Nightmare Theater - The Hottest Films in Horror, Sci-Fi and Cult Cinema # 4

This month features more Asian Horror Cinema!
And you know I like em strange so let's get right to it.

Uzumaki

 Based on the Junji Ito Manga, "Uzumaki" is a darkly comedic Alice in Wonderland; only instead of entering through the looking glass into another world, another world seems to be entering the small town of Kurouzu through a growing number of "Spirals" creating bizarre obsessions, Medusa-like hair, and insects crawling into people's ears and settling in the inner cochlea to transmit hallucinations. Yes, all that and more...

This is beautifully shot and immensely odd. While not a violent film it does have a certain amount of gore that is fairly original in its delivery as the final results of some of the odd obsessive and eccentric behavior elicited by this inexplicable spiral curse. If you think it is cool in it's own right, I had a cool sync experience watching the film while listening to the first album by Fantomas !

With or without the audio augmentation, I rate this unique film 5 Skulls!

~

Living Hell aka Iki-jigoku

Sometimes referred to as "Japanese Chainsaw Massacre"!
By Shugo Fujji

Only instead of a man in a skin mask with a chainsaw we have a granny who is creepy and enjoys torturing her crippled relative, Yasu (Hirohito Honda)  with a taser. The reviews on this film are often mixed, and while it is an obvious homage to the Tobe Hooper classic original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" it certainly doesn't steal the show from its predecessor. That said, the Japanese have an interesting flair to put on just about anything and this is no exception. The cold cruel Grandmother and Grand daughter team are delightful. And you just gotta wonder when poor Yasu is gonna get a break!
I liked this film, It's got some character, but being a"take-off" of another classic original, I can only give it 3 Skulls.

~

Gozu

A Takashi Miike Film

Merely mentioning the name Takashi Miike certifies that the movie you are about to see will probably not be like many other films you have seen. "GOZU" or ("Grand Theatre of Perversion and Fear: Cow's Head") as it's longer full title translates, is a Yakuza horror flick that would make David Lynch stand up and take notice! It has a strange over-arching philosophical vibe that creeps throughout the work similar to a Jodorowsky film, but in the end this is classic Miike all the way! A positive reception at Cannes Film Festival in 2003 assured that this bizarre film got a theatrical release (well not in the States, but...)

4 Skulls for this creative Miike film!

 ~

All for now, Till next time...

May all your Nightmares be cinematic:)

Nightmare Theater - The Hottest Films in Horror SciFi, & Cult Cinema

I am happy to present a new feature here at Nightmare Sound Laboratory! In case you haven't guessed it by now, I sort of have a thing for Horror movies, as well as Sci-Fi, Cult, Asian Cinema and, well, just movies in general. As such I have a collection of over a thousand films, including many obscure titles. From "so bad it's good" to "so good it's terrifying" and everything in-between, I'd like to present some of my favorite picks in this feature I call "Nightmare Theater". I won't be doing reviews here 'per se', but I will present some recommendations and sufficient description to solve your movie night dilemmas. The hottest picks from my private collection, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 skulls.

Today's picks are from my Asian Cinema collection. Here are a couple of my all time favorites and definitely amongst some of the wildest films out there!

Hellevator

"Hellevator" or ("The Bottled Fools") the 2004 Japanese film written and directed by Hiroki Yamaguchi is definitely NOT for the kiddies:) It is gruesome, freakish, post-Apocalyptic cyber-punk in an elevator. This film makes M. Night Shamylan pee his bed while David Lynch laughs about it. It's weird, it's tense, and it's everything I love in a film. "A Clockwork Orange" get's stood on it's head, crammed through "1984" and dropped in to a brave New Tokyo most of which occurs while a group of strangers are trapped on an elevator with dangerous prisoners. Bored with "regular" old movies? THIS IS A MUST SEE FILM! Five Skulls!

Save the Green Planet

"Save the Green Planet" (2003) is a Korean film from the mind  writer/director Joon Hwang-Jang. This Dark Comedy lives up to both characteristics to the highest degree. Again, this film is NOT for children, nonetheless it can be both heartwarming AND horrifying in the same moment. Byeong-gu (Ha-kyun Shin) suspects his boss is an Alien. With the help of his adorable hapless, naive but loyal girlfriend Kang Man-shik (Yun-shik Baek) they go to extreme measures to save the world from invasion! Madcap creepy fun! 5 Skulls!

Volcano High 

Another splendid Korean film by Director Tae-gyun Kim, "Volcano High" (2001) is a fun high flying fantasy FX film about violence between rivals at WanSanGo (Volcano High). This is silly comic book fun with plenty of martial arts madness, schoolgirls who kick ass and enough mystic Kung Fu to sooth the Taoist in me. Think Battle Royal but WAY cooler! Exciting cinematography and experimental tones give this a super comic book feel! The film centers around Kyeong-su (Hyuk Jang) a transfer student known for disciplinary troubles, who must unite the students to face a greater enemy than rival gangs. The DVD comes with an English version dubbed by famous rappers (Snoop Dog, Method Man, & others); DO NOT WATCH THE ENGLISH VERSION! It ruins the movie, and whether you like those artists or not, the dubbing is sub par and the entire flow and vibe of the film is lost. There is also something about the nature of the Korean language that is so critical to the actors' performances. Definitely watch the Korean version with English subtitles. You won't regret it! You guessed it: 5 Skulls!

These are three of my all time favorites so we got 15 Skulls up on the trophy wall!

Nothing like watching a good film with some great fiends!

That's all for now,  till next time at Nightmare Theater,

Beast Wishes,

T.Reed - Composer @TAOXproductions

http://www.taoxproductions.com http://www.imdb.me/treed

Guns, Girls, and Giant monsters - Assault Girls - Another Mamoru Oshii TKO

I think I love this movie and I haven't even seen it yet.

Here's why:

Did I mention, this movie has it all! The 3 Gs: Guns, Girls, and Giant Monsters. Don't know that I need to say more, but for those that need convincing, take into account that it is a Mamoru Oshii film ( The same guy responsible for the groundbreaking "Ghost in the Shell", Avalon, and perhaps less well known, but no less intriguing and bizarre "The Red Spectacles" (1987). The music was done by Kenji Kawai. http://www.kenjikawai.com

In case you are not convinced yet:

Check out the trailer:

"Assault Girls" is scheduled for a 12/19/09 Japanese release. I can't wait to get it here!

Horror and SciFi writer, Robert Hood usually beats me to the punch on these hot new films, I just toss one or two in that really strike my fancy. You can check out his fine blog @ http://undeadbrainspasm.blogspot.com