Who here likes Asian horror ?

[THE HOST]

im new and do not know you all yet so ill ask ...who likes asian horror here ? don't get me wrong i love all horror but asian horror i like best . so whos a fan and why ?

[The Blind Dead]

I love it. I was raised a horror fan in front of early cable television and have pretty much seen everything there is to see. Around the mid-90's to late-90's I really started losing my passion for the genre. American horror fans had become obsessed with gore and slashers and the films no longer concentrated on scaring viewers. Atmosphere was a thing of the past.

I started my love for Asian horror with pretty much the same films many region free cult cinema fans did. I watched "other region" versions of Kairo, Dark Water, Ringu 0, 1 & 2, Ju-on: The Grudge, The Eye, The Eye 2 and so on. I was immediately hooked. I found myself getting scared again, goosebumps and everything.

Even today as Asian horror has begun to degrade and clone itself like American horror did, I still find it far more interesting than the majority of what we get out here in the States.

[UNDEAD FRED]

I really never got into them till lately. I recently watched The Host. I really enjoyed it 8/10. Its so better with english subtitles. But I plan on starting to watch a lot more.

[THE HOST]

thanks for your comments guys realy cool veiws here and i agree about the decline in american mainstream horror is is very low at this point . this is why i started looking to other horror and found it in my backyard ASIA ! im from korea and never knew what i was missing till i went home one year and an old freind said ...jin check this out ! it was a tale of two sisters and i was blown away ! now as you say im hooked i watch at least 4 new films a week and love 90% of them can you say that about american horror ?

[BarnabusBlackoak]

I love em' ! They can be confusing some times due to cultural differences(but mainly badly translated sub-titles) but there is almost aways something on one to make you jump out of your seat.

[DentFoster]

I like Asian horror but I really prefer the older stuff. Actually according to my netflix history I watch more foreign films than anything else.

I love Jiang Shi. Hopping zombies & vampires with crazy Taoist priests using wild magic.
Also Kaiju Eiga. Give me a rubber suit monster and I'm glued to the screen.
Although it's not horror I love Kung Fu as long as it's period Kung Fu. I can't stand the stuff with modern clothes & cars & guns. To me that's like watching a western take place in modern NY.

The Host was awesome as was Versus and Biozombie.

[THE HOST]

I like Asian horror but I really prefer the older stuff. Actually according to my netflix history I watch more foreign films than anything else.

I love Jiang Shi. Hopping zombies & vampires with crazy Taoist priests using wild magic.
Also Kaiju Eiga. Give me a rubber suit monster and I'm glued to the screen.
Although it's not horror I love Kung Fu as long as it's period Kung Fu. I can't stand the stuff with modern clothes & cars & guns. To me that's like watching a western take place in modern NY.

The Host was awesome as was Versus and Biozombie.

glad to finaly meet you i have heard so much good about you from dropdead fred ...yes i love the kung fu in the old times to never much liked the new stuff . there is a great korean film called THE RESTLESS you might try . do you like the ghost storys much ?

[THE HOST]

I love em' ! They can be confusing some times due to cultural differences(but mainly badly translated sub-titles) but there is almost aways something on one to make you jump out of your seat.

agreed i love them for that and you don't get much crap CGI in asian horror another plus .

[The Blind Dead]

Some of the low budget, shot-on-video Asian horror will feature loads of camera tricks and fades and collages and all sorts of other fancy tricks to create the same effects American horror overuses but for the most part you're right...Asian cinema seems to use a lot less and that makes for some pretty damn impressive scares.

[DentFoster]

glad to finaly meet you i have heard so much good about you from dropdead fred ...yes i love the kung fu in the old times to never much liked the new stuff . there is a great korean film called THE RESTLESS you might try . do you like the ghost storys much ?

Good to meet you as well Jin. You can call me Dent or Dirt.
I'll check it out & yes I love ghost stories. I find that ghost stories are much scarier than most other horror.

[Corpse Grinder]

My favorite old-time horror/kung fu flicks is "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" (1974) starring Peter Cushing, check it out-it's a hoot!

I love old and new Asian horror movies, especially the old Japanese ones that I grew up watching on my local tv stations-who has seen "Attack of the Mushroom People" ("Matango" 1963) or "Frankenstein Conquers the World" (1965)?

Plus, I'm half Japanese! It's in my blood! And I'm glad that the theaters and cable are showing more Asian horror movies (at least in the L.A. area) and with Netflix and other rental places, more foreign horror movies can be enjoyed by more people than when I was growin' up ('70's-'80's).

[THE HOST]

My favorite old-time horror/kung fu flicks is "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" (1974) starring Peter Cushing, check it out-it's a hoot!

I love old and new Asian horror movies, especially the old Japanese ones that I grew up watching on my local tv stations-who has seen "Attack of the Mushroom People" ("Matango" 1963) or "Frankenstein Conquers the World" (1965)?

Plus, I'm half Japanese! It's in my blood! And I'm glad that the theaters and cable are showing more Asian horror movies (at least in the L.A. area) and with Netflix and other rental places, more foreign horror movies can be enjoyed by more people than when I was growin' up ('70's-'80's).

yes i too love the films in which you speak and love the new stuff to and as DENT said some of the shot on HD stuff works well because they are forced to create with little money to use .

[Victor Clark]

How the hell could you guys like that imported crap!?!? Asian horror films are by far the least scary pieces of crap that I have ever had the displeasure of watching! What the hell is so scary about the Grudge? A little pale kid in his undies that pops out of furniture and makes cat noises for 2 hours? I deal with that crap if I'm visiting relatives! I love the old fashoned horror where a huge freak with a mask and a chainsaw decapitates horny teenagers, leaving only one hot chick to survive and stop the being, yet leave it wide open for a sequel! That is what I call good horror, and I honestly can't see what's so damn great about some flick where ghosts scare a woman by using "scary" water and sudden "BOO!" moments every ten lousy minutes! I just want to say one thing VERY clearly: I WANT HORROR FILMS WITH BLOOD, BULLETS, BOOBIES AND POWER TOOLS!!!!!! THE MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!! :saw::rock::axe:

[The Blind Dead]

How the hell could you guys like that imported crap!?!?
The same question could be posed to you, "How the hell could you like that brainless domestic crap?"


Asian horror films are by far the least scary pieces of crap that I have ever had the displeasure of watching! What the hell is so scary about the Grudge? A little pale kid in his undies that pops out of furniture and makes cat noises for 2 hours? I deal with that crap if I'm visiting relatives! I love the old fashoned horror where a huge freak with a mask and a chainsaw decapitates horny teenagers, leaving only one hot chick to survive and stop the being, yet leave it wide open for a sequel! That is what I call good horror, and I honestly can't see what's so damn great about some flick where ghosts scare a woman by using "scary" water and sudden "BOO!" moments every ten lousy minutes! I just want to say one thing VERY clearly: I WANT HORROR FILMS WITH BLOOD, BULLETS, BOOBIES AND POWER TOOLS!!!!!! THE MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!! :saw::rock::axe:

...so...it's the lowest common denominator for you, correct?

[THE HOST]

How the hell could you guys like that imported crap!?!? Asian horror films are by far the least scary pieces of crap that I have ever had the displeasure of watching! What the hell is so scary about the Grudge? A little pale kid in his undies that pops out of furniture and makes cat noises for 2 hours? I deal with that crap if I'm visiting relatives! I love the old fashoned horror where a huge freak with a mask and a chainsaw decapitates horny teenagers, leaving only one hot chick to survive and stop the being, yet leave it wide open for a sequel! That is what I call good horror, and I honestly can't see what's so damn great about some flick where ghosts scare a woman by using "scary" water and sudden "BOO!" moments every ten lousy minutes! I just want to say one thing VERY clearly: I WANT HORROR FILMS WITH BLOOD, BULLETS, BOOBIES AND POWER TOOLS!!!!!! THE MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!! :saw::rock::axe:

so why are you on this thread ? oh you don.t like asian horror ok i get it :loon:

[HOO-HAA]

! im from korea and never knew what i was missing till i went home one year and an old freind said ...jin check this out ! it was a tale of two sisters and i was blown away...


Tale of 2 Sisters is my favourite movie, of all time across any genre....

Asian Horror has transformed everything about me, horror-wise. It represents the majority of horror I watch, influences many of my tattoos (past, present and future) and heavily inspires my writing.

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, my debut novel, is HEAVILY inspired by Asian Horror cinema - it's like a mix of DAWN OF THE DEAD, TRAINSPOTTING and RINGU.

(Click below in my sig for more details!) :)

[Corpse Grinder]

How the hell could you guys like that imported crap!?!? Asian horror films are by far the least scary pieces of crap that I have ever had the displeasure of watching! What the hell is so scary about the Grudge? A little pale kid in his undies that pops out of furniture and makes cat noises for 2 hours? I deal with that crap if I'm visiting relatives! I love the old fashoned horror where a huge freak with a mask and a chainsaw decapitates horny teenagers, leaving only one hot chick to survive and stop the being, yet leave it wide open for a sequel! That is what I call good horror, and I honestly can't see what's so damn great about some flick where ghosts scare a woman by using "scary" water and sudden "BOO!" moments every ten lousy minutes! I just want to say one thing VERY clearly: I WANT HORROR FILMS WITH BLOOD, BULLETS, BOOBIES AND POWER TOOLS!!!!!! THE MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!!

Oh, and we Westerners make 'em any better? I'll take Japan's "Izo" over USA's "Doomed" any day. "Izo" by the way, is a horror film that has BLOOD, BULLETS, BOOBIES AND SWORDS AND GORE!!! But I guess those subtitles can be a turn-off to some! :doh:

[DentFoster]

How the hell could you guys like that imported crap!?!? Asian horror films are by far the least scary pieces of crap that I have ever had the displeasure of watching! What the hell is so scary about the Grudge? A little pale kid in his undies that pops out of furniture and makes cat noises for 2 hours? I deal with that crap if I'm visiting relatives! I love the old fashoned horror where a huge freak with a mask and a chainsaw decapitates horny teenagers, leaving only one hot chick to survive and stop the being, yet leave it wide open for a sequel! That is what I call good horror, and I honestly can't see what's so damn great about some flick where ghosts scare a woman by using "scary" water and sudden "BOO!" moments every ten lousy minutes! I just want to say one thing VERY clearly: I WANT HORROR FILMS WITH BLOOD, BULLETS, BOOBIES AND POWER TOOLS!!!!!! THE MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!! :saw::rock::axe:
I don't care what anybody else says, I liked Ju-On and The Grudge. They both had me scared. I also loved The Ring (shame on me I haven't yet seen Ringu). Horror isn't always about blood and guts, it's about setting a mood. I love outrageous gore but it's not what scares me, it's the mood and the unexpected and the feeling of helplessness that makes me create skidmarks.

[The Blind Dead]

I think some of you are also overlooking the obvious...it's not that Asian horror DOESN'T have blood, boobs, bullets and gore...it's just that some people simply don't always have the intellectual capacity or mature tastes to enjoy it. I love my country but Americans are, generally speaking, neaderthals when it comes to other cultures. I'd say Victor is a great example of somebody that "just doesn't get it" and that's cool. It's a shame he hasn't seen enough Asian horror to form a decent opinion though. From everything I've gathered from Victor, he's really only seen the American remakes and perhaps one or two original Asian films.

Shame he bases his opinion on AMERICA'S SHITTY ABILITY TO INTERPRET ASIAN HORROR instead of the Asian horror itself. I do find it ironic though that he bitches about American-made Asian remakes in one breath and then demands MORE poorly made American horror in another. What can you do though. That's what makes the horror community so diverse.

[ZombiesAteMyDog]

never really seen much of it, I have seen the bland , uninspired white bread american remakes of asian movies and was unimpressed, then I saw the halloween remake and saw a trailer for the remake of that asian horror movie about if you awnser the phone you hear your death and die movie and mentiopned to my buddy I was with how bad it looked and about how I didnt care for asian horror movies because they are all mostly "the same story" so he advised me to check out some of the "real" asian horror, which sadly I have yet to do but plan to soon, unfortunatly none of the video stores around here carry much ( read none ) imported stuff, and Im not a netflix member so i need to find a way of getting my hands on some :x

[HOO-HAA]

unfortunatly none of the video stores around here carry much ( read none ) imported stuff, and Im not a netflix member so i need to find a way of getting my hands on some :x

Try the likes of Amazon or any of the online retailers. For Region 2 stuff, I would recommend Play.com. Very good prices. :)

[THE HOST]

Tale of 2 Sisters is my favourite movie, of all time across any genre....

Asian Horror has transformed everything about me, horror-wise. It represents the majority of horror I watch, influences many of my tattoos (past, present and future) and heavily inspires my writing.

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, my debut novel, is HEAVILY inspired by Asian Horror cinema - it's like a mix of DAWN OF THE DEAD, TRAINSPOTTING and RINGU.

(Click below in my sig for more details!) :)



i feel very close to what you just typed and feel the same in ways . it's like falling in love at times . i think this kind of horror doe's not translate well for americans for the most part because americans do not belive in ghosts like asians do . now don't get me wrong i relize a lot do but for the most part no . and americans love to know whats going on in a movie ...asians do not . asians like to be a bit perplexed so they can see a film over and over . A TALE OF TWO SISTERS was not ment to be understood at all at any point it is up to you to think what it all means ...thats why i think the remake will not work ! but some great points here by all even the non asian horror member all be it a bad way to say so from him he makes his point to .

[zombiekilling101]

I like asian horror. but I prefer american or euro stuff to it. it seems that most of the movies revolve around a slow plot with key shock scenes snuck in. but some of my favorite horror films are from the Asian market...

[Victor Clark]

I think some of you are also overlooking the obvious...it's not that Asian horror DOESN'T have blood, boobs, bullets and gore...it's just that some people simply don't always have the intellectual capacity or mature tastes to enjoy it. I love my country but Americans are, generally speaking, neaderthals when it comes to other cultures. I'd say Victor is a great example of somebody that "just doesn't get it" and that's cool. It's a shame he hasn't seen enough Asian horror to form a decent opinion though. From everything I've gathered from Victor, he's really only seen the American remakes and perhaps one or two original Asian films.
I really really, REALLY hate to make you look smart, but you are right on that one. I haven't seen any of the original Asian versions of the crappy remakes, and I know I should (like I bet sushi tastes better over there too). However I don't think that makes me an idiotic American stereotype that assumes that anything foreign is crap. I do happen to like the Japanese film 'Audition', but I was thinking that you guys were just talking about the Asian remakes and their predecessors(sp) on this thread. If you guys want to sass me and think I'm an idiot for just showing how crappy the American remakes were, I understand, but just know that I'm not completely culturally blind.

Shame he bases his opinion on AMERICA'S SHITTY ABILITY TO INTERPRET ASIAN HORROR instead of the Asian horror itself. I do find it ironic though that he bitches about American-made Asian remakes in one breath and then demands MORE poorly made American horror in another. What can you do though. That's what makes the horror community so diverse.
American horror today may be poorly made, but it's also entertaining, which is why I watch it. It may not have many of the unexpected turns and feelings of suprise like Asian horror films do, and the American horror industry may have not made some great films over the last ten years, but I really don't think this will be a permanent problem. We still make some great horror films from time to time (Hostel, the Saw series, hopefully the upcoming 30 Days of Night), and I know that while most of it is either mediocre or just crap, they still have the American qualities that I love like gore, nudity, gun play and the famous death scenes that we remember long after we see the films. That is what our country is known for making, and I love it every time they come to my local theater.

[THE HOST]

I really really, REALLY hate to make you look smart, but you are right on that one. I haven't seen any of the original Asian versions of the crappy remakes, and I know I should (like I bet sushi tastes better over there too). However I don't think that makes me an idiotic American stereotype that assumes that anything foreign is crap. I do happen to like the Japanese film 'Audition', but I was thinking that you guys were just talking about the Asian remakes and their predecessors(sp) on this thread. If you guys want to sass me and think I'm an idiot for just showing how crappy the American remakes were, I understand, but just know that I'm not completely culturally blind.


American horror today may be poorly made, but it's also entertaining, which is why I watch it. It may not have many of the unexpected turns and feelings of suprise like Asian horror films do, and the American horror industry may have not made some great films over the last ten years, but I really don't think this will be a permanent problem. We still make some great horror films from time to time (Hostel, the Saw series, hopefully the upcoming 30 Days of Night), and I know that while most of it is either mediocre or just crap, they still have the American qualities that I love like gore, nudity, gun play and the famous death scenes that we remember long after we see the films. That is what our country is known for making, and I love it every time they come to my local theater.

all great points too my freind all great points . :)

[devourthesun]

I got into the Asian horror game kinda late, and I had the misfortune of sitting through the american "Grudge" after a few of my friends told me that "Zomg, its sooooo scary!!!!!111111"

And it wasn't. It was crap.

Just like the American version of "Pulse" was crap. I was so angry after i watched that damn movie I threw the dvd across the room.

Now, on the subject of Asian horror in its original, un-remade form, I've seen and loved "Junk" "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "Pulse (Kario)" which genuinely scared the bejesus out of me.

Junk was awesome because it was zombies and Yakuza, and How can you go wrong with that? Two sisters managed to scare me and I'll be damned if Pulse not only scared the hell out of me,(no easy feat I might add) but also made me really depressed for several hours after watching it.

I've been meaning to watch the "Tommie" series, but I keep forgetting to look up what order they go in, and there are a few other Asian horror films I've been meaning to rent, but I keep forgetting.

[Kemper]

I like good horror and like and there aren't very many of them, regardless, of where it is from. They recycle just like we do.

I love Ringu, the Host and Premonition...there is a lot of crap out there as well.

[Cornflakes]

I'm a big asian horror film fan. Granted I do have a weakness for my gore and young ladies screaming their lungs being chased by a guy in a hockey mask. But what I loved about asain horror is the suspense or how the would fousc on a mudane action by their main character only then to have you freaked out by stranges noises.

I love asian film always have since I saw my 1st martial art film. I only got into horror film through watching Miike film Audition, I love yaukza films and heared he made a great suspense film. Though South Korea are amazing for horror films.

Very few asain horrors Have dissapointed me, The eye is one film I was really annoyed about it started of brilliantly and had some scenes that freaked me out, then it went downhill trying trying to explain the ending and why the girl saw ghosts.

[Corpse Grinder]

Very few asain horrors Have dissapointed me, The eye is one film I was really annoyed about it started of brilliantly and had some scenes that freaked me out, then it went downhill trying trying to explain the ending and why the girl saw ghosts.

THE EYE is a very good, scary horror film, from start to finish. It makes perfect sense why she sees ghosts and if I saw ghosts after and eye transplant, you'd better believe I'm gonna track down my donor.

The Meat Lickers creeps me out and no matter how many times I watch this movie, the elevator scene is still the most suspenseful and scariest moment on film-Brrrr, gives me chills just thinking about it!

Bonus opinion:
THE EYE 2, on the other hand is a weak, predictable sequel, to be watched once and wish they would rename it so not to be confused with the very superior original THE EYE.

[evilzombie20]

I've never really been a big fan of Asian horror though some of them I've enjoyed. I don't think that makes me lack the "intellectual capacity or mature tastes to enjoy it", I just think it means I'm not a huge fan because I just don't get much out of it. I'm not looking for boobs and gore, though on occasion it is nice to watch a mindless gore film, I'm looking to get the bejesus scared out of me and no Asian film has done that for me. I can name several American films that have, but nothing Asian. Audition was disturbing but not really scary to me. But I did like that so can't say I hate Asian horror...I'm just not a fan.

[THE HOST]

I got into the Asian horror game kinda late, and I had the misfortune of sitting through the american "Grudge" after a few of my friends told me that "Zomg, its sooooo scary!!!!!111111"

And it wasn't. It was crap.

Just like the American version of "Pulse" was crap. I was so angry after i watched that damn movie I threw the dvd across the room.

Now, on the subject of Asian horror in its original, un-remade form, I've seen and loved "Junk" "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "Pulse (Kario)" which genuinely scared the bejesus out of me.

Junk was awesome because it was zombies and Yakuza, and How can you go wrong with that? Two sisters managed to scare me and I'll be damned if Pulse not only scared the hell out of me,(no easy feat I might add) but also made me really depressed for several hours after watching it.

I've been meaning to watch the "Tommie" series, but I keep forgetting to look up what order they go in, and there are a few other Asian horror films I've been meaning to rent, but I keep forgetting.



yes agreed pulse is one of my faves i love the film and the idea of the film and how it stays with you after you watch it for a long time . pulse creeped me uot and scared me but it is a slow burn it takes it's time to unfold and lets you have the info along the way very well done . another film worth a look is COMA very creepy very scary and very bloody but it is confussed a great deal with KOMA not the same at all . miikes ONE MISSED CALL I FOUND TO BE BETTER THEN RINGU IN MANY WAYS BUT PARTS 2 AND 3 OF one missed call WERE JUST CASH INS AND MERLY FUN FILMS .

[The Blind Dead]

THE EYE is a very good, scary horror film, from start to finish. It makes perfect sense why she sees ghosts and if I saw ghosts after and eye transplant, you'd better believe I'm gonna track down my donor.

The Meat Lickers creeps me out and no matter how many times I watch this movie, the elevator scene is still the most suspenseful and scariest moment on film-Brrrr, gives me chills just thinking about it!

I loved The Eye and wasn't entirely disappointed with The Eye 2 but The Eye 10 was garbage. Steer Clear of The Eye 10.

By the way, I had an issue with getting into elevators for weeks after watching The Eye. lol :lol:

yes agreed pulse is one of my faves i love the film and the idea of the film and how it stays with you after you watch it for a long time . pulse creeped me uot and scared me but it is a slow burn it takes it's time to unfold and lets you have the info along the way very well done .

The "swaying ghost in the red room" sequence scared the holy hell out of me when I first saw it but, for me anyhow, Kairo has no replay value.

Any Tomie fans out there?

[devourthesun]

Oh man, the ghost in the hallway scene, right before the kid dives behind the couch, christ, I had to stop the movie, go get my roommate, and have her come in and watch the movie with me, it scared me that badly.

Talking about Kairo.

[The Blind Dead]

Yeah it caught me off guard and left me pretty rattled.

[THE HOST]

I loved The Eye and wasn't entirely disappointed with The Eye 2 but The Eye 10 was garbage. Steer Clear of The Eye 10.

By the way, I had an issue with getting into elevators for weeks after watching The Eye. lol :lol:


The "swaying ghost in the red room" sequence scared the holy hell out of me when I first saw it but, for me anyhow, Kairo has no replay value.

Any Tomie fans out there?



yes i have them all ! 7 films so far ! and in pulse the part i love is the jump ! and the end with tokyo emty if you have ever been to tokyo you will find this very unsettling !

[Cornflakes]

The eye did make sense but the bit when they travel to find the donor, felt to me rushed and the film shifted from being scarey to let wrap this up nicely. Thats why I was disapointed.

I loved the lift scene, but the old lady in the hospital is my fave.

[taifOOm]

I loved The Eye and wasn't entirely disappointed with The Eye 2 but The Eye 10 was garbage. Steer Clear of The Eye 10.

The Eye 10 was ridiculous, specifically the entire scene with the bowls where the one kid breaks it and all the ghosts stare at him. WTF?

Shutter is probably my most recent favorite, but I'm with Spiral on A Tale of Two Sisters: favorite movie EVER next to City of Lost Children.

I have a virtual subscription to Tartan Asia Extreme, which seems to put out an equal amount of crap and gems. Though I know TBD was iffy on it, I loved Silk.

[The Blind Dead]

lol Yeah Silk didn't yank my crank but I was fond of their recent releases Dorm & The Victim. :)

Jesus...how many in this thread consider A Tale of Two Sisters their favorite? There's gotta be at least 5 of us lol

[DentFoster]

Last night I watched...
Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires - It was good but it didn't make me go "hell yeah!".
Pulse (Kairo) - I liked it a little better than the 2006 remake but didn't think it was anything special.

I've had Tale of Two Sisters in my Library queue for about six months now, waiting for them to get a copy. I may just have to get it from netflix if they don't hurry the feck' up.

[The Gomorrahizer]

The Blind Dead wrote:
Any Tomie fans out there?

Art Port Inc. (http://www.artport.co.jp/) plans to release Tomohiro Kubo's Tomie vs Tomie theatrically in Japan in November.

The screenplay for Tomie vs Tomie was written by the director himself, based on the Tomie manga series by Junji Itô. The movie stars Yû Abiru (http://www.horipro.co.jp/talent/PF075/), Tôru Hachinohe (http://www.horipro.co.jp/talent/PM037/), Emiko Matsuoka (http://www.ohtapro.co.jp/ohta_pro/profile/matsuoka_emiko/), Masaki Miura (http://www.decadeinc.com/contents/miura/profile.html), Daikichi Sugawara (http://home.a00.itscom.net/alpha/af_sugawara.html), Hidekazu Nagae (http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/nagaehidekazu/), Aki Kajiwara, and Yôzaburô Itô (http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~Y-3/).

Tomie vs Tomie official subsite (http://www.artport.co.jp/movie/tomie/)

Japanese credits source: AllCinema Online (http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=328817)

[The Blind Dead]

Sweet! lol I own all of them so far. This one is a must for me. They're not even good films, for the most part, I'm just a consumer whore.

[THE HOST]

heres a link to a great site that sells asian exstreme dvd's ! www.asiancultcinema.com tons of movies and info great for movie lists ! and if you want to a nice mag to buy also .

[The Gomorrahizer]

http://www.gomorrahy.com/images/tomie_vs_tomie_mb01.jpg

A theatrical trailer for Tomie vs Tomie was added last night to the official subsite for the movie - click on 「予告編」 (yokokuhen) on the top right of the site's home page.

Tomie vs Tomie official subsite (http://www.artport.co.jp/movie/tomie/)

[The Blind Dead]

Woohoo! I've got this on my radar now!

[HOO-HAA]

"Pulse (Kario)" which genuinely scared the bejesus out of me.




Hell yeah! I forgot about that one... ****in' unholy flick! :drinking:

I tell you - for me the last half an hour of that flick holds, perhaps, the best post-apcoalyptic scenes I've seen in any flick - including our very much revered Dawn Of The Dead.

Bloody great... :clap:

[Pain]

Recent flicks I have enjoyed are

Dorm
Cursed
The Red Shoes
Bloody Reunion
Apartment 1303
P

Am looking forward to picking up Silk, The Victim and Shutter when I get around to it.

[RIP]

I love asian horror movies and own like about 40 of them on dvd.

Here's my collection of asian horror films:

Apartment 1303
Art of the Devil
Art of the Devil 2
Audition
A Tale of Two Sisters
Battle Royale
Battle Royale 2
BioZombie
Bloody Beach
Bloody Reunion
Evil Dead Trap
Evil Dead Trap 2
Ghost Train
Ichi the Killer
Infection
Junk
Ju-On
Ju-Rei: the Uncanny
Kairo: Pulse
Living Hell
Meatball Machine
Oldboy
One Missed Call
One Missed Call 2
Phone
Red Eye
Reincarnation
R-Point
Ringu
Ringu 2
Shutter
Stacy
Suicide Club
The Eye
The Eye 2
The Deadly Camp
The Hierloom
The Host
The Last Supper
Versus
Wild Zero

[neoflux]

A general parallel is that Asian horror is surrealism and American horror is fantasy art.

In surrealism most things are metaphorical... in fantasy art they are generally literal.

In surrealism they are warped to give the sense of a dream... in fantasy art they are warped to make things eerie.

In surrealism half the images are made by the spaces between the images... in fantasy art the figures are front and center.

In surrealism often the backgrounds are part of the meaning... in fantasy art they are often more consequential.

Imagery wise they both frequently feed off of each other's iconoclasm... the surrealists works spark fantasy... the fantasy work triggers dreams.

Largely Asian films are very 'reality made scary' where as American horror is 'scary being entered into reality'.

It's all a question of if that still cabin is evil... or if the evil is coming to that peaceful vacation spot.

Now American horror functions primarily on sight. Seeing the killer.. seeing the knife.. seeing the attack. Asian horror function primarily on sound and secondary signs of things. You don't see the death... you see the door and hear the death. It's much your mind putting the triggers together then seeing everything right away.

Now that leads to an issue. What triggers to use... and this is usually where culture breaks down because if you don't know the countries mythology you won't get those clues and suddenly the puzzle is missing pieces. You almost have to either study the culture of watch a lot of films from an area to really get any of them. Hell of an investment but this is why many fans seem to jump from seeing 1-2 to the group which has seen 40+... with people in between usually being in transition from on to the other.

I mean hell full threads on a forum like this are devoted to what something says on a shirt in this movie... or who said what in what commercial... the fandom if it is in the nuances and you can't appreciate that unless you see a lot. This is why the argument that anyone is stupid for their choices is flawed.

If you know Rhinos... if a child draws one with a crayon you'll see it right away. If you show it to someone who has never heard of a rhino they'll likely not see anything in it... not just not see the rhino... but just see it as a scribble because they have nothing to connect it to. This is the nature of all visual media... if you don't know the reference it has to be spot on perfect for you to even see anything even if know what it is that you are seeing.

So for those who have seen a few Asian films which appeal to them... likely the reality is that they are Asian films based on the iconoclasm of Western Media. (We're global... the film makers have access to films from all over the world... so they may have grown up in Asia on western media... and it shows.)

Audition is a great example of this. It has the creepy bizarre scenes from Asian films... but largely you can compare it to something like the French film 'He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not' which does the same thing of telling the story twice after revealing that the one has a skewed prospective. (If you liked Audition and haven't seen it... it's worth netflixing.)

The beauty of that film is that are shot with American framing and those shot with Asian framing so it's a jarring shift between one view of the situtation to the next... that makes it a good cross point because it's a bit of each.

Now Asian films seem to play with the idea that anything can be made scary if framed right. I'll use the example of Ju-on... little kids and cats aren't inherently scary... but it frames them as such. This isn't that foreign we have Village of the Damned; Children of the Corn... Western world often uses kids in the role of the next generation... where humanity is going. Eastern culture uses kids more for the innocent angle. Making the innocent scary is one of the most common threads in Asian horror.

Then you have Ringu... a video tape... we've done that too... has anyone seen Fear.com. That's basically the same thing... we're just a little later to the party so we go on the internet. Even before that the global culture has had cursed objects right along the way. Hope Diamond will kill you, the one ring to rule them all will drive you bat shit... it's all the same game. Now when it comes to the cinematography... honestly apart from playing with camera angles etc asian films visually aren't of the same production quality... but as I said it's not carried by the visual and I'd say the visual production quality is on par with an American audio track. Comparing based on one point will always have people picking sides based on what triggers a response in them... it's the Gestalt that's key and it all comes out in the wash.

With that said one of my favorite contemporary film makers is Kitamura. Versus is great because is accepts what it is and doesn't attempt to develop anything it isn't going to use. Going the entire film without naming a character is brilliant... though my favorite was his entry to the Jam Film Festival's first year 'The Messenger' where the killer simply convinces the man that he's already dead until he believes it and his heart stops. It's brilliant and well shot. His most recent film is the team up with Clive Barker... Midnight Meat Train... I'm waiting to see if they can get it to work or if it fails miserably the art is in the details and if they can work out who does what.

Lol who counts a cross production as an Asian film?

I'm not talking about one remaking another film or even reframing the story for a new culture.

I mean a number of Godzilla films are actually covers of John Wayne films.
Wild men attack the work... they need a wild man to save them... but then he's too wild to stay in town... so he has to ride off into the sunset (or depths of the ocean at sunrise.) It's not a 1 way street by any stretch of the imagination.

I'm talking about strait collaboration. More and more American films seem to bring in Asian film makers as consultants. Right now it isn't working because they are asking the wrong questions. In zombie terms, it's like asking Savini to come and write dialogue. He's great at what he does... ask him to do that. Russo shouldn't direct he should write and then hand it off... but he doesn't.
The failure of the remakes is that the American versions try to recreate the screen... when in reality they should attempt to play with the skewed angle. They try to copy the dialogue... when they should attempt to play with volume and tempo... the remake trend if flawed because each function on their own elements.

With collaboration, if we get to the point of true collaboration there is a chance of one of them going 'hey why don't I zig while you zag' instead of lets zag together.

Lol so anyway... after that long tirade... the more you watch the more you see so don't say you don't like it and just consume it because with globalization it will only help to build your vocabulary so you can recognize a good film no matter where it's from when you see it.

-Mike

[RIP]

^Damn....great post there Mike. Very interesting.:clap:

I kinda wish that more asian directors would go to the slasher film approach though that we had here in the good ole 80's and even late 70's. I mean Bloody Reunion was a great slasher style film but then the film The Deadly Camp was pretty awful imho. Bloody Beach was a so-so style slasher flick.

My most recent asian film that I watched was R-Point the other night. I enjoyed it and thought it was a great creepy military style/ghost type of flick.