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Most Hollywood stars become synonymous with the films they star in, but every so often, a celebrity's unapologetic love of another movie becomes a part of their "brand." It's very common with directors when their styles reflect their inspirations, most notably, Brian De Palma with Alfred Hitchcock. It's not as common with actors, however, who are often cagey or diplomatic when talking about their cinematic likes and dislikes, because you never know who you're going to work with (or for) in this business. We know what films an actor like Bruce Willis loves because he's been open about it in interviews, but it's doubtful a movie fan would sit down to watch Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show" and think to themselves, "You know, Bruce Willis loves this movie."

But then there's Willem Dafoe, who might be the world's...

While in New York City to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her monster international hit “The Babadook,” Australian writer/director Jennifer Kent took a stop over at the Criterion Closet and proved that she not only enjoys making spooky movies — she likes watching them too. Her first pick of the shelf was one of the first films of the horror genre, the 1922 silent essay piece “Haxän: Witchcraft Through the Ages.” Kent described the film as “a huge inspiration for ‘Babadook.'”

She added, “It’s about the devil and about witchcraft, it’s also about women going nuts. Fantastic.”

Kent’s next selection was from her home country, Peter Weir’s 1977 mystery “The Last Wave,” which she’d initially avoided watching because she misconstrued the title.

“I’m embarrassed to say, I thought it was a film about surfing. It’s not a film about surfing,” said Kent. “It’s...

Junichiro Tanizaki‘s novel “Manji,” which translates to “Swastika” and later given the English title “Quicksand,” is a popular erotic story of obsession, jealousy, and destruction surrounding a four-way bisexual love affair that develops between upper-class citizens, the four lovers meant to comprise the Buddhist swastika symbolically. This iconic literary work has seen numerous film adaptations throughout the years. However, the most famous and arguably best one comes from director Yasuzo Masumura with his 1964 classic “Manji,” also known by the titles “Swastika” and “All Mixed Up.” This version would notably have a screenplay written by Kaneto Shindo, who international moviegoers will best remember for directing the horror masterpiece “Onibaba.”

Manji is screening at Camera Japan

Plotwise, married woman and artist Sonoko Kakiuchi is unhappy with her marriage to her husband, Kotaro. While attending a private art school, she meets fellow student Mitsuko Tokumitsu, whose beauty and devilish charm entices Sonoko.

Director Alexandre Aja has certainly made his mark on the horror genre over the past 20 years. After bursting onto the scene in 2003 with the controversial High Tension, he weaved his way through American genre films with the remake of Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes, the remake of Into the Mirror, the remake of Joe Dante’s Piranha, the adaptation of Joe Hill’s Horns, and the creature feature Crawl. Now, he’s unleashing his latest film Never Let Go, a mature fairy tale that sends him back into a world similar to the one he built in Horns eleven years ago.

Never Let Go, in theaters on Friday, stars Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins.

Berry plays June, “known simply as Momma to her fraternal twin sons, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV). After an entity she calls ‘the Evil’ took over the world,...

With Now Showing, your Halloweenies gather each month for a review on something new and something old in horror. This month, co-hosts Rachel Reeves and McKenzie Gerber are joined by editor and Lady Killers co-host Mae Schults. Together, they discuss Longlegs, MaXXXine, Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever, Onibaba, Stripped to Kill, and Lisa and the Devil.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, and Chucky. This year? Alien.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for even more hilariously irreverent commentaries and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals. Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

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Nearly every culture in the world has contributed to the horror genre at one point or another, but it’s pretty clear that Hollywood is still the de facto capital of genre filmmaking. That’s why it makes sense that most popular horror tropes and monsters are based on traditional western mythology and religions, as these films are usually made by – and meant to appeal to – a certain demographic.

However, dealing with the same old ghouls and possessions can get old after a hundred and thirty years of cinema, and that’s why we’re lucky that some filmmakers decide to incorporate elements from lesser-known cultures into their scary stories. Whether it’s a foreign film daring to apply the “Hollywood” treatment to a local monster or a north American production taking inspiration from international legends (like Bishal Dutta’s recent It Lives Inside), some of the best horror experiences...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

’90s Horror, Art-House Horror, and Pre-Code Horror

It’s October, which means you are likely crafting an endless queue of horror films to consume. When it comes to a single streaming service to dedicate your eyes to this month, The Criterion Channel takes the cake with three different series. First up, ’90s horror brings together such films as The Rapture (1991), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), The Addiction (1995), and Ravenous (1999), while Art-House Horror features Häxan (1922), Vampyr (1932), Eyes Without a Face (1960), Carnival of Souls (1962), Onibaba (1964), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Sisters (1973), Eraserhead (1977), House (1977), Suspiria (1977), Arrebato (1979), The Brood (1979), The Vanishing (1988), Cronos (1993), Cure (1997), Donnie Darko (2001), Trouble Every Day (2001), Antichrist (2009), and more. Lastly, Pre-Code horrors brings together ’30s features such as Freaks (1932), Island of Lost Souls (1932), The Old Dark House...

Yasuzo Masumura amazes us with yet another sensual stunner. This period way-of-all-flesh tale is almost a horror film, but the supernatural shivers are far outpaced by the daily Evil that Men Do. Japanese superstar Ayako Wakao blazes across the screen as a self-decreed avenger of the female sex, who allows men to destroy themselves and uses them to destroy each other. The bloody killings orbit around the desire to possess the irresistible Spider Woman, an in an ‘annihilating noir.’ The screenplay is by the equally famous Kaneto Shindo, from a Japanese ‘amor fou’ novel by Junichiro Tanizaki.

Irezumi

Blu-ray

Arrow Video

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date June 22, 2021 / Spider Tattoo / Available from Amazon / 39.95

Starring: Ayako Wakao, Akio Hasegawa, Gaku Yamamoto, Kei Sato, Fujio Suga, Reiko Fujiwara, Asao Uchida, Kikue Mori.

Cinematography: Kazuo Miyagawa

Production Designers: Hiroaki Fujii, Shiro Kaga

Art Director: Yoshinobu Nishioka

Film Editor: Kanji Suganuma

Original Music: Hikaru...

Exile Content Studio and Moxie 88 are partnering to develop a new scripted television series titled “The Illusionist Club,” Alejandro Uribe, CEO of Exile, and Moxie 88 co-founders Dan Carrillo Levy and Eugenio Villamar, announced on Thursday.

Latino writing duo Carrillo Levy and Villamar created the series. “The Illusionist Club” will tell the story of “Simon Santana, a 13-year-old aspiring card illusionist and sleight-of-hand artist who assembles a ragtag group of suburban teenage magic enthusiasts to solve the mystery of the long-ago disappearance of his grandfather, a famed stage illusionist known as The Great Isaac,” per the studio. “The troupe is quickly swept up into incredible adventures as they discover an underground society that holds the boy’s grandfather responsible for stealing the society’s most guarded treasure, the Book of Secrets.”

Levy and Villamar serve as writers, creators and executive producers on the series.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Dan and Eugenio,...

Resident Evil Netflix Series: "Year 2036 – 14 years after a deadly virus caused a global apocalypse, Jade Wesker fights for survival in a world overrun by the blood-thirsty infected and insane creatures. In this absolute carnage, Jade is haunted by her past in New Raccoon City, by her father’s chilling connections to the Umbrella Corporation but mostly by what happened to her sister, Billie."

Series Launch Date: July 14

Showrunner/Executive Producer/Writer: Andrew Dabb (Supernatural)

Executive Producer / Writer: Mary Leah Sutton

Executive Producers: Robert Kulzer and Oliver Berben of Constantin Film

Producer: Constantin Film CEO Martin Moszkowicz

Studio: Constantin Film

Format: 8 x 1 Hour episodes

Cast:

Lance Reddick (he/him) as Albert Wesker

Ella Balinska (she/her)

Tamara Smart (she/her)

Siena Agudong (she/her)

Adeline Rudolph (she/her)

Paola Nuñez (she/her)

Ahad Raza Mir (he/him)

Connor Gossatti (he/him)

Turlough Convery (he/him)

---

Scare Package II: Rad Chad: "Shudder,...

Exclusive: Mexican star Omar Chaparro is set to lead and produce the English-language TV comedy/action series Coyotes M.C. from Moxie 88. The project is currently being pitched to streamers/buyers.

Chaparro portrays a business ethics professor whose life is upended when he is called to step in for his father, the infamous Latino criminal biker gang leader Los Coyotes Mc.

Moxie 88 co-founders Eugenio Villamar and Dan Carrillo Levy created Coyotes M.C. as a star vehicle for Chaparro’s first English-language TV series and currently holds the rights to the project.

Carrillo Levy and Villamar will act as executive producers, writers, and creators on the show. Chaparro and Jay Weisleder will serve as executive producers. Moxie 88’s VP of Development, Eugenia Esponda, will serve as a co-executive producer.

Chaparro currently holds the record as the highest-grossing actor in the Mexican box office,...

Welcome to this review of Impact Wrestling. We’ve got the go-home show before Turning Point this week nd one that promises to deliver some great matches – including Steve Maclin fighting for a slot in the X-Division championship match and the much anticipated Josh Amexander vs Minoru Suzuki! Lets get right into it!

If you haven’t seen it already, check out our exclusive interview with Impact Wrestling’s Eddie Edwards ahead of his match at Turning Point 2021.

Match #1: Steve Maclin def. Laredo Kid The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Steve Maclin battles Laredo Kid with X-Division Title implications! If Maclin wins, he’ll be added to the X-Division Title match with Trey Miguel and Laredo Kid at Turning Point. Maclin launches himself through the ropes, taking out Laredo on the floor. Laredo avoids a spear, then soars off the top with a Swanton Bomb to the outside.

In fields of tall dry grass lies a pit just deep enough that escape is impossible. Not that any who fall in would think of escape, since they are already dead (or close enough) by the time they land with a dull thud at the bottom. How many men lie in this deep, we do not know. A few? Dozens? Their murderers don't keep track, they only know how much money can be made from the possessions of the corpse. Meanwhile, their anger and lust will drive these criminals apart soon enough. Criminals? Or Survivors? That's one of many questions asked in Shindô Kaneto's classic Onibaba. A tale of lust and murder, isolation and madness, Criterion has issued a new blu-ray edition, with the usual...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Onibaba

Blu ray

Criterion

1964/ 2.39:1/ 102 Minutes

Starring Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura

Directed by Kaneto Shindô

Kaneto Shindô’s Onibaba is a campfire tale not for the faint of heart. The director was just a child when he first heard the Buddhist fable about a bewitched matriarch, told to him by his own mother in lieu of a bedtime story. That evening, the child’s perception of the world, and the women in it, took on a new dimension. The movie Shindô made from those memories is unclassifiable—a Bergmanesque allegory filmed in a graceful yet spartan style with a healthy dose of Grand Guignol to mitigate its pretensions. Produced in 1964, the film is set in the medieval era just as civil war has leveled Kyoto, sending the populace scurrying to the hinterlands.

Shindô wrote the screenplay and he leaves it to one of his characters, a deserter named Hachi, to...

Exclusive: The Black List, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Redford Center along with the CAA Foundation have chosen three recipients of the group’s inaugural Climate Storytelling Fellowship.

The fellowship, which launched in April, aims to harness more stories that focus on climate change, its impact and possible solutions. The CAA Foundation has since come aboard the initiative and has helped boost the grant money given to the winners.

Elise H. Greven’s Silent Spring, Jonathan Brebner’s The Demon and Ellie Bambach’s American Exiles were chosen out of hundreds of applicants that ranged from sci-fi TV pilots to feature-length romantic comedies, the companies said Tuesday. The trio receive $15,000 apiece and will be paired with screenwriting mentors Sarah Treem (The Affair), Scott Z. Burns (An Inconvenient Truth) and Naren Shankar (The Expanse) as well as climate professionals to help develop their scripts over the next six months,...

Welcome to this week’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a prize fight and a big night for Montez Ford, who gets to fight Roman Reigns because he insulted the Anoi/Fatu family. Wouldn’t it be great if life worked like that? Somebody pisses you off and you get to fight them for money? Actually, I might not be into that, but it would be a good option for some of the more violent people out there. Chevy Chase: I hate people! Me: Oh s–t! It’s Chevy Chase! Chevy: I hate people! Gaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!! Me: Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!! SmackDown starts now! Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!

Match #1: King Nakamura def. Apollo Crews – WWE Intercontinental Title Match The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

In the final moments of a tremendous Intercontinental Championship rematch, Rick Boogs picked up the gigantic Commander Azeez...

Sometimes it takes more than a decade for a feature to be added to the Criterion Collection. Other times, it could be 60-plus years. And on the rare occasion, only about two years. This October, Criterion runs the gamut of release dates, with new additions like “Uncut Gems,” “Ratcatcher,” and “Onibaba,” just to name a few.

Read More: The Safdie Brothers Sign A New TV Deal With A24 & HBO

That’s right, less than two years after its debut, The Safdie Brothers’ breakout feature, “Uncut Gems,” is heading to the Criterion Collection.

Continue reading ‘Uncut Gems,’ Lynne Ramsay’s ‘Ratcatcher’ & More Join The Criterion Collection In October at The Playlist.

Director Kazuo Ikehiro, now on his third and final Zatoichi film, and lead star Shintaro Katsu attempted something different with this, the fourteen entry in the Zatoichi series. They roped in superstar director/screenwriter Kaneto Shindo, who had by then already made the hit productions “The Naked Island” and “Onibaba” and would go on to make “Kuroneko” two years later, to write the script for Ichi’s new adventure, in an attempt to bring some freshness to the series.

The reluctance to kill that Zatoichi showed in the previous films, and particularly in “Zatoichi’s Vengeance”, the one that immediately preceded this, has turned into full-blown repentance as he decides to take a pilgrimage to the 88 Temples in Shokiku. Before he embarks on the pilgrimage, he asks but one thing of God: to not make him have to kill again, necessarily or unnecessarily. God, as it turns out,...

The writer/director of Spontaneous discusses some of his favorite off the beaten path films. Plus grooming tips!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Underwater (2020)

The Babysitter (2017)

Jane Got A Gun (2015)

Spontaneous (2020)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Mandy (2018)

Bad Hair (2020)

Little Murders (1971)

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

My Boyfriend’s Back (1993)

Parents (1989)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Kuroneko (1968)

Onibaba (1964)

Birth (2004)

Heathers (1988)

Sexy Beast (2000)

Under The Skin (2013)

Swiss Army Man (2016)

Paddington 2 (2017)

The Brood (1979)

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

The Fly (1986)

A History of Violence (2005)

Brick (2005)

Knives Out (2019)

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

Gremlins (1984)

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Dead Alive (1993)

Meet The Feebles (1989)

The Addams Family (1991)

Addams Family Values (1993)

Other Notable Items

Bruce Springsteen

Justin Simien

Hulu

Tales From The Crypt TV series (1989-1996)

Alan Arkin

Temple University

Warren Beatty

Jules Feiffer

Paul Sylbert...

Heading into this year’s Guadalajara’s Co-Production Meetings, the team behind Michelle Garza’s maternal horror flick “Huesera” has shared with Variety news of a new minority co-producer, choreographer and key casting details.

“Huesera” is produced by Paulina Villaviencio from Mexico’s Disruptiva Films and Edher Campos of Machete Producciones. Villaviencio’s recently produced Simon Hernández‘s 2019 Sitges Documenta Award-winner “La venganza de Jairo,” documenting the final shoot of Colombian genre master Jairo Pinilla.

A recent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences addition, Campos’ impressive resume includes Cannes awarded fare such as Michael Rowe’ Cannes Camera d’Or-winner “Leap Year” and Diego Quemada-Díez’s “La Jaula de Oro,” which scooped A Certain Talent award for its leads in 2013. Most recently, he produced Heidi Ewing’s Sundance Audience Award and Next Innovator Award-winner “I Carry You with Me.”

Lorena Ugarteche from Peru’s Señor Z will co-produce on the...

Written by Various | Art by Various | Published by DC Comics

When it comes to over-sized special edition comics, DC seemingly can’t wait to whip up a steady stream of one after another. That’s not a complaint, mind you, just an observation. These 80 Page Giants must be good-sellers for DC, and although nearly 10 dollars a go, they are good value for the reader. You get to see a whole load of creators jamming together on more characters than you can shake a stick at, and the odds are that you will enjoy the majority of the stories, if not all. DC do enjoy their themed specials as well, and I must admit to being a sucker for things like Halloween and Christmas specials down the years, and I’m no different now. This Special gives us 10 short and hopefully sweet peeks into the more mysterious corners of the DC Universe,...

HBO Max launched on May 27th and has been off to a pretty good start with well over 10,000 hours worth of content on the service from day one. If you’re a horror fan, you may be excited to hear that a fairly decent portion of those 10,000 hours include some of the biggest and most popular horror films of all time. So, if you haven’t subscribed yet, now might just be the time to do so.

Do you like Steven Spielberg and massive sharks eating people? If so, you’ll be delighted to hear that you can catch the entire Jaws franchise – which spans four films – on HBO Max right away. If you haven’t ever seen them, now’s a great opportunity to take a trip back in time to catch up on what was arguably the very first blockbuster movie series.

The majority of the Aliens films...

Jasper Sharp is a writer, curator and filmmaker specialising in Japanese cinema, and co-founder of the Japanese film website Midnighteye.com. His book publications include The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (2003), joint-written with Tom Mes, Behind the Pink Curtain (2008) and The Historical Dictionary of Japanese Film (2011). He is the co-director of The Creeping Garden (2014), alongside Tim Grabham, a documentary about plasmodial slime moulds. He has programmed a number of high profile seasons and retrospectives with organisations including the British Film Institute, Deutches Filmmuseum, Austin Fantastic Fest, the Cinematheque Quebecois and Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

We spoke with Jasper no longer after his talk – in recent, more social times – on Ero Guro for the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies in London, and we discussed about how he got sucked into the wild side of Japanese Cinema, the years of Midnight Eye, his latest passions and more.

Hi Jasper. In...

As the eyes of the world turned away from the Olympic Summer Games 1964 in Tokyo, empty stadiums remained and little attention was given to the second Paralympic Games ever that were held only a few days after the Olympic Games. Kimio Watanabe’s documentary “Tokyo Paralympics: The Festival of Love and Glory” is one of six, and only one out of the two preserved films that give an account of that event. This very rare piece of history was long-forgotten and was recently discovered and shown to the public.

Tokyo Paralympics is screening at Japan Society (currently postponed)

Due to a lack of funding, the event itself was on the edge and so was the media coverage. The one-long documentary is therefore an important visual record, which allows insights into Japanese society at that time. Watanabe follows a rather humanitarian path and gives a voice to the unheard athletes, who...

Kaneto Shindo was a prolific director and screenwriter who created some of the most memorable films of the black and white era, such as “Onibaba” (1964) and “Kuroneko” (1968). In “The Naked Island” (1960) Shindo gives us a window on a small farming family living on an island, showing the harsh conditions under which they survive.

The film begins with a man and woman collecting water that they transport back to the island on a small vessel. We see that they have two sons living with them. It is clear from the beginning that theirs is a difficult life. The dry earth means that they are required to continually water their crops, travelling back and forth from the island and hauling their buckets up the steep hill. The eldest son is taken by his mother to school on the mainland. While much of their time is taken up with an endless struggle against the elements,...

The last two years of the 20th century and the beginning of 21st century enshrined a surprise that would prove to be essential to the growing popularity of the horror genre- the arrival of modern Japanese horror. What separated this particular cinematic movement from other horror genres was its influence from folklore stories and urban legends, combined with the necessary adjustments in order to place these old tales in modern culture. Although there are previous examples of horror films with similar classic ghost story influences, both American and Asian (”The Ghost of Yotsuya”- 1959), it wasn’t a specific genre until the late 90s, early 2000s, when a bunch of Japanese filmmakers, like Hideo Nakata, Takashi Miike and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, decided to add together an interesting technological spin in recurring horror themes, an innovative use of sound effects and design, more character-driven plot lines and a blend of scary Japanese...

In the midst of the J-horror craze of the early 2000s ignited by Hideo Nakata’s “Ringu” (1998) director Takashi Shimizu created another entry within his home country’s specific brand of horror with “Ju-On: The Grudge”. While many viewers regard this film as the first in the franchise, it is actually the third film in the series with the first two films being released for home video only. In the aftermath the film would receive the inevitable Hollywood treatment with Shimizu directing also the American version and start a franchise, which, including the recently released “The Grudge” by Nicolas Pesce consists of 13 movies along with video games, manga adaptations and movie novelizations.

However, if we go back to the origin of the franchise, which in this case is the first movie to be released in cinemas, we have to consider the status of “Ju-On” as J-horror as...

Released in 2000 and celebrated by international-horror nerds via videotapes passed around like viruses, Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-on helped usher in a wave of modern Japanese creepfests that slowly made their way west. The title translated as something like “The Curse”; it would eventually be better known as The Grudge. Along with 1998’s The Ring, the film (and the numerous related series, sequels, quasi-remakes, and brand-name bastardizations) was the most recognizable ambassador for a genre folks dubbed J-Horror. By the time Sam Raimi and producer Roy Lee enlisted Shimizu and noted...

Films taking place in the 80’s and 90’s have been one of the recent trends of international cinema (“Stranger Things” has probably something to do with it), with the majority of them trying to benefit from the sense of nostalgia they emit. Isao Yukisada (one of the most talented contemporary Japanese directors in my opinion) makes his effort in the style, through a combination with teen, high school drama based on the homonymous manga by Kyoko Okazaki.

“River’s Edge” is screening at the Five Flavours Festival

The story takes place in the 90’s and revolves around a number of characters who attend the same high school. Haruna is a girl who appears detached from everything, despite the fact that she has a boyfriend, Kannonzaki, and is part of a gang of the three that also includes Rumi, a girl who has sex with mature men who shower her with expensive gifts,...

Above: Tony Stella’s illustration for an alternative poster for Suspiria for Alphaville.One of my favorite working movie poster illustrators is the Italian-born, Berlin-based artist Tony Stella, a true connoisseur of cinema as well as a prodigious and prolific artist. I profiled Tony in this column a few years ago. Tony recently joined forces with the designer known as Midnight Marauder to start the boutique movie poster design agency Alphaville, and since I recently asked Mm for his ten favorite movie posters it was only fair that I ask Tony too, a task he took up with alacrity.So, without further ado, here are Tony Stella’s ten favorite movie posters of all-time, in ascending order, with his own comments. His choices take us on a tour through some of the best movie poster illustration of the past 50 years.10. Get Carter (1971)“The number ten spot was a toss-up between...

Films taking place in the 80’s and 90’s have been one of the recent trends of international cinema (“Stranger Things” has probably something to do with it), with the majority of them trying to benefit from the sense of nostalgia they emit. Isao Yukisada (one of the most talented contemporary Japanese directors in my opinion) makes his effort in the style, through a combination with teen, high school drama based on the homonymous manga by Kyoko Okazaki.

River’s Edge is screening at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival

The story takes place in the 90’s and revolves around a number of characters who attend the same high school. Haruna is a girl who appears detached from everything, despite the fact that she has a boyfriend, Kannonzaki, and is part of a gang of the three that also includes Rumi, a girl who has sex with mature men who shower her with expensive gifts,...

A few months ago, the Crypt of Curiosities briefly touched on a subgenre of Japanese cinema called Kaidan. For the unaware, modern Kaidan are ghost stories, usually set in the Edo period and drawing on classic mythology and folklore. It was a very popular genre for ’50s and ’60s Japanese cinema to draw on, with standouts like Ugetsu (1953), Black Cat Mansion (1958), and Kwaidan (1964) helping define the movement as one of the great types of J-Horror. But when it comes to the ultimate in Kaidan, one director’s body of work stands out among the rest: the Kaidan of Kaneto Shindo.

Kaneto Shindo was a legend. Over the course of the hundred years he was with us, he worked as a screenwriter on everything from war films to disaster movies to Zatoichi entries, and served as the director for avant-garde classics like The Naked Island (1960). His filmography spans all sorts of genres and movements,...

On the 28th edition of the annual Halloween-themed “Treehouse of Horror” episode of “The Simpsons,” baby Maggie is possessed by a demon, and the voices of those tasked with exorcising it sound familiar to diehard horror fans: One of them is Ben Daniels, star of the Fox show “The Exorcist,” and the other is William Friedkin, who directed the 1973 movie.

Friedkin’s legacy extends far beyond that movie; two years earlier, he swept the Oscars with “The French Connection,” and later delivered “Sorcerer” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” The past decade found Friedkin continuing to produce edgy work, including two Tracy Letts plays (“Bug” and “Killer Joe”), numerous operas, and now a documentary, “The Devil and Father Amorth,” which premiered this fall at the Venice International Film Festival and explores the real-life context that inspired “The Exorcist.”

While visiting Lyon to deliver a masterclass at the Lumiere Festival,...

Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.

The Witch (Robert Eggers)

“We will conquer this wilderness. It will not consume us,” foreshadows our patriarch in the first act of The Witch, a delightfully insane bit of 17th century devilish fun. As if Ingmar Bergman and Ken Russell co-directed Kill List, Robert Eggers’ directorial debut follows a God-fearing Puritan family banished from their settlement in a colonial New England, only to have their deep sense of faith uprooted when our title character has her way with their fate.

Don't let your boss see this movie, it'll give them ideas. Writer-director Kaneto Shindo reduces the human drama to its basics, as an isolated family endures a backbreaking existence of dawn 'til dusk toil to eke out a living. It's a beautiful but humbling ode to adaptability and human resolve. And the show has no conventional dialogue. The Naked Island Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 811 1960 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 94 min. / Hadaka no shima / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 17, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto. Cinematography Kiyomi Kuroda Film Editor Toshio Enoki Original Music Hikaru Hayashi Produced by Eisaku Matsuura, Kaneto Shindo Written and Directed by Kaneto Shindo

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Writer-director Kaneto Shindo started his own production company in the 1950s earning critical attention but not great success with pictures on topical themes -- the legacy of Hiroshima, the story of the fishing trawler irradiated by a hydrogen blast.

Hey, let me start off here by welcoming my friends who followed me on my Criterion Reflections blog and are sticking around to carry on my chronological exploration of the Criterion Collection. Reading my stuff here on Criterion Cast is probably not that big of a jump for most of you, since I’ve been writing for this site since 2010, but this post does mark a significant transition for me. I appreciate the positive comments that have been sent my way in various formats since I came to the end of that particular rope a couple weeks ago. But enough about that then! I’m eager to share my thoughts on Kuroneko, a beautifully creepy and hauntingly mesmerizing film from 1968 directed by Kaneto Shindo.

David’s quick take for the tl;dr media consumer:

Impressive, atmospheric Japanese ghost story that employs stark minimalist set design, poised performances in the Noh tradition and brisk,...

You want radical? Look no further. Nagisa Oshima's near-legendary issue drama makes a wickedly frightening protest against the death penalty, but then proceeds into formal abstraction and the endorsement of a violent radical position. You can't find a political 'gauntlet picture' as jarring or as potent as this one. Death by Hanging Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 798 1968 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Kôshikei / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 16, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Do-yun Yu, Kei Sato, Fumio Watanabe, Toshiro Ishido, Masao Adachi, Rokko Toura, Hosei Komatsu, Masao Matsuda, Akiko Koyama. Cinematography Yasuhiro Yoshioka Film Editor Sueko Shiraishi Original Music Hikaru Hayashi Written by Michinori Fukao. Mamoru Sasaki, Tsutomu Tamura, Nagisa Oshima Produced by Masayuki Nakajima, Takuji Yamaguchi, Nagisa Oshima Directed by Nagisa Oshima

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Believe me, you ain't seen nothing yet. Nagisa Oshima is a radical's radical, a cinema stylist completely committed to his politics -- which...

Special Mention: Spirits Of The Dead (Histoires extraordinaires)

Written and directed by Federico Fellini (segment “Toby Dammit”), Louis Malle (segment “William Wilson”), Roger Vadim (segment “Metzengerstein”)

France, 1968

The first thing you should notice is the three directors: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim. Secondly, take notice of the cast, which includes Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Salvo Randone, James Robertson Justice, Françoise Prévost and Marlène Alexandre. Spirits Of The Dead is an adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe stories, one of which demands to be seen.

The first segment of the film, Vadim’s “Metzgengerstein”, is unfortunately the least impressive, but is still great in its own right, and features a marvelous performance by Jane Fonda. Malle’s segment, which is the second of the three, turns Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 story into an engrossing study in cruelty and sadism. This episode is an engaging enough entry,...

If the transformation is a character’s external change then the meltdown is the internal equivalent. Sometimes the most terrifying part of a horror film isn’t when the monster pops out, but when a character loses his or her grip on reality. The psychosis can begin gradually, exacerbated by stress, sickness, or an outside tormentor. Often the character begins a film in complete control of his or her mental faculties. But control is a relative term, and in a horror film, the illusion of control can be just as powerful as actual agency. The options: denial or embracement. The psychological break will come soon enough. The only question is, how broken will the person be once it does?

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Alien (1979) – Ash malfunctions

The crew of the cargo ship Nostromo has just about had it. Awakened from a cozy hypersleep to answer the worst wrong number in interstellar history, they then...

What is it about foreign horror films that makes them more interesting than so many English language horror films? You would have to think that the language barrier makes it more terrifying; people screaming is already difficult, but speaking a language you don’t understand can only make it worse. So, why are the remakes typically so bad? On this portion of the list, we are treated to a few of the more upsetting films in the canon – one movie I wouldn’t wish for anyone to see, a few that blazed the trail for many more, and one that I would elevate above the horror genre into its own little super-genre.

30. Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003)

English Title: A Tale of Two Sisters

Directed by: Kim Ji-woon

Another excellent Korean horror film America had to remake to lesser results. 2003’s A Tale of Two Sisters is just one of many film adaptations of the folktale,...

Fandor, the premiere streaming service for independent, classic and critically-acclaimed films, shorts and documentaries, in a partnership with the Criterion Collection and Hulu Plus, is currently home to a rotation of uniquely curated bundles of Criterion films available to watch instantly via desktop, set top and mobile devices.

Every Tuesday, Fandor rolls out a new collection of films that share a common theme, genre, time period, film style, etc. These films are available on the site for 12 days before being replaced by a fresh new batch of featured Criterion masterpieces.

Fandor’S Criterion Picks For March

March 17-28: The Sixteenth Century

Carnival in Flanders(1935, Director Jacques Feyder): A small village in Flanders puts on a carnival to avoid the brutal consequences of the Spanish occupation. Ivan the Terrible(1944, DirectorSergei Eisenstein): As Ivan ascends to lead Russia, the Boyars are determined to disrupt his rule. Ivan’s relationship...

Top 100 horror movies of all time: Chicago Film Critics' choices (photo: Sigourney Weaver and Alien creature show us that life is less horrific if you don't hold grudges) See previous post: A look at the Chicago Film Critics Association's Scariest Movies Ever Made. Below is the list of the Chicago Film Critics's Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time, including their directors and key cast members. Note: this list was first published in October 2006. (See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, and Mary Philbin among the "Top Ten Scream Queens.") 1. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock; with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 2. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin; with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow (and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge). 3. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter; with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Tony Moran. 4. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott; with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. 5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero; with Marilyn Eastman,...

What is it about foreign horror films that makes them more interesting than so many English language horror films? You would have to think that the language barrier makes it more terrifying; people screaming is already difficult, but speaking a language you don’t understand can only make it worse. So, why are the remakes typically so bad? On this portion of the list, we are treated to a few of the more upsetting films in the canon – one movie I wouldn’t wish for anyone to see, a few that blazed the trail for many more, and one that I would elevate above the horror genre into its own little super-genre.

30. Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003)

English Title: A Tale of Two Sisters

Directed by: Kim Ji-woon

Another excellent Korean horror film America had to remake to lesser results. 2003′s A Tale of Two Sisters is just one of many film adaptations of the folktale,...

Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time for one reason: the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. I am including documentaries, short films and mini series, only as special mentions – along with a few features that can qualify as horror, but barely do.

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Special Mention:

Häxan

Directed by Benjamin Christensen

Denmark / Sweden, 1922

Häxan (a.k.a The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) is a 1922 silent documentary about the history of witchcraft,...

Feature Dan Auty 8 Jul 2013 - 06:35

Two classic films from Onibaba director Kaneto Shindo arrive on Blu-ray. Dan takes a look at The Naked Island and Kuroneko...

Without question, Kaneto Shindo’s best-known film is his chilling 1964 masterpiece Onibaba. Frequently listed as one of the greatest horror films ever made, this tale of a murderous wife and daughter in feudal Japan has long been available in the UK on VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray, and stands as a landmark of Japanese cinema. But what of Shindo’s other films? The director’s death last year - at the grand age of 100 - has led to resurgence in interest in his work, and this week Masters Of Cinema release two of his other classics in gorgeous new Blu-ray editions.

The Naked Island (1961)

The Naked Island was the prolific Shindo’s 15th film, but for a while it looked like it might his last.

★★★★☆ The latest welcome addition to the Masters of Cinema's growing Kaneto Shindô catalogue, the cult Japanese director's 1968 film Kuroneko (Yabu no naka no kuroneko) feels like the near-perfect partner piece to his demonic earlier effort, Onibaba. Celebrating both pictures' atmospheric, effortlessly sensual and often terrifying feudal Japan-set ghostly narratives, the restoration and ongoing preservation of these two mini masterworks has rightly helped the late Shindô to earn the kind of acclaim and reverence previously reserved for iconic figureheads such as Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu.

Loosely based on the Japanese folktale The Cat's Return, Kuroneko begins with the brutal rape and murder of a poverty-stricken mother and daughter-in-law (Nobuko Otowa and Kiwako Taichi) at the cruel hands of a pillaging band of low-life samurai. Brought back from the dead as vengeful, vampiric cat spirits, the unholy duo take it upon themselves to prey on wayward soldiers trespassing across their accursed place of rest.

Kuroneko, the classic 1960s Japanese ghost-story by Kaneto Shindô, will be released as part of Eureka Entertainment’s Masters Of Cinema Series on Blu-ray on 24 June 2013.

Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing an updated 1080p edition of Kuroneko, the cult-classic film by Kaneto Shindô, the director of Onibaba, recently re-released in the West to great acclaim and theatrical success. This classic of ’60s Japanese ghost-story cinema will be released on blu-ray, … Continue reading →...

★★★★☆ A fitting tribute to the late director Kaneto Shindō, who sadly passed away in May of last year at the age of 100, this week's Masters of Cinema series' Blu-ray rerelease of 1964 Japanese drama Onibaba (The Demoness) is every bit as bountiful and lush as the swaying susuki grass fields found within. A heady blend of dark psychosexuality and 14th century period authenticity lies in wait, with Shindō's film still rightly revered for its pioneering depiction of both brutal, bloody violence and searing on-screen sexuality, optimised by its two female leads - the cold-eyed Nobuko Otowa and the nubile Jitsuko Yoshimura.

Read more »...

Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.

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Enjoy!

150: Session 9

Directed by Brad Anderson

Written by Stephen Gevedon and Brad Anderson

2001, USA

If there was ever a perfect setting for a horror movie, it would be the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital. Built in 1878 on an isolated site in rural Massachusetts, it was a multi-acre, self-contained psychiatric hospital rumoured to have been the birthplace of the pre-frontal lobotomy. The hospital was the setting for the 2001 horror film Session 9, where an asbestos clean-up crew discover a series of nine tapes, which have recorded a patient with multiple personalities, all of which are innocent, except for number nine. With a shoestring budget and no real special effects, Session 9...

The writer and director died last month aged 100. As a BFI retrospective celebrates his career, Emilie Bickerton salutes a life's work made in the shadow of Hiroshima

Kaneto Shindo, who died last month aged 100, just before the start of a two month British Film Institute season dedicated to his career and that of long-term collaborator Yoshimura Kozaburo, spent a lot of time among the reeds, wading through mud, puddles and into woods of bamboo. He was most comfortable there, where life was reduced to its bare essentials. Shindo was born in 1912 in Hiroshima. Japan modernised dramatically over his lifetime, but he observed it at a distance, with the knowledge that all this could disappear drummed into him from childhood after what had happened to his hometown. His subjects in the 49 films he made, ranging from melodramas to horror stories to erotic fictions, were those society had rejected or brutalised, who were now struggling to survive,...