Shimizu’s narrative remains, after all these years, an effective horror film and a J-horror classic in its own right.
Category: horror
Shiori’s Naughty Dreams (2019)
Amane’s narrative is not simply a great ero-horror, but an enthralling experience that confronts the spectator with the ultimately finality of his own desire: his own demise.
New Religion (2022) review
A splendid horror-drama narrative that will keep the spectator on the edge of his seat from start to finish.
Onpaku (2022) review
While Fujii does not re-invent the J-horror genre with Onpaku, he does prove the horror-frame can still be exploited to deliver satisfying horror narratives.
Occult Bolshevism (2018) review
Takahashi delivers a pleasing horror-narrative – any horror film-fan should check it out at least once.
Pulse (2001) review
“An extra-ordinary apocalyptic horror narrative that explores, in a refined way, the destructive impact of consumption – the pulsating attraction of injecting solitary enjoyment by engaging with gadgets and screens – on our subjective position and the fabric of bonds that surrounds us.”
Lake of Dracula (1971) review
A splendid and highly atmospheric homage to the gothic icon called Dracula.
A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse (1975) review
It is via the splatter of blood, the concatenation of sexual acts, and the ghostly revenge that Yamaguchi presents the male spectator his truth: that he, beyond fantasy and desire, is a merely castrated being.
Short movie time: Laundromat on the Corner (2020)
“A very pleasant horror-romance short narrative.”
Shaman’s Daughter (2022) review [JFFH 2022]
A genre mish-mash – a cocktail of light-hearted comedy, family drama, bloody thriller, and ghostly romance – that is not only pleasant but offers the spectator a rich emotional fabric to savour.
The Vampire Doll (1970) review
“Sounds, music, performances, and darkish visuals all blend beautifully together to deliver an unsettling but enchanting account of vampirism in Japan.”
Short movie time: Reason To Oblivion (2021) review [JFFH 2022]
A pleasant horror short-narrative that showcases Miyahara’s talent.
My Brother, The Android and Me (2022) review [22nd Nippon Connection]
“A compelling exploration of how certain subjects, psychotically structured, attempt to mend the problematic nature of the symbolic and the imaginary.”
Stigmatized Properties (2020) review
“A horror without well-developed horror and a romance story without satisfying romantic moments.”
Homunculus (2021) review
“A worthy attempt to offer something fresh to the horror-table, but Shimizu struggles to blend the many pleasing parts into a whole that truly engages and pleases the spectator.”
psycho-cinematography 