Recent viewings

[fulci420]

Picked up a book at the library about Asian Horror/Cult films which made me realize that aside from a few titles I have not really seen many of these movies at all. Thankfully almost all of the movies mentioned are on youtube, so I decided to check some out starting with...

What's the name of the book? This one got me into the genre but it's a bit older and out-of-date:

The book is called "Asia Shock, Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand." Written by Patrick Galloway in 2006. Not really a big fan of this guys writing as he tends to spend far too much of his reviews simply going through the plot detail by detail which I don't like. Still he highlights a bunch of films that I heard about before (like the aformentioned Evil Dead Trap) with a nice mix of stuff that's more on the obscure side. Your book looks like it focuses a bit more on the action side of things which I am a big fan of (John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam...)

[Rev. Powell]

Picked up a book at the library about Asian Horror/Cult films which made me realize that aside from a few titles I have not really seen many of these movies at all. Thankfully almost all of the movies mentioned are on youtube, so I decided to check some out starting with...

What's the name of the book? This one got me into the genre but it's a bit older and out-of-date:

The book is called "Asia Shock, Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand." Written by Patrick Galloway in 2006. Not really a big fan of this guys writing as he tends to spend far too much of his reviews simply going through the plot detail by detail which I don't like. Still he highlights a bunch of films that I heard about before (like the aformentioned Evil Dead Trap) with a nice mix of stuff that's more on the obscure side. Your book looks like it focuses a bit more on the action side of things which I am a big fan of (John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam...)

There's plenty of horror/fantasy/Cat III coverage in "Sex & Zen," which is a great cult movie book but written in 1996 so it misses some of the later stuff. It's got a running feature on bad subtitle translations that's pretty funny. If you like that stuff and your library has a copy I'd check it out.

[fulci420]

Will definitely check that book out if i come across it. Continuing in the same vein I watched.

Suicide Club (2001)All over Japan young people are killing themselves in mass groups. Detectives scramble to find out whats behind the phenomenon but the body count is quickly rising. Mysterious web sites, bags of skin and an all girl pop group all seem to be involved.

This is a movie that really takes chances in terms of shifting tones throughout. The suicide scenes are outright horror and blow away anything in the similarly themed "The Happening". But mixed in is a dark comic sensibility like when we go from the insane opening subway sequence right into a song and dance number preformed by child band "Desert". Add on top a gorgeous score and the addition of some philosophical musings in the second half and you have one hell of a movie. Really liked this one.
Suicide Club: Love Theme

[Javakoala]

Space Truckers (1996) -- What a hoot! Started dead serious, but after seeing the square pigs...there was no going back, and no way in hell was I going to stop watching this thing. Silly space adventure that ranks up there with Ice Pirates for glorious, put-your-brain-in-neutral entertainment. It has its fans here on the forum, and I am now one of them.

No point in covering the story. Space truckers, Debi Mazar and SQUARE PIGS!!!! If that isn't enough to get you to watch this, then you are probably in the wrong forum.

[indianasmith]

Last night I watched a double feature - ESCAPE PLAN with Schwarzenegger and Stallone (which was quite good, incidentally), and then ARGENTO'S DRACULA, which I enjoyed so much I am giving it a thread of its own.

[fulci420]

The Ebola Syndrome (1996)
Absolutely insane sleaze epic from Hong Kong. After flipping out in Hong Kong and killing some people our hero goes to south Africa to work at a restaurant. In a trip to buy meet he finds an african women near death and decides to rape her bringing him into contact with the ebola virus. On the negative side he is now extremely contagious bringing death to anyone who comes into contact with him on the bright side he remains healthy. Pure depravity ensues.

This movie was completely outrageous. Anthony Wong plays the main guy in what has to be one of the most vile depictions of a character I have ever seen. Absolutely to the brim with hate and insanity he still seems very much concerned about bullying which he despises. Even amongst all the depravity there is a great deal of humor here, such as when our guy is discovered slaughtering a family and when asked what he's doing reply "I am killing them, is that a problem.  I watched this the way any great work of art should be, on youtube in 240p.
Ebola Syndrome 1996 UNCUT

[Rev. Powell]

VANISHING WAVES (2012): A scientist experimenting with technology that would allow people to enter the minds of others creates an ethical dilemma when he falls in love with his subject: a young woman trapped in a coma. Inventive visuals, strange eroticism and a confusing third act highlight this literal mind trip, an unusual and expensive-looking science fiction piece from Lithuania. 3.5/5.

[fulci420]

After being impressed by the sheer insanity of The Ebola Syndrome I decided to move onto an earlier film from the same director/actor team.
 
The Untold Story (1993)When body parts spring up on the beach attention is drawn to a man running a very successful restaurant. Seems he cant provide any legal ownership of the place and investigators are keen to find out what happened to the family that previously ran the resteraunt. As the movie goes on we learn exactly what went down as well as the secret behind those delicious pork buns that are so popular.

This has quite a bit in common with The Ebola Syndrome, both films star Anthony Wong and both have him taking over a restaurant and serving the customers controversial food items. Where they differ is in the number of insane scenes. Whereas Ebola was packed front to back with crazy set pieces, The Untold Story only has a handful. In fact watching the first hour or so I was wondering what all the fuss was about, as other than an extended rape (which is undeniably repulsive) there really wasn't a whole lot of gore/violence to deserve such a reputation. However any question about why this film is one of the most notorious of all time is answered in the third act which breaks all of the taboos out there. I didn't think the comedy here was anywhere near as sharp as the later Ebola but overall I think this is as intense and dark as anything else you will find. Like in Ebola Anthony Wong shows that he can masterfully depict the despicable and I will definitely have to look further into this actors career. On Youtube if you dare.
BunMan: The Untold Story 1993 UNCUT

[Jack]

Death Spa (1989) - so this guy owns a health club but unfortunately his wife, who committed suicide a year earlier, is haunting the place and killing all his customers. As is the tradition, no matter how many people die or are injured, aerobics classes continue as usual This is the sort of thing you just watch for the babes in spandex; the movie itself is kind of amateurish in its pacing and the way the scenes are edited together, and there aren't too many examples of actual acting taking place. 3/5.

Roller Blade (1986) - in a post-apocalyptic world, two different groups vie for control of a crystal which provides unlimited energy. Oh good grief the plot is utter nonsense and it doesn't really matter anyway, this one is all about babes and boobs and spandex lol. It seems to have been written by a five year old and rewritten by some horny sixteen year old. That's not entirely a bad thing though 3/5.

[tracy]

"You Can't Take It With You",a wonderfully quirky film by Frank Capra. It was about a very eccentric family where everyone did as they pleased and trusted in The Good Lord to provide whatever they needed. They also tended to "collect" people who seemed unhappy or without direction....the iceman stopped by once and was there for the next 9 years. Lionel Barrymore,the merry patriarch,was trying to avoid selling his house to a wealthy banker that wanted to turn the whole block into commercial property....and ended up leaving with a timid accountant who just wanted to make toys. Jimmy Stewart played the banker's son who never wanted to get involved with the business and was in love with Barrymore's grand daughter. This movie is delightful and crazy and well worth watching,one of my favorite Capra films.

[Jack]

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) - Casper Van Dien returns as soldier extraordinaire Johnny Rico, this time on some crummy little planet with a military base. The Sky Marshall, leader of the entire Federation, stops by for a visit and next thing you know bugs are attacking and completely destroy the place. The Sky Marshall, along with that Vulcan chick from Star Trek Enterprise and a few other people manage to escape but are marooned on a bug infested planet. Meanwhile Rico ends up back at Fleet Headquarters and learns of the bug's new plan to wipe out humanity. Will he arrive in time to save the Sky Marshall and that chick from Enterprise? This was okay I guess. It's definitely low budget and that tends to be obvious all too often. Those Federation TV news alerts which were satire in the first movie have descended into full blown parody now. It sort of slogs along through the first half with no plot and then it's all explained in the second half, which is actually sort of interesting, but then that's eventually ruined by a bunch of those dumb Federation news alerts once again. It lacked the budget of the first movie and the seriousness of the second. But having seen it before I guess I knew its shortcomings and was able to enjoy it. 3.5/5.

Oh forgot to mention this little cutie's in it too.  She was probably my favorite part of the whole movie 

[fulci420]

Next of Kin (1982) When her mother passes away its up to our protagonist to take over the family nursing home. Things get weird when a resident shows up dead in the bathtub among other disturbances. Is it an intruder, a ghost or worse?

I kind of knew I would love this movie when I saw in the credits that the music was by Klaus Schulze. A former Tangerine Dream member his synth music is darker and more abstract than theirs and it is an incredible fit for this kind of film. Some reviewers have criticized the slow pace but I think if you can appreciate something like the much later "House of the Devil" (which I love) then you will really like the slow build we get here. Also of note is the incredible camerawork which is great throughout but is truly incredible near the end in which we get a mix of audio and visuals that ranks up there with "Suspiria" in impact.

Despite being mentioned in "Not Quite Hollywood", praised by Tarantino and starring John Jarrat (the baddie from Wolf Creek) this one isn't even available on dvd! Its quite a shame really because this is actually a gorgeously directed and still scary movie that deserves no less than a blu ray with full extras. However as it is next to impossible to purchase i wouldn't feel too guilty about grabbing this one off the torrents.
Next Of Kin (1982)

[FatFreddysCat]

"Within the Rock" (1996) - in yet another "Alien" wanna be, a crew of outer space miners drilling on an asteroid accidentally free an ancient, carnivorous something-or-other from its rocky tomb, and the usual carnage follows. Low budget fun.

[lester1/2jr]

Mr B Naturals shorts (MST3K) - Joel era episode with no skits, it's just 5 or 6 old shorts. not amazing but very enjoyable 3.75/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"King Kong" (1976) - Dino de Laurentiis' lavish update of the 30s classic has a suitably epic feel and delivers nicely in the monkey-carnage department, even if the special effects (which were pretty hot sh*t for 1976) haven't held up particularly well. Charles Grodin is at his scenery chewing best as a sleazy oil company exec and a young Jessica Lange (in her film debut) looks fiiiiiine in the role originated by Fay Wray.