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The Eye II
2008-04-16 05:52:00
Name: The Eye II (USA), Gin Gwai 2 (Hong Kong)Director: Pang BrothersRelease Date: March 18, 2004 Introduction: The Pang Brothers decided to made a sequel to their well-received movie The Eye, and this was the result. The movie stars Shu Qi, a Taiwanese actress who has made a rather eclectic collection of films, including some soft-core porn. Though it appears that The Eye II is a sequel, the only way that this movie is related to the first is that both of the main characters can see ghosts after some sort of major even that happened in their lives. As I've mentioned before, The Chinese name literally translates to "seeing ghosts," which makes the premise of the sequel seem more logical.Synopsis: Joey is a woman with man troubles. After being rejected by her boyfriend, she tries to commit suicide in a hotel, but gets her stomach pumped. However, her brush with death through suicide enables her to see ghosts. Along with this disturbing discovery, Joey also realizes that s...

Cinderella
2008-04-05 09:30:00
Name: Cinderella Director: Man-dae BongRelease Date: August 17, 2006 Introduction: As I'm sure you've heard, Asian women have a fat for plastic surgery, and chief among these are South Korean women. Lately, it has gotten to the point where even Korean men are partaking in this commonplace after school activity. New eyelids are given as graduation presents; jaw shavings and nose jobs as birthday presents. Of course, common surgery can easily be viewed as a rather expensive method of self-improvement, but in this Korean horror film, plastic surgery can also be deadly to both your physical and mental health. This is the second movie from director Man-dae Bong.Synopsis: The film opens a flashback of a birthday gone horribly wrong, then immediately flashes to an incredibly inaccurate plastic surgery performed on a young Korean women seeking a jaw reduction. The surgeon, Yoon Hee, has a lovely daughter who is friends with the girl being operated on. The daughter, Hyeon Su, is ...

Shutter
2008-02-17 05:41:00
Name: Shutter Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom WangpoomRelease Date: September 9, 2004Tagline: Have you ever carefully looked at your pictures? Introduction: You have all heard that the camera can capture your soul in a photo, but what if it could capture the images of those already dead? This Thai movie explores this concept of ghostly images captured by an unsuspecting photographer, leading to chilling results. I would say that this is probably one of the best films to come out of Thailand. Although they seem to mass-produce horror films, most of them are rather cliche and not all that enjoyable. Another film I will be reviewing in the future is called 13 Beloved, which is another very good example of Thai cinema at its finest. Shutter is being made into an American remake, so if you don't want to read subtitles, I'm sure you'll get the general gist of it with the American version. As always, I strongly urge you to see the original first.Synopsis: Tun is a ph...

Three...Extremes
2008-02-15 13:34:00
Name: Saam Gaang Yi,Three...ExtremesDirector: Fruit Chan (Dumplings), Takashi Miike (Box), Chan-wook Park (Cut)Release Date: August 20, 2004Tagline: From the Nightmares of three horror mastersIntroduction: This is a wonderful omnibus of films from three different regions of Asia: Japan, China, and Korea. All three are fairly well established directors (Fruit Chan became known for Made in Hong Kong, Chan-wook Park directed the (in)famous Revenge Trilogy, which YOU SHOULD SEE and I will be reviewing them in the future, and need I even say anything about Takashi Miike--besides f*ed up perv, that is ^_~). Three...Extremes was supposed to be a sequel to Three, but because of Three...Extremes' much greater popularity, Three was later re-released under the title of Three...Extremes II. I will include a short description of Three...Extremes II along with the online video at the end of this review.Synopsis:Dumplings (Chan): Mrs. Li is a middle-aged former starlet bent on regaining her fo...

The Eye
2008-02-15 10:27:00
Name: Gin Gwai (Cantonese Title) The EyeDirector: Pang BrothersRelease Date: May 9, 2002 (Hong Kong)Tagline: What if the reflection you see is not your own...Introduction: I would say that the Pang Brothers have probably made some of the most well known contributions to the horror genre from Hong Kong. The Eye may very well be their most successful, with its eight awards and five nominations. It has been successful, in fact, that America decided to make a remake of it starring the beautiful Jessica Alba (though I'm not sure what this says about the quality of this film...). The Chinese title literally translates to "Seeing Ghosts," which I personally believe to be a far better description of the content of the movie. This film has spawned two sequels: The Eye 2, and The Eye 10.Synopsis:Angelica Wu portrays the blind Mun, a well-adjusted concert pianist. She is about to receive a corneal transplant surgery that would restore her sight. Though she is at first quite pleased with...

Acacia
2007-07-31 05:20:00
Name: Acacia Director: Ki-hyeung Park Release Date: October 12, 2003 Introduction: In my experience, Asian families treat adoption differently than American parents. I believe it is the emphasis we place on bloodlines and family. In most Asian countries, no friendship bonds, and no relationship bonds will ever be stronger than the chains of shared blood. Women who have difficulty bearing children are look down upon by their in-laws and even their own families. It is not a matter of personal choice, but rather a duty to one?s own existence. While I?m not saying that this does not go for many other cultures, I?m sure you?ve all noticed how many more American couples adopt children as opposed to Asian couples. Acacia explores the bonds between the members of a family that have decided to adopt a child before miraculously having their own. Synopsis: Kim Mi-Sook lives with her husband, a successful OB/GYN, and his father. She cannot have children, but Do-il,...

The Heirloom
2007-07-28 07:01:00
Name: Zhaibian (Taiwan) The Heirloom (Intl)Director: Leste Chen Release Date: September 16, 2005 Tagline: Sometimes inheritance is a curse. Introduction: One less well known Chinese/Taiwanese tradition is the raising of child ghosts. Several affluent families would obtain a dead fetus and feed it blood from a member of the family in order to claim the ghost?s power as their own. These child ghosts were incredibly useful; not only could they be used to augment a family?s fortune, they could also get rid of the family?s enemies. Synopsis: James Yang has inherited an old mansion left to him by his deceased relatives in Taipei. He moves into the magnificent, though abysmal, house with his girlfriend Yo, who is a marvelous dancer. They celebrate their moving in with two friends; Yi-Chen and Cheng. Yi-Chen begins to explore the house with Yo, and the two women go up to the mysterious attic, and Yi-Chen, who is a reporter, is compelled to take a few pictur...

A Tale of Two Sisters
2007-07-26 16:06:00
Name: Janghwa, Hongryeon (Korea) A Tale of Two Sisters (Intl) Director: Ji-woon Kim Release Date: June 13 2003 Tagline: Our sorrow is conceived long before we are born? Introduction: This film is loosely based off of a Korean folktale centered on the relationship between two sisters and their wicked stepmother. A couple had two daughters, but the mother died. Afterwards, the father weds another woman in order to give his daughters a mother. This stepmother is cruel and makes her new stepchildren?s lives a living hell. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janghwa_Hong reyon-jon Synopsis: A Tale of Two Sisters begins in a mental asylum. A doctor is questioning a girl about the details of a day in the past while she merely sits silently. Later, in what is assumed to be a flashback, you see the same girl, Su-mi, arriving at a house with her younger sister, Su-yeon. With them come their father and their stepmother, Eun-joo. ...

Reincarnation
2007-07-25 04:58:00
Name: Rinne (Japan Reincarnation (USA) Director: Takashi Shimizu Release Date: January 7, 2006 Introduction: This movie by director Takashi Shimizu is actually the third installment of a six movie project called J-Horror Theater, which will feature six movies from different horror movie directors (Norio Tsuruta, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hideo Nakata, Takashi Shimizu, Masayuki Ochiai and Hiroshi Takahashi). The first two are called Kansen and Yogen (Infection and Premonition, respectively). Shimizu has directed various horror movies like Ju-on, Ju-on 2, and Marebito (which I will try to find and review ASAP!). Synopsis: Reincarnation opens on a movie director creating horror film centered on eleven homicides committed by a mysterious director at an infamous hotel in Gunma in 1970. Nine are hapless victims that just happened to be in the hotel, while one was his wife, and the other was his daughter. One of the girls auditioning for the part of the daughte...
More About: Incarnation , Carnation

Ringu
2007-07-20 20:07:00
Name: Ringu (Japanese) Director: Hideo Nakata Release Date: January 31 1998 Tagline: ?One curse, one cure, one week to find it?? Introduction: At last, a movie I?m sure all my readers actually recognize! If you can?t tell, I prefer to write about movies that you might not have heard about yet, so this will probably be the only ?big name? horror that I will review, because most likely, you?ve heard all there is to hear about the other ones?Ju-on, Dark Water, Kairo (Pulse), and basically anything else that America has remade. If you haven?t seen the American remakes of these movies, please watch the originals first! I?ve learned from personal experience that watching an American remake will most likely ruin your experience when later viewing the original movie. Ringu is based off of a book of the same title by Koji Suzuki, who is probably the Japanese equivalent of Stephen King. Synopsis: Two teenager girls are talking about an urban legend wh...

Chakushin Ari/One Missed Call
2007-07-17 06:41:00
Name: Chakushin Ari (Japanese) One Missed Call (USA) Director: Takashi Miike Release Date: January 17 2004 Tagline: Death cannot be put on hold? Introduction: I guess this is Miike?s attempt at a ?normal? horror movie. He abandons his usual strangeness in this rather ordinary horror flick for more conventional ways to getting a good scream out of the audience. This movie follows the usual storyline of: 1. Something awful happens and continues to occur with a marked pattern; 2. A potential victim seeks to solve the mystery before she dies; 3. She (usually it?s a female) discovers the source of the problem and dies before she can do anything about it or manages to somehow placate the unhappy spirit. Synopsis: A group of friends are having dinner, and three girls end up going to the restroom together after a discussion at the table about fear. While they are inside of the stalls, they hear a strange ring tone coming from one of their phones...
More About: Shin , Kushi , One Missed Call

Suicide Club
2007-07-17 02:05:00
Name: Jisatsu Saakuru (Japanese) Suicide Club /Suicide Circle (Intl) Director: Sion Sono (also the writer) Release Date: 2002 Tagline: Well then, goodbye everybody. Introduction: Suicide Club was both written and directed by Sion Sono as part of a trilogy of three independent films. Deemed the ?most groundbreaking film? at the Fant-Asia film festival, Suicide Club lives up to this lofty expectation. Painted in the somewhat questionable media of cult-horror, Suicide Club evokes a message of identity, alienation, and connection between individuals, their families (related, or not related) and themselves. Synopsis: This movie opens to fifty-four school girls, with the average age of fifteen, who gleefully leap to their deaths in front of a speeding train. As you can imagine, the ensuing scenes are gory and horrific. The only clue to their mass suicide is a small white bag left behind at the scene. Meanwhile, another small white bag is left behi...
More About: Cide

Uzumaki
2007-07-16 18:16:00
Name: Uzumaki (Japanese) Spiral into Horror (European) Director: Higuchinsky (Akirhiro Higuchi) Release Date: February 11, 2000 (Japan) Introduction:Uzumaki means spirals or vortex in English. This movie is based off of a horror manga of the same title by Junji Ito. The storyline has been somewhat simplified in the movie version, but still retains the general form of the manga. Despite the European name of the director, he is actually Japanese! While this movie is light on the scares, it makes up for it with an abundance of highly entertaining black humor and trippy strangeness. Synopsis:In the town of Kurozu-cho, strange things are happening! Kirie Goshima, a high school student, is on her way to meet her boyfriend, Shuichi, when she stumbles across his father engrossed in the figure of a snail that he is videotaping. Though she calls him, he fails to respond. Kirie leaves Shuichi?s father, and is scared by Yamaguchi, a male classmate of he...
More About: Maki , Zuma

Audition
2007-07-16 04:57:00
Name: Ôdishon (Japanese)Audition (USA)Director: Takashi MiikeRelease Date: March 3 2003 (Japan)Tagline: She always gets a part...(haha, just you wait...)Introduction: I am using this first movie to introduce one of my favorite Asian horror movie directors: Takashi Miike. He has the most interesting sense of humor that I have had the pleasure of stumbling across (as I'm sure you will encounter in various movies like Ichi the Killer, and Zebraman, not the mention The Happiness of the Katakuris). He also manages to capture some of the strangest, most grotesque, and disturbing beautiful aspects of the human psyche, especially in this movie, Audition. Overall, the movie is relatively straightforward, and rather slow, but the last thirty minutes or so will leave your head spinning.Synopsis:The story opens with the death of Shigeharu Aoyama's wife, leaving him a widower with a small son. Seven years later, Aoyama decides to take a wife, largely due to the influence of his son and friend....

An Introduction...
2007-07-16 04:48:00
My name is Cicy Li, and I am an avid viewer of many Asian movies, especially horror movies.Here, I will give a synopsis of each movie, followed with my review of what I consider to be the movies flaws and strengths, and then an overall rating on a scale from one to ten of various characteristics: Entertainment, Scares, Gore, etc.This week, I will review:AuditionUzumakiSuicide ClubChakushin Ari/One Missed Call 1(plus sequels)RinguReincarnationI will try to alternate regions from which I pick these movies each week (obviously, this week is Japanese horror; next week will feature Korean horror).I hope you'll enjoy these movies! I will try to post links to where you can find them on the internet after each review :)Enjoy!
More About: Introduction , Intro