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Asian Horror Movies

The Coffin (2008) Review

April 4, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

the coffin reviewSynopsis: After participating in a Thai ritual ward off illness that involves laying in a coffin and having burial rites performed, Chris (Ananda Everingham)  and Su (Karen Mok) begin to see the dead. Su’s search for what miraculously cured her cancer but killed her fiance leads her to a man that has been investigating the supernatural occurrence for years.

Review: Like so many failed attempts, this moody, atmospheric horror film presents a decent idea that gets lost in its presentation and it’s more about forgiveness and letting go than creepy terror. The basic idea that laying in a coffin and having a burial ceremony performed can cure diseases with a side effect of ghost sightings is a seemingly neat hook on the classic “I see dead people” story that gets bogged down and becomes kind of boring.

The awkward pacing is a bit off putting as the entire story seems to build to nowhere. The filmmakers present a cultural tradition that could be scary on its own, throw in a few ghost sightings and keep the audience as confused as the characters in an attempt to reveal, what exactly? The dueling story lines of Chris and Su do not always shift smoothly either, which makes the overarching plot hard to follow at times.

Stylistically, there were some beautiful, sweeping shots of the meadow that serves as the afterlife when Chris faces the ghost and the black and white costuming palate adds to the bleak mood of the story. The blue lens filter used throughout the entire movie, however, was distracting at times. While it created a sense of timelessness for the outdoor scenes, it was dark to the point of distraction during those set indoors.  This film is available on Netflix streaming, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham

Origin: Thailand

This post was originally written by Leslie Shaip. You can follow her rants and movie reviews on her blog: Gallimaufry

Filed Under: Thai Horror Movies

Imprint (2006) Review

November 9, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Takashi Miikes Imprint reviewSynopsis: In the 1800s, an American returns to Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with, but instead learns of the psychical and existential horror that befell her after he left.

Quick Review: This segment of Masters of Horror was considered so violent that it wasn’t even shown on cable. While I’m not cautioning this decision, I can understand where it’s coming from.

Indeed, as usual, Takashi Miike does its best job at  bringing intense shocking imagery on our screens. All of the biggest american taboos are to be found in Imprint: Incest, Child molestation, conjugal violence and extreme abortion.

Miike’s camera does not shy away from all the horror on display and when an intense torture scene that will make you cringe is not the most shocking scene in the movie, you know you’re in it for a wild ride.

It’s just a pity that Billy Drago’s performance is such an horrendous mess (one of the worst I’ve seen in a long while) and that the whole film has been made in english. Had it been in japanese and the main character played by a more competent actor , I believe the impact would have been greater.

Still, with its nightmarish imagery, violent perversions and great practical fx, Imprint will stay in your mind for a long time.

My Rating: 6.5 (would be higher if not for Billy Drago’s inept acting)

 

Click Here to Get Takashi Miike’s Imprint on DVD

Filed Under: Japanese Horror Movies Tagged With: Creepy, Disturbing, Extreme, Foreign, rape, Takashi Miike, Torture

Hashima Project (2013) Review

November 5, 2013 by Eric S. 2 Comments

Hashima project reviewSynopsis: A group of film students are being sent on a mission to shoot a documentary about the infamous haunted Hashima Island in Japan. When they come back something evil has followed them.

My Quick Review: Went to see this one in my local theater the first week it was showing. I’m a big fan of Thai Horror and so far 2013 has been quite disappointing, with most of the movies trying to replicate Pee Mak formula.

I was glad that Hashima project wasn’t another poor attempt at horror comedy and did come back to the roots of thai horror: ghosts and possession.

Its a pity that the talent behind the camera does not quite match the one in front of it. From the trailer, I guessed, wrongly, that there would be a lot of found footage style scenes and the movie looks to be a good mix between traditional thai horror and found footage movies such as Grave Encounters.

The problem is that the first half of the movie has a great real location but lacks any creepy tension that you might expect from such movies. There are some jump scares but they are not well timed and totally unoriginal.

The second half goes more into ghostly apparition/possession stuff but again the director fails to create any kind of atmosphere and we are left watching the unfolding events without any emotion.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: Piyapan Choopetch

Origin: Thailand

Filed Under: Thai Horror Movies Tagged With: Based on True Stories, Foreign, Ghost, Supernatural

Tales From The Dark Part 1 (2013) Review

October 14, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Tales-from-the-Dark-reviewOriginal Title: 迷离夜

Synopsis:  Horror anthology,  based on a series of novels by “Dumplings” writer Lillian Lee.

My Quick Review: This is the first part of a 2 movies anthology from Honk Kong.

In The first segment, “Stolen Goods” Simon Yam plays a working class loser who stelas dead people urns and tries to get money from the family who want the ashes back. Simon Yam might be a famous actor, he’s definitively not an Horror movie director and it shows. The ghosts sightings seem out of sync and do not provoke any kind of scares or fears. And while he is a good actor, he does not have the range of Tony Leung (starring in the second story) and is therefore totally miscast here and never at all believable.

The second story, “A word in the Palm“, might be the best of the film and stars Tony Leung as a fortune teller who can see ghosts. At least there are a couple of efficient scares in this one even if the story is way too predictable and totally unoriginal.

Finally, Fruit Chan’s “Jing Zhe” closes this film and, despite some very cheap special effects, has an original story based on some chinese beliefs, mixing black magic and revenge.

Overall Tales From the Dark is a weak anthology with very few scares and shocks and even less gore. Fans of horror anthologies such as “Three…Extremes” and ” 4bia” will be disappointed.

Unfortunately for Hong Kong, and quite similarly to their current action movies, Tales From the Dark won’t help the horror movie genre there to be able to compete with their japanese, korean or thai counterparts.

My Rating: 5/10

Directors:
Fruit Chan…(segment “Jing Zhe”)

Chi-Ngai Lee…(segment “A Word in the Palm”)

Simon Yam…(segment “Stolen Goods”)

Origin: HK

Filed Under: Chinese Horror Movies Tagged With: anthology, Creepy, Foreign, Ghost, High School, revenge, Supernatural

Make me Shudder (2013) Review

October 8, 2013 by Eric S. 3 Comments

Make Me Shudder reviewOriginal Title: Mor Hok Tub Ha (มอ6/5 ปากหมา ท้าผี)

Synopsis: (from EnjoyThaiMovies) A group of Grade 12 students break into an abandoned building believed to be haunted by a student who killed himself over bad grades and also a teacher who was murdered. The students decide to challenge the ghosts by teasing and irritating them.

My Quick Review: As a new entry in the popular Thai Horror Comedy style, and being directed by Poj Arnon, the man behind the popular Hor Taew Tak movies, I was expecting to spend a good time in my local theater yesterday.

Unfortunately Make me Shudder did not bring me one laugh and/or scare for its whole duration. I was actually so bored, I happen to look at my watch more than once.

The movie feels cheap (there is mainly one location used during the entire time), whole scenes are stretched ad nauseam, and after 20mn I was fed up to hear the main characters fake shouting/moaning all the time.

I’m sorry to say that make Me Shudder does not bring anything new to the table and is just trying to surf on the success of Pee Mak, the king of Thai Horror Comedy. Unfortunately, a tired formulaic script, bad sense of timing the scares, and poor cheap 3D effects do not make for an enjoyable experience. To avoid at all cost.

My Rating: 3/10

Director: Poj Arnon

Origin: Thailand

Filed Under: Thai Horror Movies Tagged With: Comedy, Foreign, Ghost, High School

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