Hex (product link) Horror / Thriller It is slow moving, but still kind of interesting for the first part. Seems like a pretty conventional old-school Hong Kong horror film. Then suddenly near the end there is a 20-minute sequence of a naked girl covered in ideograms writhing around. Very off-setting if you were watching this with your mom (for instance).
The House [2005] (product link) Horror / Thriller This film is very derivative of the Japanese haunted film "Dark Water". We have a mother and her daughter in a decaying, abandoned apartment building, which is haunted by the ghost of a child. And maybe more.
Definitely has some creepy moments. No gore. And a "diabolus ex machina" ending.
The Beast (product link) Fantasy / Erotica The comedy falls flat and I can't make sense out of the plotline, but the delirious dream sequences made this a worthwhile purchase regardless.
Samurai Commando Mission 1549 (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction I'm not sure I could call it a "remake" of Sonny Chiba's "G.I. Samurai", but it's basically the same idea. Modern Japanese SDF dudes go back in time and face off against medieval Japanese warriors.
I really liked this film. It is packed with action. The best thing for me was that the medieval Japanese aren't portrayed as idiots, which is so common among such time travel dramas. In fact they react very sensibly and intelligently when confronted by modern weapons. In several scenes you're almost rooting for the medieval villains as they confront heroic odds in overcoming the good guys' technological edge.
Seeding Of A Ghost (product link) Erotica / Horror Like many such films, it takes a while to get started--I guess HK filmmakers want you to see the bad guys being REALLY bad first. So they deserve it or something.
The special effects are kind of quaint. There is no real plot--just the ghost-killing bad guys 'till it uses them up.
So why did I rate it four stars? Because it was gory, goofy, and moralistic. Pretty much everything I love in a Hong Kong horror flick!
Hellevator: The Bottled Fools (product link) Horror / Science Fiction An interesting science fiction movie set in what is obviously a very claustrophobic place. I think they did a good job with no budget to pull off a whole weird culture of alienated and disaffected people.
Garuda (product link) Science Fiction / Fantasy Man they tried so hard to make this a cool giant monster movie that I really REALLY wanted to give it a better rating.
Why Garuda Ruled:
It had an unusual and spectacular monster.
The setting grew on me after a while.
Why Garuda Drooled
we didn't see enough of the monster. I guess they couldn't afford too much CGI.
Devil Species (product link) Horror / Thriller This is a lame monster movie, with a particularly goofy monster. There are no real twists, the acting is passable at best, and the action heroes are very unconvincing.
Sadly, I adore lame monster movies. If you do, too, this might be for you as it was for me.
Crazy Lips (product link) Horror / Science Fiction I was kind of torn on what rating to give this one. It's such a peculiar film. They tried way too hard to make it a "cult" movie, in my opinion, instead of just letting the movie stand on its own two legs.
Also the number of twists that started popping up as the film went on got pretty funny after a time. But maybe it was supposed to be. It's hard to tell.
In the end I was entertained by the film and was glad I'd bought it. It is NOT a feel-good "bring your girlfriend" type of movie, however.
Dark Tales Of Japan (product link) Horror / Thriller This omnibus feature is kind of oddly-organized. It starts off great, and gets worse as it goes along. But I can't complain - the first two episodes are terrific, and well worth the money.
Wild Zero (product link) Horror / Thriller I loaned this film to a buddy of mine, and he came back to me and said with a sincere heart, "This is the best [expletive deleted] movie ever made in the history of the Earth." He then became a fan of the band Guitar Wolf and went to see them when they visited Austin, Texas a few years back. (Sadly I hear that Drum Wolf has since passed away.)
Everyone I know who's seen "Wild Zero" raves about it. How can you go wrong with aliens, rock-and-roll, zombies, and large caliber handguns. This movie aims to please, and unlike some other attempts to do so, it holds up to a second or third viewing. Every time I see it I like the nightclub owner even more. He is so perfectly annoying.
The Water Margin [1972] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Man i wanted to like this more than I did. I am immensely curious about the whole Water Margin thing, but information about it is hard to get in English. The movie had about a billion eccentric characters, most of whom do nothing but look cool. Wow I wanted to see that awesome priest with the super-staff get into action but no dice.
It's still a good action movie with plenty of fun kung fu, but I'm no wiser about the Water Margin than before. Alas.
If you like kaiju movies at all this is an absolutely required film. It contains shout-outs to almost all the old films; some great ... some not so great. Gigan makes a major appearance for instance.
Its only real flaw for me was that most of the monster fights were way too short and simple. Killing Hedorah with a single blast of fire certainly seems over-easy.
Some commentators have objected to the parallel storyline in which humans are struggling with aliens on a small level. Yeah, most of that stuff is corny but after all it is a Godzilla movie. It's not like previous Godzilla movies shorted you in the corn category! I and my sons enjoyed every second, particularly trying to figure out which monster would show up next.
If you have never seen a kaiju movie before, then this isn't the one to start with. Have a copy of original Godzilla or Gamera 1992 sent to your security bubble.
Returner (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction This is a terrific action movie as well as an excellent time-travel plot. The villains and heroes alike are interesting characters, and the plot is spellbinding.
It bears some over-obvious similarities to "Terminator" but there is actually more going on here than in Schwarzenegger's film. I wish it had had a high enough budget to show more of the absolutely cool aliens, but I guess it is what it is. If you like science fiction action this is a first-rate example of it. If only Hollywood had half the brains of the guys who did this.
The Grudge [DTS] (product link) Horror / Thriller If you're going to buy this, do yourself a favor. Do you own the Japanese TV version of "Ju-On" ("The Grudge"), yet? If not, go buy it first.
Then, if you want to see more of this kind of thing (I did), go buy "Ju-On 2", or the Japanese film version.
Only then, if you are STILL addicted to the story concept (like I was), then go ahead and get this American version of "The Grudge". But please consider starting with the source first.
Cursed (product link) Horror / Thriller This is a terrific little gem of a horror film, at least for the first hour or more. It starts off with a bang and keeps getting creepier. The ending is a little flaccid, but you are set up for such a payoff it's hard to see how they could pull it off.
Dead Waves (product link) Horror / Thriller I'm a big fan of Japanese horror, and this had some moments, but just not enough. It was almost scary enough, almost gory enough, and almost evocative enough. I guess it was a whole bucket of "almosts". That said, it was very nearly there. Worth a look or two, but probably not three, if that makes any sense.
The War In Space (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure I showed this to a batch of my friends and we had a terrific time. Partly in mockery, I admit, but partly in celebration. This old-school rather corny film has ever cliche you can imagine, but often pieced together in great space-opera format. I recommend it for bad movie lovers and I mean that in the best way possible.
Primer (product link) Science Fiction / Drama It tries so hard to be clever that it succeeds in being highly confusing. The tale is almost all told through talking heads, which actually kind of works. However, the device (I'll try not to drop any spoilers) breaks causality and as a result, the snappy editing and brief, indirect, conversations make the film very hard to follow. Maybe I'm just going senile, but the whole ending left me completely uncertain of what was supposed to be taking place.
Godzilla [1954] (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure Finally! My college-age kids were champing at the bit to see the original "Godzilla" after all these years. They had not seen the Americanized version for so long they'd forgotten it. Upon watching the original Japanese "Godzilla", their reaction was twofold. First, "What a great movie!" Second, "Why on Earth did Hollywood recut this film?"
You may think you've seen the original "Godzilla", but you haven't if you've not seen the original Japanese.
Godzilla [1954] / Godzilla: King Of The Monsters [1956] [2-Movie Set] (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure Finally! My college-age kids were champing at the bit to see the original "Godzilla" after all these years. They had not seen the Americanized version for so long they'd forgotten it. Upon watching the original Japanese "Godzilla", their reaction was twofold. First, "What a great movie!" Second, "Why on Earth did Hollywood recut this film?"
You may think you've seen the original "Godzilla", but you haven't if you've not seen the original Japanese.
Dogora [1964] (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure For some reason it's usually sorted with Kaiju films but it's really not about giant monsters. This is a science-fiction film with an important, sometimes dominant subplot about jewel thieves. The giant space cell that sucks up Earth's resources is more like a natural disaster than a real monster, and is treated like one.
I really enjoyed the film, and was glad it finally came out on DVD, but then I love the old 60s Japanese science-fiction unconditionally.
Bunshinsaba (product link) Horror / Thriller This was, for me, a pretty scary ghost story, with some very effective jumps and scares. If you like creepy ghost stories and can stand limited gore, this would be a good purchase.
Bone Sickness [Extended Directors Cut] (product link) Horror / Thriller Cheapo, badly-filmed zombie movie with really neat zombies. If you are a big zombie fan, you should add a star to my rating. If you are just a plain horror fan (zombies or no), then this film is not the greatest. Basically it trades on its special effects which while workmanlike, are no Tom Savini. Almost plotless, but with some good moments.
I still live for my dream of one day watching a horror movie where no one vomits. This is not the one.
The Booth (product link) Horror / Thriller A pretty good suspense movie that moves along its own path. The main character is so damn unlikable you are almost looking forward to a comeuppance. A cleverly filmed low-budget flick. Yes there are aspects of the supernatural, but they're almost a sideshow to the main guy's psychological disintegration.
G.I. Samurai (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure This film rules. For everything wrong with it, there are ten things done just right. Plus it stars Sonny Chiba - your Guide to Quality.
The best part, and one that I have not seen reproduced in other time travel films, is that the Warring States people are not portrayed as idiots. From the start they take intelligent, effective action to try to neutralize the technological advantage of the time travelers. This is a fine film and I recommend it to action-lovers almost without reservation.
Cannibal Holocaust (product link) Horror / Thriller I understand why HKFlix rated this 0 stars. I imagine a lot of people would. I rate it 3.5 stars because it pulls no punches. It's as gory as everyone tells you, but there is something going on underneath the gore - a message that is sometimes as disturbing as the horrible scenes of animal violence that I wish they'd left out.
Phantom Menacers [TRIPLE FEATURE] (product link) Horror / Science Fiction Two fun movies, one kind of dull one. The Phantom Planet is a weird old SF film from the 50s with shrinking people and space battles. There is an undersea phantom who is just plain lame. And the final "phantom" is a man from outer space who might want to talk over the world, but it's not clear. The price is right if you like old SF films.
The Super Inframan (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure I'm torn. Really this film is nightmarishly bad--probably only worth 1 star. But it's totally entertaining and a hoot to watch. I compromised at 3 stars, but you should watch this with a bunch of friends and please feel free to jeer at the characters.
Matango: Attack Of The Mushroom People (product link) Horror / Thriller Don't believe the stuff in various books listing this as an infamously bad film. This is actually a well-done, atmospheric very creepy horror picture, set against a background of despair. The fungus-infected "monsters" aren't very threatening, but they're not supposed to be - the horror is not that we can be killed by them, but that we can BECOME them. Check it out.
Men Behind The Sun (product link) Horror / War The number one attack on this film is that a real cat is actually killed by being eaten by rats. IT'S NOT TRUE, FOLKS! Look closer. The rats are eating raspberry jam rubbed into the cat's fur. It's not that easy to get rats to bite cats.
So, with that off my chest, we can proceed to evaluate this film without moral judgments. I have done some extensive research on Unit 731 and if anything, this movie tones down the horrors that went on. The film's biggest flaw is that it is totally humorless. On the other hand, not much about Unit 731 was funny.
I like the gore, myself, but I admit it does disturb me that people I respect can't handle it, and so won't watch this film, which makes an important point.
Bio-Zombie (product link) Dark Comedy / Horror This is absolutely one of the best and funniest action horror films I know. The film is heavily influenced by video games, to its benefit. The special effects are not so great, but the cinematography, acting, and humor are all the best.
If you liked Dead Alive or Army of Darkness, you owe it to yourself to see Bio-Zombie. Jordan Chan & Sam Lee are hysterical as the two jerks who find themselves forced to fight off dark forces.
Horror Hotline...Big Head Monster (product link) Ghost / Horror The name sounds stupid, even to me. "Big Head Monster"?! But when I watched it with my 18 year old son, we agreed it was one of the scariest movies we'd ever encountered. Its style is a little like Blair Witch, but with a very up-to-date modern flair.
The plot is confusing at times, and the gore a little light, but this helps, making you feel like you're wading through curtains of mystery. If you like cerebral horror, this is perfect.
Evil Dead Trap (product link) Horror A very frightening and gory film with lots of stylish moments. There is a rape scene near the middle of the movie that most Occidentals will probably find very uncomfortable (I did). Overall though this is a terrific horror film and miles beyond any American "slasher" attempt.
Evil Dead Trap 2 (product link) Horror I loved Evil Dead Trap so much that I went out and bought this film too. Wow what a mistake. This film STINKS. Yucko. It is only marginally redeemed by a fairly exciting and gory final 15 minutes.
If you buy this film despite my comments, just fast forward to the last couple of scenes and watch them. You'll be glad you did.
Fear Faith Revenge 303 (product link) Horror / Ghost Well-filmed and as slick as anything from Hollywood. It starts off as a boys' school story, with a slight supernatural touch, and when it finally descends into madness, murder, possession, and horror it is quite a shock.
In fact, by the time the gory stuff started to happen I had actually forgotten that it was a horror movie, and was engrossed in the main storyline. Effective and worthwhile.
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