The Ten Most Overrated Horror Movies
The horror movie genre, like any other, contains more than its share of overpraised clunkers
TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS: From Text to Film
The 2007 Nikkatsu production TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS (YUME JU-YA) is a monument in Japanese genre filmmaking.
DRIFTING CLASSROOM
One of the most iconic horror manga series of all time was this sprawling quasi-science fictional saga by writer-illustrator Kazuo Umezu
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
I’ll confess I’m not as fanatic about the work of Japan’s Haruki Murakami as many mainstream critics–note this book’s blurb page, filled with adjectives like “masterly,” “virtuosic,” “extraordinary” and so forth. I do, however, appreciate Murakami’s gift for the odd and oft-kilter. That gift is in abundant evidence in the 24 stories collected in BLIND WILLOW, SLEEPING WOMAN, which also showcases Murakami’s unfortunate penchants for overwriting and self indulgence.
Biogenesis
Readers familiar with the medically informed horror fiction of Michael Blumlein will find a most welcome equivalent in this collection by Japan’s Tatsuaki Ishiguro. That Ishiguro has an extensive medical background is evident in these tales, which are nearly all presented in the form of medical journals, complete with relentlessly clinical syntax, yet with vivid portrayals of desperation, obsession and madness.
Ten More Essential Unreleased-in-the-U.S. Horror Films
Here I have another round-up of worthwhile international horror films that have yet to be distributed (outside the festival circuit) in the United States.
WOLFGUY: ENRAGED LYCANTHROPE
Kung Fu and lycanthropy: an irresistible combination if you ask me, and this fun Sonny Chiba movie proves it!
THE MYSTERY OF RAMPO
A strange and often puzzling fantasy about the late Edogawa Rampo (1894-1965), Japan’s foremost horror/mystery scribe
MY SOUL IS SLASHED
The Japanese video market of the 1990s produced some pretty amazing films, among them this highly audacious take on vampires, an exhausted subject this film treats with considerable freshness and ingenuity
MIKADROID: ROBOKILL BENEATH DISCO CLUB LAYLA
This 1991 Japanese thriller, whose plot is neatly summed up by its subtitle, has amassed a minor cult following, even though it isn’t all that good