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Shihei (2016)
Just when you think a character would not take the free money, they do and die
The lead girl can sense when someone is going to die violently. The mental images torment her. To add to this problem, her professor take her and several of her friends to a haunted village that had been abandoned several years ago. The men started dying in droves and the belief is that the village had been cursed.
After return from the class trip, the students start dying one by one. Some die in front of the lead girl. She tells them to be careful but they do not listen. The police find that each one of them had come into a lot of cash - ¥10 million. The girl tells other survivors not to use the money but they do and die. The last remaining visitors to the village including this girl seem not so stupid as to take the money but they do. There are multiple plot twists in the end but you will never guess it. A good entertainer throughout.
Deadstock: Michi e no chôsen (2017)
themesInteresting collection of Japanese horror packaged as unaired news stories
TV Tokyo's archives has a lot of old tapes with news footage that have never been aired. The reason being they are too bizarre and had to be verified by another team. A new TV director and assistant director join the broadcast station as new recruits and their first job is to sort out this collection of unaired news footage. The duo choose what is interesting and visit the original location where the tape was recorded. Their investigations bring some new footage of ghosts and other strange phenomenon. As old wounds are rekindled, fresh blood sometimes gets spilled.
The TV drama will be interesting for people new to Japanese horror themes. For others, it may not be so.
Shiori to Shimiko no kaiki jikenbo (2008)
Very funny parody of Japanese horror movies and TV shows
I was wondering why this TV show was so funny. Today, I learned that one of the directors is Noburu Iguchi. That explained everything.
The lead duo are very much unlike. Shiori believes she can solve all strange phenomenon and mysteries that occur in their town of Inaotama. Shimiko is the straight character. Everyone except Shimiko reacts in a hyped-up versions of typical Japanese horror movie characters. Shimiko tries to remain grounded as much as possible but eventually the madness gets to her as well.
The 13 episodes each deal with strange or horrifying incidents - a buried corpse with an arm showing a victory sign, people disappearing at a park, a cat that transforms into a human, a family of ghosts that returns to seek revenge...
Shiori tries to solve these mysteries and somehow Shimiko gets roped into the act. Each episode begins with a shocking incident (which may put off many viewers) but the rest of the episode will be lined up with fun segments one after another.
This movie has everything as it tries to parody every aspects of Japanese popular entertainment.
Akuryô byôtô (2013)
A very satisfactory horror series set in a hospital
There are ten episodes in this Japanese TV series. Each episode is only 22 minutes. If you cut the intro and flashbacks, then an episode will only have 15 minutes of original content. However, they have edited it so well that it is entertaining nevertheless. For example, one episode will have a short scene involving a ghost. It might seem randomly and insignificant in that episode but in the next they will provide the backstory.
The story is about a nurse who joins for work at a hospital. She and other nurses begin to encounter some ghosts. Even patients also face similar experiences. A few patients seem uncomfortable with the new nurse. Her ghostly face also appears in a photo and later in a video leading to her becoming suspect in the eyes of colleagues and patients.
If not for the unnecessarily awkward posture given to the nurse, I would have given a 10/10 rating.
Onna no ko yo shitai to odore (2015)
Funny movie with adequate action and horror
This movie seems like a movie vehicle for an idol group. There are lots of good songs. There is an extended dance sequence in the end for apparently no reason.
The idols do not try act. They act natural. This makes the movie easily watchable with subtitles. There are lots of laughs. The dead girl getting split in half was extremely funny. The deadpan reaction of the main idol to the dead girl is worthy of an oscar.
There are some action involving automatic weapons but the girls seem to handle them like toys.
There is no nudity so kids can watch the movie. There is some gore but that is expected in a horror movie. The dead girl's clones splits the villain in five pieces. You should see the movie just for that.
Deo web-toon: Ye-go sal-in (2013)
Entertaining movie with good plot ruined by unnecessary plot twist in the end
It is very difficult to create a good scary movie. This movie has good scares. It is very difficult to create good scary movie with a good ending. This movie had a convincing ending. But the director had to fix what was not broken and created a mess.
If you get to the point where the original author of the evil cartoons are revealed, stop. Do not watch the movie further. The story is perfect.
One reason for the plot twist in the end was to probably to create a sequel. But a sequel is not possible after two cops are dead. The illustrator's location is found by triangulation of the mobile phone. Well, that ties in the her location with the murder. Only murders that could be committed in a sequel would have to be within prison walls.
Boku tachi to chûzai san no 700 nichi sensô (2008)
Watch for it for the comedy and the Japanese scenery
This movie is known as "700 Days of Battle: Us vs. The Police" in Western markets. It is a fun film. The movie is filmed in a rural Japanese setting and set back in time by at least two decades.
When a group of teenagers get caught for careless driving, they launch 700 days of war against the policeman. This movie captures the first 100 days. Both sides play pranks on each other.
The movie requires parental guidance, as there are numerous adult references. But, there is no gore or skin. One of the teenagers is slightly effeminate. In the climax, he dresses in drag. The leader of the gang hides under his skirt in one scene. That is about as wild as it gets. The rest of the movie is in good humour.
The hapless policeman strangely looks like Indian movie villain Danny Dengzopa.
Sadako vs Kayako (2016)
Be prepared for another disappointing ending
The original Sadako movie and its sequel seemed to have been carefully crafted. There was a story and decent explanation for the curse to continue to a sequel. The Grudge movies were all aimless and monotonous. You had sit through each Grudge movie to see just a few seconds of Kayako unimaginatively taking the lives of some unfortunate living person. In the end, Kayako would not be destroyed and continue into the sequels At least in the Phantasm movies and the Freddy Krueger movies, there was some action from the beginning. Grudge movies were painfully slow. So, the merging Sadako and Kayako was destined to be a disaster and it is. It was a pure commercial decision to exploit both franchises. Did Sadako and Kayako fight in this movie? No, just a few seconds in the end. If you tried to pick up popcorn, you would miss it. For someone who has not seen Sadako or Kayako before, then this movie may be all right. Not for others.
Sêrâ-fuku to kikanjû (1981)
Starts like a comedy and ends in a tragedy
Several yakuzas stand in attention at the gate of a school. They wait for a student to emerge and they bundle her into a car and leave. Later, one of the yakuzas says there is only four members in their gang and the rest of them were hired to make a show. The little girl is asked to take over the gang after the death of a father. She reluctantly agrees. There was an expensive shipment of heroin that the girl's father had hidden and this causes them to be attacked. The girl and what remains of the gang go on offensive with a machine gun in a final fight. All gang members except the girl are dead and she goes back to school. If this was how the book was written then the movie is an accurate adaptation. If not, it was an unfortunate comedy that turned into a tragedy. There were no fight sequences for most of the film. In the end, most of the deaths are caused by hand guns rather than a machine gun as the titled seemed to imply. It was disappointing. However, the movie seems to focused on what seems plausible with a teenager. This is no Hong Kong Chinese action movie. For someone in Japan in the 80s when the movie was released, this movie may have been okay. For others, it may not be so.
Nurse no oshigoto: The Movie (2002)
Very funny movie
This is a very funny movie with several goofy characters. It is set in a hospital where a hypochondriac takes the nurses hostage. Nurse Azakura is so distracted by having fun that she often gets in conflict with the head nurse Ozaki. Ozaki is in trouble with the chief nurse for being too lenient towards her nurses and patients. That's when a hypochondriac takes them hostage for not letting him admitted for an operation. The movie hits a seemingly unnecessary and melancholy wrinkle towards the end. It is so protracted that it almost saps away the good excitement that it has generated all along. Everything ends well so no worries.
Alisa Mizuki playing nurse Azakura is quite funny but the mannerisms of Uno Kanda playing Akagi take the cake. Nurse Ozaki switches between being playful and angry so quickly that it will surprise you.
Jigoku kozô (2004)
Good horror flick
A doctor loses her son in an accident. When she buries him, a strange woman tells her she can revive her kid if she pours blood from another kid over the grave. When she does do this, her son crawls out of the grave. As a few days have elapsed after his death, the zombie does not look like he used to. It is more like a dwarf with crooked limbs, swollen eyelids and misshapen dentures. The zombie also feeds on chicken and human beings. Her mother imprisons him in a custom-made crib but he manages to escape all the time. The police are on their trail even as the mother-and-son duo rack up more deaths.
The movie is quite face-paced. It did not waste time on character-building or sentimental scenes.
It is a good horror movie. Not so much of a thriller for those who are familiar with the genre. It goes on expected lines.
The story behind the damaged nose of the policeman was not explained. That is the only flaw in this movie.
Hellhole (1985)
Entertaining if not great
Fans of Judy Landers and Mary Woronov will definitely want to see this film. Although both remain clothed, there is plenty of nudity. It happens in the same settings as as in a women-in-prison movie. Landers is lodged in a mental health facility after she becomes amnesiac, after she gets through a traumatic experience. The mental health facility is engaged in some shady activities. There are lots of villains each with their own different agenda. Contrary to other reviews, this is move is entertaining and has a story. The lobotomy-by-injection is not plausible for the scientifically inclined. The acting is a fine. There is enough action. The woman in the nude shower fight seemed to throw real punches. She fights like a regular brawler with lots of experience. It is easily the most realistic fight between two females you will ever see in such movies.
Sweet Murder (1990)
Quite a thriller
This movie seemed like a ripoff of "Single White Female" but it was made two years earlier. No prizes for guessing who ripped off from whom.
The two women were great. Their characters are likeable even if one of them is the killer.
The director has shown no mercy to the characters as the deaths were unexpected each time. Kudos to the killer's chosen method of disposing the bodies. Once even the police helped in moving the body. That was hilarious.
There is some nudity. Gore is minimal. The tension builds up as what seems like a simple kill becomes complicated and more kills are required. There is no unexpected twist in the end, which itself was unexpected.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
An enjoyable extremely bloody movie
I saw this movie in India on the first day first show. Most people in the cinema did not know what to expect but they did thoroughly enjoy it. I had read an interview by the two leading actresses had given to The Hindu newspaper so I knew what was in store. I was hoping Bruce Campbell would pop up anytime and set things right but there was no need. The two actresses do a good job of scaring everyone. One dies and revives as a ghost. After an earthquake, one of her kids discovers the book of the dead and plays a recording of the passages in the book. Needless to say, the deadites attack the mother. She tries to kill her hapless kids, even as they are slowly getting possessed themselves. The other woman, the younger sister, tries to salvage what remains of the family.
This movie is not for those who cannot stand blood. It will appeal to all fans of the genre. Actually, the amount of blood is even though quite copious is considerably less than in the Shining. But more scarier and effective.
No Chance (2020)
Fun movie if you like spoofs or Arnold impressions
The hero looked goofy and I did not have much hope but the actor and the movie defy all assumptions. It is a spoof of the Commando movie starring Arnold Schwarznegger but with a slightly different storyline. The Arnold impressions are exceptional. Even his walk and action scenes voice-acting are all spot on. This is also an action movie and they have used real arms and ammunition. It is a funny action movie. Somehow they managed it. The funny part is mostly around Ahnol and the Austrian style of speaking. The scene where the Commando movie villain comes back with a piece of plumbing in his chest is pure genius. The scene where Arnold brings his grown-up daughter on his hip is over-the-top hilarious. The movie seems a bit long but otherwise it is entertaining.