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Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar in ‘Drop,’ directed by Christopher Landon. (Photo Courtesy of Overlook Film Festival)

The 2025 Overlook Film Festival announced its first wave of films, with director Christopher Landon’s Drop starring Brandon Sklenar (1923) and Meghann Fahy (The Perfect Couple) set as the Opening Night film. This year’s popular horror film festival will take place April 3-6 in New Orleans and will include 47 films, live performances, interactive events, and special guests.

Attendees will also be treated to screenings of classic horror films including director Ernest Dickerson’s Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight and the 40th anniversary 4K restoration of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator.

“No matter how many years this festival runs, every time we get to re-open the gates of our spectral summer camp feels like a miracle,” stated Landon Zakheim, co-founder and executive director of the Overlook FIlm Festival. “For all wayward souls and monster...

Pcb & Dead Meat Partner to Release Frost Road via Kickstarter: "Pcb Entertainment, Keith Arem (Call of Duty Performance Director), Christopher Shy (Dead Space Comic Artist) - the creative team behind Image Comics’ award winning graphic novel, Ascend, is set to unveil Frost Road, set to launch on Kickstarter March 4, 2025. The thriller comic is best described as a high intensity graphic novel that blends apocalyptic horror and suspense, perfect for fans of The Last of Us, A Quiet Place, & Silent Hill.

As part of the crowdfunded campaign, Pcb and Arem are partnering with James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca of Dead Meat, a horror centric YouTube channel with over 6.7 million subs, to flesh out Frost Road’s stretch goal rewards to develop a new immersive audio drama, based on the upcoming book.

"We're so excited to have the opportunity to work with Keith, someone we feel understands horror in the...

The Boston Underground Film Festival returns for its 25th annual celebration of all things weird, wicked, and wonderful, running from March 19–23 at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Ma.

The festival will host the world premieres of the new Re-Animator 4K restoration with horror legend Barbara Crampton in attendance and Alma & The Wolf with director Michael Patrick Jann (Drop Dead Gorgeous).

There are also regional premieres of The Surfer starring Nicolas Cage, Irish folk-horror Fréwaka, hallucinogenic odyssey Fucktoys, twisted Cinderella story The Ugly Stepsister, absurdist sci-fi comedy Escape from the 21st Century, and the new Texas Chain Saw Massacre documentary Chain Reactions, among others.

Whether you want premieres, genre-bending insanity, or the sheer joy of descending into the darkness with fellow weirdos, Buff 2025 promises a high-voltage lineup of films, special guests, and late-night delirium.

Feature Film Line Up

The Surfer – East Coast Premiere (Opening Night Film)

Director: Lorcan Finnegan

Australia, Ireland,...

"Is a world full of cats heaven? Or is it hell where you can't touch cats?" Crunchyroll has unveiled a second official trailer for an anime series called Nyaight of the Living Cat, which will be streaming worldwide in July 2025 this summer. This looks amazing! A mysterious virus turns humans who touch cats into felines, causing a "Nyandemic" worldwide catastrophe where people transform into cats. This hilarious new anime series is executive directed by Takashi Miike, and directed by Tomohiro Kamitani. And it looks so fun and scary. Run! The adorable cats are here. In 20Xx, the world is dominated by cats. A virus which turns anyone who touches a cat into a cat has spread into a worldwide nyandemic. Cats rub against people, turning them into cats. Can humanity fight their urge to pet cats to survive in this cat-ridden world? The Japanese voice cast includes Masaaki Mizunaka, Reina Ueda,...

The Oscar Volleys continue, even as the Academy Awards ceremony draws ever closer. Tonight, Cláudio Alves and Ben Miller discuss the Best Live-Action and Documentary Short races...

Anuja | © Netflix

CLÁUDIO: Well, we're starting to run out of Oscar categories to discuss at The Film Experience. But we couldn't go into the season's pinnacle without giving some attention to the two least-loved races - Best Live-Action and Best Documentary Short Film. And look, I get it. AMPAS rarely showcases good short-form cinema, having a bizarre predilection for miserabilism and stupid twists, moral lectures, and very little audiovisual invention. Where is Godard, or John Smith, or Leos Carax, or Steve McQueen, or Laura Citarella, or Takashi Miike? Nevertheless, AMPAS' favorite miniature pictures deserve to be considered, and there's even a highlight or two to celebrate. Do you agree?

Ben: Every year, these categories give me something that really knocks my socks off.

Attention! This is a PSA! The End is Nyaigh!

In case you missed the celebration of Cat Day in Japan this past Caturday, February 22, an all-new trailer has been released that warns of the upcoming “nyandemic.” From executive director Takashi Miike, the animated post-apocalyptic comedy series Nyaight of the Living Cat will begin streaming this July only on Crunchyroll worldwide excluding Asia. Sony Pictures Entertainment will be distributing in Asia and Japan.

Please spread awareness, but help reduce panic and hiss-teria by staying cautious and vigilant. Don’t let their cute faces and fluffy coats fool you. If you see a cat lying on its back, do not touch its belly. It’s a trap! If you see a cat making fresh biscuits, do not stop in awe. Before you know it, you may be swarmed by a clowder with no escape. If a cat makes contact with you, it’s already too late.

Get ready for the “nyandemic“: A new trailer has arrived for the animated post-apocalyptic comedy series Nyaight of the Living Cat from Executive Director Takashi Miike in celebration of Cat Day in Japan this past Caturday.

The anime series will begin streaming this July only on Crunchyroll worldwide excluding Asia. Sony Pictures Entertainment will be distributing in Asia and Japan. The exact debut date is Tba.

The official synopsis:

“Run! The adorable cats are here. In 20Xx, the world is dominated by cats. A virus which turns anyone who touches a cat into a cat has spread into a worldwide nyandemic. Cats rub against people, turning them into cats. Can humanity fight their urge to pet cats to survive in this cat-ridden world?”

The series is an adaptation of the manga written by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots. Nyaight of the Living Cat is directed by Tomohiro Kamitani (Beyond the Sky...

An official website and X (formerly Twitter) account opened at the stroke of midnight on Cat Day (February 22) in Japan to reveal that a TV anime adaptation of Amara's The Cat and the Dragon light novel series is in production, while also unveiling an announcement video and commemorative illustrations by light novel illustrator Mai Okuma and manga adaptation artist Izumi Sasaki. Additional details about the adaptation, such as staff, cast and release date, were not confirmed at the time of reporting. The Cat and the Dragon Anime Announcement Trailer The Cat and the Dragon Anime Announcement Illustrations Art by Mai Okuma Art by Izumi Sasaki Related: Nyaight of the Living Cat Anime Reveals Trailer, Takashi Miike as Executive Director Both The Cat and the Dragon light novels and manga are published by Takarajimasha, with the former currently spanning seven printed tankoban volumes and the latter spanning 10 volumes. The story follows a fire-breathing,...

Nyaight of the Living Cat , an upcoming TV anime based on the horror / comedy manga of the same name, has unveiled a new teaser trailer (below) as well as the main cats – er, I mean “cast” - for the series. The anime will broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo and other stations beginning in July 2025. Crunchyroll will also simulcast the series. Nyaight of the Living Cat Teaser Trailer The main cast for the series includes: Kunagi voiced by Masaaki Mizunaka Kaoru voiced by Reina Ueda Arata voiced by Reiji Kawashima Tsutsumi voiced by Yu Serizawa Len voiced by Subaru Kimura Masaki voiced by Yoshiki Nakajima Tanishi voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto Gaku voiced by Ryota Takeuchi Nyaight of the Living Cat cast The original Nyaight of the Living Cat manga is written by Hawkman, illustrated by Mecha-Roots and published in Japan by Mag Garden in their Monthly Comic Garden shonen manga magazine.

It's February! The month of cold weather, the Super Bowl, and of course, Valentine's Day! Yes, Valentine's Day, the most ridiculous of holidays, one that seemingly only exists to sell overpriced heart-shaped boxes of disappointing chocolates. If the onset of Valentine's Day has you in a romantic mood but you're still craving the blood and guts of the horror genre, you're in luck! This month's horror streaming column is devoted to romance-tinged horror flicks you can watch with your significant other, or all by your lonesome.

Read more: These Are The 35 Most Disturbing Movies Of The Century So Far

Audition

Streaming on Shudder, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy.

It's probably fair to say that "Audition" is the film that really introduced filmmaker Takashi Miike to a wider Western audience. In this nasty piece of work, a middle-aged man named Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) who lost his wife seven years ago teams up with his friend,...

Lauded Japanese auteur Miike Takashi sat down for an in-conversation event with longtime collaborator and producer Misako Saka at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where he is also screening “Blazing Fists.” The duo discussed their partnership as well as the impact of the director’s work in Japanese and international cinema.

On 1999’s “Audition,” Miike said he still believes the film to be “terribly violent” despite not having “set out to make a violent film.” “It became a violent movie as a result of the main character and working with actors who wanted to release this kind of feeling. I wanted to support actors to do more — if you want violence, just please go ahead.”

“Audition”

Speaking of actors, the director recalled working with Tadanobu Asano on the seminal “Ichi the Killer,” which, upon release, saw movie theaters offering sick bags to audience members due to the extreme content. Asano...

Veteran Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike has been at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) for the international premiere of his new sports film Blazing Fists. He also featured in the festival’s ‘big talk’ this week alongside producer and frequent collaborator Misako Saka.

Speaking to Deadline, Miike pointed out that this edition marked his fifth visit to IFFR and highlighted that the first thing he noticed was how the audience for his films has become older. “I’m also getting older, and ageing with the audience,” said Miike. “I first came to IFFR 25 years ago. At that time, everybody was very young, but the audience this year is a lot older.

“I’m aware that I’m getting older and I often think about how many more films I can make in my life. Making a film, while it’s not exactly like being an athlete, it’s still very physically-intensive work.

It’s hard to say what’s more endearing about Takashi Miike these days: that the director of Audition and Ichi The Killer is still out there producing work at the same, alarming rate or the clear sense that he’s still enjoying himself. Miike’s one-hundred-and-somethingth film, Blazing Fists, is a story about honor and loyalty that opens on Ikutu (Danhi Kinoshita), a youth punching another through a glass door. We’re in a juvenile detention center, and this showdown will lead Ikutu and the man he’s defending, Ryoma (Kaname Yoshizawa), on the road to becoming best friends. This relationship will continue in the outside world, where a shared dream of competing in a televised UFC style event called Breaking Down awaits. Yagura is the film’s sometimes narrator. He is also, unbeknownst to his new pal, serving time for holding up Ikutu’s dad with a flick knife.

Another Christmas is approaching and Ichiyoshi Eita, worker in a chocolate factory, has resigned to the fact that he is going to spend it alone. Until one day, right after deciding to turn his life around and not end up like his penniless senior, a peculiar marble falls from the sky right into his hands. Indeed, it is no ordinary marble, as fiddling with it will spawn an alluring girl in Ichiyoshi’s apartment, who will then multiply herself upon being kissed. Far from being the realization of his wildest fantasy, the young man will have to take on the role of a single father until more is understood about what these four beauties are, and where they came from.

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If anyone ever wondered what would happen if the storyteller behind “As the Gods Will” and “Blue Lock” and the creator...

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) got underway on Thursday evening with Dutch director Michiel ten Horn’s gender-blending, crime caper Fabula.

Set in the southern border province of Limberg, the feature stars Fedja van Huêt (the psychotic father in Christian Tafdrup’s 2022 Sundance breakout Speak No Evil) as a strung-out, misfit criminal trying to shake off a streak of intergenerational bad luck.

When a big drug deal goes wrong, he embarks on a personal journey imbued with fantasy, folklore and magic realism as he attempts to put things right.

Fabula was the first feature by a Dutch director to open the festival since Sacha Polak’s English-language drama Dirty God in 2019.

“It was fantastic to come across this film. I saw it as a work in progress, but just a few scenes gave me a pretty good idea that we were dealing with a filmmaker and a film that...

A new take on the cult horror classic “Audition,” one of the more influential modern horror films in the torture-porn genre, is coming to the screen.

Focus Features is nearing a deal to produce a feature adaptation of “Audition” based on the 1997 horror-thriller novel by Ryū Murakami, which was originally brought to the screen by Japanese master Takashi Miike in 1999 starring Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina.

Focus will produce the project alongside Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions, who have tapped Christian Tafdrup to write and direct the film. Tafdrup is the Danish director behind the original “Speak No Evil,” which was last year adapted into English by Blumhouse and Universal. Tafdrup is co-writing the script with his brother Mads Tafdrup.

“Audition” starts as a domestic drama of a widower who is holding mock auditions in order to find a new wife, only to discover that...

Danish filmmaker Christian Tafdrup brought the incredibly bleak film Gæsterne, a.k.a. Speak No Evil (read our review Here) into the world back in 2022 – and when the American remake was released last year, Tafdrup let it be known that he wasn’t impressed by the new take on his story, because it didn’t leave viewers traumatized like the original film did. Now, Deadline has revealed that Tafdrup is on board to direct a remake of director Takashi Miike’s dark and twisted 1999 Japanese film Audition… and we can probably rest assured that he’s not going to take it easy on viewers with his take on the material.

Based on a 1997 horror thriller novel by Ryū Murakami, Miike’s Audition was scripted by Daisuke Tengan and has the following synopsis: Widower Aoyama decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend, Aoyama uses auditions for a fake...

A true horror classic, Takashi Miike’s Audition is impossible to scrub from your brain even 26 years after its original release, and a fresh take on the tale is now in the works.

Deadline reports today that Focus Features, Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions are “nearing a deal” to produce a new adaptation of Ryū Murakami’s 1997 novel Audition, which served as the basis for Takashi Miike’s movie back in 1999.

Christian Tafdrup, who directed the original Danish version of Speak No Evil that was remade by Blumhouse last year, is co-writing the new Audition with brother Mads Tafdrup.

Executive Producers include Cineverse’s Chris McGurk and Yolanda Macias.

Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina starred in Takashi Miike’s Audition. In the Japanese horror film, “A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife.

Exclusive: Focus Features, Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions are nearing a deal to produce a feature take of Ryū Murakami’s cult 1997 Japanese horror thriller novel, Audition.

The novel was previously adapted into a 1999 Japanese film of the same name, directed by 2x Cannes Palme D’Or nominee Takashi Miike.

The latest take on Audition is being written and directed by Danish multi-hyphenate Christian Tafdrup who is co-writing with his brother and frequent collaborator, Mads Tafdrup.

Focus is producing alongside Hyde Park’s Ashok and Priya Amritraj and Mario Kassar for Mkp. EPs include multi-media, technology company Cineverse’s Chris McGurk and Yolanda Macias, author Murakami, and Joyce Jun.

L to R: Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.

Before being remade in English by Blumhouse and Universal, Tafdrup’s original Speak No Evil earned 11 nominations at the 2023 Danish Film Awards, with Christian Tafdrup himself nominated for Best Film,...

From Argentina to Austria, Congo to China, films from all corners of the globe are peppered through the programme of the Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR), which opens tomorrow, Thursday January 30.

Now in her fifth year at Rotterdam, festival director Vanja Kaludjercic – whose previous roles include stints at the Coproduction Office and as head of acquisitions at Mubi – says the 2025 edition presents filmmakers, themes and topics “that you do not often get a chance to see”.

Rotterdam’s two competitions – Tiger and Big Screen – each screen 14 films. Tiger is for emerging auteur filmmakers, while Big Screen “presents more classical cinema from dramas to arthouse,...

Directing music videos is easy. All you have to do is sit there, act confident, and never let on that you have no idea what you’re doing. The client is most likely an idiot; tell them the end result will be “cinematic” and they usually shut up. And if someone really starts to press, say that you’ll “have to check with your producer.” That will buy you some time.

This is the advice that Pasqual (Pasqual Gutierrez) gives to the doppelgänger he hires to take his place on the set of a big artist’s “return to form” in Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson’s playful docu-fiction hybrid “Serious People.” Doubles, and the idea of being replaced by one, are often the stuff of horror in the movies. Here, being replaceable is a relief, as Pasqual struggles to balance his career as half of a successful directing duo with the demands of impending parenthood.

With Bong Joon-ho, Na Hong-jin, Pak Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, Park Hoon-jung having new movies in 2025, the year is already shaping up to be a great one, perhaps even signaling some sort of come-back for Korean cinema. At the same time, the directorial debut of Shu Qi, the return of Bi Gan and Edwin, and a number of rather interesting anime movies have us all excited here in Amp. Without further ado, here is a countdown of 35 films that are easily described as much anticipated, in random order.

1. All Before You by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine)

Yusuf spends his days moving between his farming village, Al Basma, and his work in the city of Jerusalem, enthusiastically working to find his place in the changing, modern world. Young and restless, he’s more interested in getting away from the confines of village life than becoming involved in its problems. Yusuf’s story is...

In 2002, the hype for Japanese horror films was declining rapidly, as the sequels to series like “Ring” or “The Grudge” were commercially and critically unsuccessful. Even though directors such as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu came to Hollywood to helm the remakes to their films or their sequels, Hollywood had already adapted J-horror tropes to its own productions. As Jerry White points out, one of the perhaps most disappointing entries in the J-horror remakes was Jim Sonzero’s version of Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s “Pulse” (2001). Perhaps it was this particular experience which made Kurosawa change genres with his next project “Bright Future”.

Bright Future is screening at Black Movie

In general, Kurosawa is best known for his unique horror films such as “Pulse” or “Cure”, films which years after their release now unfold their true impact. At the same time, the director has also repeatedly explored the gap between youth and adults,...

Serena Motola, Seiya Matsudo and Ray Shirakawa have joined Seasons, the upcoming debut feature from Anky Cyriaque (Love and I Had a Fight), with more Japanese actors due to be added.

A tale of love, life, death and destiny that spans continents and time, the screenplay is by Oscar-nominated writer Kalman Apple (Speed for Thespians), based on an original story by Cyriaque (Seasons of a Soul). Shooting is set to begin in fall 2025 on locations in New York, London, Vancouver and Nepal.

The story follows a couple destined to fall in love but kept apart by the machinations of a vengeful soul, and a 100-year odyssey through previous lifetimes for them to finally come together.

Talks are ongoing with two high-profile Hollywood actors, in addition to further Japanese talent, who will join Canadian singer and songwriter Kreesha Turner.

Cyriaque says he has been “nurturing the dream of Seasons for ten unforgettable years.

Greek-French filmmaker Costa Gavras, Japanese director Miike Takashi and Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is Oscar shortlisted, have joined the roster of speakers at International Film Festival Rotterdam for the upcoming 54th edition, running from Jan. 30 – Feb. 9.

IFFR will present two strands of conversations: Big Talks, featuring dialogues between world-renowned figures from diverse disciplines, and Tiger Talks, offering explorations of film-related themes and addressing various issues including feminism, the legacy of colonialism, and cinema’s sociopolitical role.

Additional talks will take place during the Rtm Day, IFFR’s program dedicated to Rotterdam on Jan. 31.

Furthermore, the IFFR Pro Dialogues program of industry-focused discussions will be held during the IFFR Pro Days, running between Jan. 31 – Feb. 5.

Also during the festival, IFFR will welcome further special guests to present their titles in selection, including Payal Kapadia (“All We Imagine as Light”), Jan-Willem van Ewijk (“Alpha.

Stars: Miriam Yeung Chin-Wah, Bai Ling, Lee Byung-hun, Kyōko Hasegawa | Directed by Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike

In 2002, the horror anthology film Three was released, consisting of three horror tales from East Asian countries. The film received accolades and a sequel, which was released two-years-later in the form of Three… Extremes. The anthology follow-up collected three more horror tales from different directors, and was successful enough in the United States that its predecessor received a stateside release. Strangely enough, Three was repackaged to Western audiences as a sequel entitled Three… Extremes II.

Opening up this anthology is Dumplings, the Hong Kong entry from director Fruit Chan. Arriving at a house is Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeung Chin-Wah), a formerly well-known actress who wishes to get dumplings sold by Mei (Bai Ling). They are considered the most expensive for a good reason, as the dumplings miraculously make the eater look younger.

Asian-American films, at least the ones we have been seeing in Amp, share many similarities. Usually family dramas, even if of different sorts, with bright and polished cinematography, and most of the time, a rather positive message in the end, to the point that many of them look quite similar. As such, it is a joy to deal with a film that strays quite away from this ‘norm’, with director, actor, editor and fight choreographer Leroy Nguyen mentioning Hong Kong action films, particularly the work of Jackie Chan, along with Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano and Quentin Tarantino as inspirations for his filmmaking. At the same time, though, the drama is not missing either.

The Brokenhearted review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative

Sonny, a weary small-time hoodlum that has been missing for the past six months, returns to his old neighborhood and stumbles upon a rather dire situation.

The live-action adaptation of Sega’s “Like a Dragon” video game series, and the first since the 2007 film “Like a Dragon” by Takashi Miike, was one of the most anticipated series of the year, considering the popularity of the game. What the creators presented on Amazon Prime is a series that borrows the characters and setting of the original 2005 Yakuza game as well as its 2016 remake Yakuza Kiwami but the story is a loose adaptation and follows an original plot, though some major plot-points are retained. Let us see how they fared.

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The story unfolds in two parallel axes. In the first one, in 1995, Kazuma and three other youths from the orphanage he grew up in, Yumi, Akira, and Miho, successfully heist a local arcade, only to realize it is one actually run by the the Dojima Family, a powerful yakuza organization that rules Kamurocho.

Japanese author Hirai Tarô took his pen name, Edogawa Rampo, as an homage to the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. Like his idol, he produced numerous stories that incorporated mystery and horror elements in various admixtures, and exhibited a similar fascination with mental abnormalities and (perhaps more so in Rampo’s case) sexual perversities. The term that came to be associated with Rampo’s work starting in the late 1920s was “erotic grotesque nonsense,” delineating a sensibility that outrageously mixed together sex, violence, and a dark sense of humor in ways that bring to mind the surrealist movement percolating to a boil in Paris at around the same time.

Rampo Noir was the unholy brainchild of producer Miyazaki Dai, who had unleashed Miike Takashi’s Ichi the Killer on the world a few years earlier. He hand-selected the four stories to be adapted and then recruited the directors: two industry...

Japan's cinematic history is long and storied, with a variety of genres being highly influential, including the sprawling genre of yakuza movies. Not only did some of the best Japanese directors of all time make yakuza films, but some of the best Japanese actors were also featured in a number of them, showing just how prevalent the genre is in Japan. At face value, yakuza movies deal with the lives of yakuza members and how they approach the world, but the rather broad definition allows for a varied approach to making films in the genre.

Truly emerging in the 1950s, with some coming before, the yakuza genre largely based itself around post-war Japan, interested in showing how the changing political landscape could also affect organized crime in the country. With the yakuza having a strict code of honor, exploring how tradition can change rather quickly and testing what was previously thought of before,...

The Onimusha series is getting ready for a comeback. Capcom revealed Onimusha: Way of the Sword at The Game Awards, lining it up for a 2026 launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam. The English trailer is age-gated, so check that out here and watch the Japanese trailer below. Onimusha: Way of the Sword Announcement Trailer Related: Onimusha Games Get Anime With Takashi Miike as Chief Director The first entry in the Onimusha series debuted on PlayStation 2 back in 2001, and the series has sold over 8.7 million copies around the world since.  Source: Capcom...

With Indonesia’s first film market taking place during Jaff, the enthusiasm for the festival was even bigger, in a way that is actually quite contagious, particularly since the overwhelming majority of the audience were in their 20s, with their attitude giving the whole thing a party essence that was quite appealing. The program was also interesting, with the local films taking a rather large part of the program, allowing for new discoveries in an industry that is dominated by horror movies, but actually produces a number of other genres. Also of interest is the fact that the local productions seem to move more towards mainstream paths, something that also dictates the festival’s program, in contrast to European film festivals who usually pick the arthouse path.

Without further ado, take a look at our coverage of Jaff

Film Review: A Brother and 7 Siblings (2024) by Yandy Laurens

Dimas Bagus Triatma...

Can you survive a world dominated by cats? From Executive Director Takashi Miike (Audition), anime series Nyaight of the Living Cat is coming to Crunchyroll in 2025.

Claw into the official trailer for Nyaight of the Living Cat below! The series is an adaptation of the manga written by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“Run! The Adorable Cats Are Here! In 20Xx, the world is dominated by cats. A virus which turns anyone who touches a cat into a cat has spread into a worldwide nyandemic. Cats rub against people, turning them into cats. Can humanity fight their urge to pet cats to survive in this cat-ridden world? The momentously catful comic is getting a TV anime in 2025!”

Takashi Miike explains to Deadline, “It’s terrifying, but the Nyandemic can no longer be stopped. The time has come for humanity to dedicate both body and soul to cats.

A new trailer for the Nyaight of the Living Cat anime made its world premiere during Ccxp today, bringing news about the main staff alongside the release. Film director Takashi Miike serves as executive director, with Tomohiro Kamitani ( Mix Meisei Story Season 2 ) directing at anime studio Olm. Koji Endo provides the music, Marty Friedman is on guitar and Heidi Shepherd of Butcher Babies is credited with the "Death Voice." The nyandemic is coming in 2025 — with Crunchyroll to stream in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East and Cis — and you can see the latest preview below. Nyaight of the Living Cat Trailer The original Nyaight of the Living Cat manga written by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots is serialized in Monthly Comic Garden since October 2020 with five volumes currently released in Japan. Seven Seas Entertainment releases the English edition of the manga . Crunchyroll describes...

Exclusive: The series adaptation of Nyaight of the Living Cat will be led by executive director Takashi Miike, who has helmed titles like Audition, Ichi the Killer and 13 Assassins.

Adapted from the original manga written by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots, the Nyaight of the Living Cat anime is set to premiere in 2025 on Crunchyroll. Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle distribution in Asia and Japan.

The series will be produced by Olm, the studio behind the Pokémon media franchise.

Nyaight of the Living Cat will be directed by Tomohiro Kamitani (Beyond the Sky) and written by Shingo Irie (Afterlost: Where I End and You Begin), with character designs by Takao Maki (Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls).

Nyaight of the Living Cat tells the story of a mysterious virus that turns humans who touch felines into cats, causing a “Nyandemic” to break out all over the world.

Music...

We have been following Kenichi Ugana‘s career for some years now, with the Japanese having managed a rather impressive feat, by appearing in a number of festivals around the world through the years, despite the fact that his style is distinctly Japanese, and is not involved particularly in co-productions. The rather quirky “The Gesuidouz” is another testament to the fact, as it premiered in Toronto and is now having an extensive festival run.

The Gesuidouz is screening at Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival

Hanako has a dream: her horror-themed punk band The Gesuidouz will perform at Glastonbury Festival. Furthermore, she is utterly convinced that she will die at 27, just like her heroes Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, and being 26, she is quite intent on making her dream come true the year the story starts. Their manager Takamura, however, has nothing but negative comments about the whole group, which includes guitarist Masao,...

Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) was more than just a horror film; it was a cinematic primal scream that reverberated across post-Vietnam America’s culture. Hooper’s film, released amid a decade when mid-century America’s glossy optimism had given way to disillusionment, depicted a world that felt literally slaughtered.

A new kind of horror was born due to the movie’s dirty atmosphere and unrelenting tension; it didn’t rely on supernatural specters or gothic castles but rather on the terrifyingly banal. Its villains were not Dracula or Frankenstein’s monster, but rather a family of blue-collar sadists who lived in the decaying carcass of the American Dream. Fifty years later, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is still a genre-defining classic and a frightening reminder of the cultural decay it depicts.

It’s appropriate, then, that Alexandre O. Philippe’s Chain Reactions (2024) isn’t concerned with...

Mubi has unveiled next month’s streaming lineup, and it’s a major lineup for new releases, including Mati Diop’s Golden Bear-winning Dahomey (alongside more from the director), Andrea Arnold’s Bird, and Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker. Also in the lineup is the new restoration of Robert Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer’s Candy Mountain, along with films from Steven Soderbergh, Alex Ross Pery, Takashi Miike, and more.

Leonardo Goi said in his Berlinale review of Dahomey, “Dahomey begins where Statues Also Die ended, wondering what remains of our identities when the things those cling onto suddenly disappear––then resurface from oblivion. To this, Diop offers no clear answers. But in the heart-shaking passion of that university debate, in those students’ resolute commitment to reappropriate their own narratives, she finds something rarer still: a snapshot of a generation for whom this isn’t just the story of a restitution.

An influence on the likes of Takashi Miike and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, director Hideo Gosha has often gone overlooked in the pantheon of Japanese directors, despite his samurai features Sword of the Beast and Three Outlaw Samurai getting the Criterion treatment. Now is a great time to discover his filmography as his 1966 crime drama Cash Calls Hell has been restored and is arriving at the end of the month. Led by legendary actor Tatsuya Nakadai, we’re pleased to exclusively premiere the new trailer ahead of Film Movement’s digital release beginning November 29.

Here’s the synopsis: “Facing the final days of his prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter, Oida (Tatsuya Nakadai) dreads reentering society as a ruined man with no future prospects. Sensing his street smarts, Oida’s cellmate promises him a pile of loot if he tracks down and kills three men whose names are on a list. Reluctantly accepting the task,...

“Adrift in Tokyo” is the sixth feature by Japanese writer and director Satoshi Miki, whose reputation in his home country is based on his work in television, which is much infused with his particular brand of humor. While his films, unlike the work of colleagues like Takashi Miike or Takeshi Kitano, have largely remained unknown to many Western audiences, thanks to the attentiveness of companies such as the UK-based Third Window Films at least some of them can now be enjoyed in decent DVD releases. One of them is “Adrift in Tokyo”, a feature praised by critics and audiences as it was screened in various international festivals.

Adrift in Tokyo is screening at Five Flavours

Looking at the director, one might be excused to mistake him for one of his protagonists. With his goatee, slacker-like clothes and a floppy heat, Satoshi looks a bit like the Asian version of Johnny Depp...

Khui-Taweewar Wantha’s Thai supernatural horrorDeath Whisperer 2 has scared up $22m (739m baht) to become the second biggest local release of all time.

It has also been sold widely around the world by Bangkok-based sales and production company M Studio, which is currently at AFM promoting new horror titles Ghost Board and Kogaloak Village.

Following its release on October 10, Death Whisperer 2 has smashed a stringof local box-office records – highest advance ticket sales of all time for a Thai film; highest opening day revenue for a Thai film, surpassing $2.4m (80m baht); and fastest Thai film to surpass the 100m baht ($3m) benchmark,...

After crafting the best film of 2023 with The Beast, Bertrand Bonello is prepping his next feature. While he was tight-lipped on details, he tells Variety, “It’s a little early to talk about it. It’s going to be very different. It’s going to be completely different. The writing is finished, and we’re going to start the casting process. I’m going to announce it once the casting is done. I hope to start shooting next September.” Speaking about how cinema is changing, he added, “This mutation is freaky and fascinating. If you don’t involve it in your creation, you’re out. It’s always an equilibrium. You must protect the past and welcome the future. If you just welcome the future, you’re lost in the movement. If you protect the past, you’re out now.”

The ever-prolific Takashi Miike has unveiled his next film, Sham,...

Toei is on board for a new feature film by Japanese provocateur Takashi Miike and is introducing the film to buyers at this week’s AFM. The film, titled Sham, is the director’s first feature based on a work of investigative journalism.

The screenplay is based on a 2007 book by journalist Masumi Fukuda called Fabrication: The Truth About The ‘Murder Teacher’ in Fukuoka. The book details a court case against a teacher who was alleged to have bullied a student to the point of suicide until it came out at trial that the allegations were fabricated – but not before becoming a media sensation.

Boxing seems to be a compelling topic in Japan lately, as another filmmaker, after Takashi Miike with “First Love” (2019) or Sho Miyake with “Small, Slow But Steady” (2022), decided to use it as a background to tell a story. Naoto Kawashima is a film director, writer, and actor, whose feature debut, “Takasaki Graffiti”, premiered in Japan in 2018. However, his second film, “Welcome Back”, was presented to a broader audience, as it was nominated for the Competition 1-2 Award at the 40th Warsaw International Film Festival.

Teru (Kaito Yoshimura) and Ben (Yugo Mikawa) grew up together and consider themselves brothers. Teru is a boxer with the chance to win the rookie of the year title, while Ben is his biggest fan. In the decisive match, Teru loses to Kitazawa (Yoshinori Miyata), which results in his retirement from boxing. Ben, unable to accept it, picks up Teru’s gloves and heads to Osaka to fight Kitazawa.

Filmmakers with works selected for the Tokyo Film Festival’s Nippon Cinema Now section took part in a panel alongside Christian Jeune, Cannes’ film department director and deputy general delegate.

“I’ve been coming to Japan for the past 45 years and know the directors that have been to Cannes well, like Hirokazu Kore-eda and Takashi Miike,” said Jeune. “But six to seven years back, I was a bit desperate for new voices.

“I had heard that many directors had trouble financing their films, or their film treatments were very local and difficult to travel for an international audience. However, now we are seeing a new generation of filmmakers, like those behind Plan 75 or Happyend. I wouldn’t say that it’s a wave yet, but there’s something exciting happening,” added Jeune.

The panel was moderated by the Tokyo fest’s programming director Shozo Ichiyama.

Two filmmakers on the...

Takashi Miike is a prolific Japanese filmmaker with over 100 films and television production credits. Now in his 60s, he is still making movies just as vibrant and outlandish as ever, often filled with grotesque violence. In 2017, he made the feature-length adaptation of Hiroaki Samura’s popular manga series, “Blade of the Immortal” (Original title: Mugen no jûninc). Miike’s samurai action film follows the immortal samurai Manji, who decides to help orphaned Rin Asano seek revenge against those who brutally killed her parents. Takuya Kimura stars in the central role of Manji whereas Hana Sugisaki plays vengeful Rin Asano. The film is available to stream on Netflix in select countries.

Spoilers Ahead

Blade of the Immortal (2017) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

Takashi Miike’s “Blade of the Immortal” follows immortal fighter Manji helping Rin Asano seek vengeance for the sudden, unfortunate death of her parents. It’s a Samurai action thriller...

Ramping up the glitz and glamour from last year’s launch shindig, The Hollywood Reporter Japan turned on the style once more for its Trailblazer Award Gala Party, held Wednesday night at The Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo’s Ginza district.

Held during the Tokyo International Film Festival, this year’s THR Japan gala event was an even hotter ticket than in 2023, with a veritable who’s who of Japan’s film industry, as well as sprinkling of sports legends and local celebs, who all graced the red carpet to join the celebrations to honor Shogun star Tadanobu Asano, the first Japanese recipient of THR’s Trailblazer Award.

The Trailblazer Award is given to artists whose work and careers illuminate stories and characters who have been traditionally marginalized in Hollywood. Since his debut on Japanese television as a 16-year-old, Asano’s career has taken him from Hirokazu Koreeda’s Maborosi to...

Samurai stories, an essential genre of Japan’s film industry since its inception, have been enjoying a global resurgence lately.

FX and Disney’s smash-hit period series Shogun, produced by and starring veteran Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, became the most honored drama in Emmys history last month, winning in more categories in a single year than any show in TV history. The series, a painterly period drama about the struggle for power at the dawn of Japan’s Edo period, also became Disney+ and Hulu’s globally most-watched show ever.

Despite Shogun‘s phenomenal success, however, fans — and Disney’s content execs — will have to wait quite a while for more. Shogun has been renewed for two additional seasons, but the first season was based on James Clavell’s best-selling novel from 1975, and the show’s story arc concluded right where the author’s book ends. FX and Shogun‘s...

A decades-old unproduced screenplay set during Japan’s 1868-’69 civil war has been dusted off and given thoroughly modern action-movie treatment in Kazuya Shiraishi’s “11 Rebels.” A highly entertaining and highly blood-drenched take on the trusty old tale of crooks and miscreants embarking on a military suicide mission on the promise of being pardoned should they happen to survive, “11 Rebels” has just the right balance of spectacular swordplay, revenge-fueled drama and double-crossing political intrigue.

After opening the Tokyo Film Festival, Shiraishi’s lusty samurai slash-’em-up will march into Japanese cinemas on Nov. 1. A slightly different version of the film has been acquired for North America by specialty distributor Well Go USA. Fans of FX’s smash-hit “Shogun” series should find plenty to like about this handsomely produced tale set in the dying days of feudal Japan. In the broader scope of samurai cinema, it combines the chamber...

We have been getting a lot of prequels in recent years. Some have turned out well, like Furiosa, Orphan: First Kill, Prey, and Pearl. Sometimes they don’t turn out very well, like Leatherface, and sometimes they can be quite divisive, like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Good or bad, prequels are here to stay, so we have put together a list of Horror Prequels We Want to See.

Alien Lv-426

Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, this film would explore the lives of the colonists sent to terraform Lv-426. The movie could showcase their daily lives, paying homage to the brief glimpse of their existence seen in Aliens. Then Weyland-Yutani makes the call with the order to investigate the co-ordinates provided by Ripley, the location of the derelict Engineer spacecraft. As we know from Aliens, the investigation goes terribly wrong – and this movie could show exactly how things...