film will feature some of the same cast as appeared in Repo Man, but the central character, will be female. Alas there are no roles for the originals leads - Emilio Estevez or Harry Dean Stanton.

Repo Chick will be set against the backdrop of the credit crunch and the mortgage crisis in the US, where repossessions of homes, cars and other forms of property is at a new high. "The repo business has expanded to everything from boats, houses, aeroplanes, small nations...children.” Said Cox. So the scripts written, but a stack of paper is still a long way from a movie production. 'Repo Man' has always tended to have a polarizing effect on opinion around these parts. If the sequel does get off the ground, the news will have the lovers and haters of Cox's work in shivers of either delight, or horror. Source

4th July

‘Ninja in ancient China’ on DVD

Cult label Greenfan dropped us a line to tell us they have have just released Chang Cheh’s (the director of The 5 Venoms and The One Armed Swordsman) classic Kung Fu film ‘Ninja In Ancient China,’ on DVD

When tragedy befalls Taoist master Yu at the hands of power hungry general Suen Cheuk, the Taoist master's students, the Five Element Ninja, decide that revenge is their only option. However, if they are to have their vengeance they must first infiltrate the inner circle of the general's closest allies. Featuring action choreograph by by Kung Fu Hustle star Tung Chi Hua, Shaw Brothers legend Chang Cheh delivers a classic 'old school' kung fu flick, filled with intrigue, high emotion , blistering fight sequences and a tiny bit of high campery.

An added bonus, the release is region free so can be watched
anywhere.

Ninja In Ancient China trailer

3rd July

Thai martial arts sensation 'Chocolate': Review

Chocolate (2008) Director - Prachya Pinkaew
Reviewed by: Darren Cenerini

One of my favorite genres of movies are the martial arts movies. Films like Enter The Dragon, Supercop, Iron Monkey and many more classics are a guilty pleasure of mine. I love movies with an epic, moving story more than most people, but even I cannot deny that sometimes you just want to watch people get smacked around. A few years back martial arts movies seemed to be at an all time low, relying more on wireframe stunts and CGI than actual martial arts. A man named Prachya Pinkaew stepped up and presented us with his first studio film, Ong Bak, starring now legendary Muay Thai fighter Tony Jaa. The absolutely stunning fight scenes and disregard for anyone's safety by seldom using safety equipment had me speechless. This was it. Martial arts movies were back, and hopefully here to stay. We were then presented with Tom Yum Goong, the follow up to Ong Bak and once again it took me many days after initial viewing to pick my jaw up off the floor. This year, Prachya's third film, Chocolate, was released but had a noticeable absence of Tony Jaa. Taking his place was a newcomer; a female fighter with roots in Taekwondo named Jeeja Yanin. Could she possibly be as good as Tony?.....Continue reading the review here

Chocolate (Official site)

2nd July

Stunning new footage from Mamoru Oshii's 'The Sky Crawlers'

The official site for Mamoru Oshii's (Ghost in the Shell) new feature animation film, ‘The Sky Crawlers’ has just gone fully live and within is a quite stunning full length trailer. Oshii has blended 2D and 3D animation into something that we think will blow viewers away. We really want to see this now!

The story unfolds in another 'possible' modern age. The main characters are youngsters called "Kildren", who are destined to live eternally in their adolescence. The Kildren are conscious that every day could be the last, because they fight a "war as entertainment" organized and operated by adults. But as they embrace the reality they are faced with, they live their day-to-day lives to the full.

‘Sky Crawlers’ is due to be released in Japan in August.

The Sky Crawlers (Official site)

2nd July

'Mutant Chronicles' teaser trailer has arrived

Get it while you can. Tomas Jane has uploaded a teaser trailer for his new film ‘Mutant Chronicles’ onto his own personal website. It's not clear if this is a studio sanctioned posting, so it might not be there for long. First impressions - visually at least, it doesn’t suck. There are still some concerns about the (and/or lack of) plot, but hey its an action film after all. For now, colour us a little more optomistic. Link to trailer below. Source

Mutant Chronicles Teaser

2nd July

'The Shadowless Sword' finally gets an R1 and R2 DVD release

Twice the fun! Young-Jun Kim's (Bichunmoo) action-packed Korean martial arts fantasy adventure 'The Shadowless Sword, has finally made its way to R1 and R2 DVD. Set during the Balhae Dynasty in the 10th century, the film is full of danger, political intrigue and great FX.

After the fall of the Korean capital in the year A.D. 926, the kingdom is plunging into chaos. The only remaining heir, Prince Jung-Hyun (Lee Seo Jin) is living in exile. Still loyal to the dynasty, the beautiful and deadly warrior So-Ha (Yoon Soy) sets out to find Jung-Hyun and guide him to ascend the throne of Balhae and restore order to the kingdom. But with the Army's greatest assassins and the criminal underworld hunting them, So-Ha and Jung-Hyun are swept into an explosive, non stop battle of swords and bloodshed as they fight to reclaim the fallen throne from the 'Killing Blade' army. In this epic struggle of good and evil, the fate of a nation hangs in balance.

Shadowless Sword Trailer

Order the R1 DVD

Order the R2 DVD

1st July

French poster and trailer for Agnès Merlet's 'Dorothy'

French production house Mars distribution have just uploaded the trailer and poster for Agnès Merlet's taut, atmospheric, and scary as hell looking psychological horror, 'Dorothy.' Although this is the French trailer, the actual film is in English. 'Dorothy' stars Carice van Houten, Gary Lewis, Eamonn Owens, Gavin O'Connor, Niamh Shaw and Charlene McKenna.

Synopsis: Dorothy Mills is suspected of assaulting a young baby in a contemporary but timeless rural village. She is visited by psychiatrist and outsider, Jane, who discovers that Dorothy may not be responsible for her actions and may be possessed by a horrifying and malevolent force. As she helps Dorothy, Jane is confronted with her own past tragedies - and starts to unravel another terrible secret hidden by some of the local villagers.

Dorothy opens in France in August and for those Stateside that like the looks of it, keep a watch out. Word is the Weinstein's have already picked up the U.S rights to the film.

Dorothy Trailer

Dorothy Stills

30th June

J-Horror ‘Exte: Hairy Extensions': DVD Giveaway

We have another great DVD giveaway! Sion Sono’s J-Horror ‘Exte: Hairy Extensions’ is being released through Revolver films, and we have three copies up for grabs. The giveaway is open to all, but please be aware that these are region 2 discs. The comp runs until July 14th, after which 3 winners names will be picked at random. To enter, send us an email to the address on our contact page, with your name and the title "EXTE DVD" in the subject field. Thats all there is too it, good luck!

Exte Trailer

Read our review of EXTE here

30th June

New Thai poster for 'The Coffin'

Perhaps playing catch-up with their Korean (who are releasing the film first) counterparts, the Thai marketing campaign for the new Thai horror 'The Coffin' has been kicked up a notch, with the appearance of a new (suitably bloody) poster for the film online. More details on the production can found down the page, in our post dated June 15th.

Via

The Coffin (Official Korean site)