A pleasant horror-experience that fans of the genre should not miss.
Category: Violence
52-Hertz Whales (2024) review
While there will be spectators’ who will have no trouble in letting themselves float on the film’s ‘stormy’ emotional flow from start to finish, the over-reliance on music in the second half of the film creates a melodramatic whirlpool that will leave many spectators emotionally stranded.
Unchained (2026) review [Camera Japan Festival 2026]
With his latest narrative, Keisuke Yoshida (Blue (2021)) turns a cinematic glance at juvenile delinquency. Yet, what urged him to tackle this societal symptom was not simply an interest, but the need to question the societal environment he grew up in and offer this result of elaboration to the audience. While Keisuke Yoshida saw…
The Specials (2026) review [Fantasia 2026]
Uchida’s film will not win any awards, yet the film delivers what it promises and successfully pleases the spectator with its heartwarming message
Gozu (2003) review/analysis [Fantasia 2026]
Takashi Miike delivers a cinematographic gift, a surreal masterpiece that stays with the spectator long after the credits have faded.
Bye Bye Love (1974) review
A true classic of political cinema.
Break Free (2026) review [Fantasia 2026]
A pleasant Rocky-like dance-narrative, yet Nakamoto struggles to develop his promising concept into an emotionally satisfying experience.
Night Flower (2025) review [Nippon Connection 2026]
Eiji Uchida delivers a highly moving drama of motherhood.
SAI: Disaster (2025) review [Nippon Connection 2026]
Yutaro Seki and Kentaro Hirase deliver an experience that, in our view, has everything to become a cult-phenomenon, so do not sleep on it.
Fantasia International Film Fest: Japanese Films not to miss.
Find out our recommendations of this year’s Fantasia Film Festival.
All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) review-analysis
A modern classic, one of the best, if not the best, cinematic experiences of the ‘00.
Mag Mag (2025) review [Nippon Connection 2026]
Yuriyan Retriever delivers a satisfying film of subjective growth, yet not without a highly ironic aftertaste.
Anymart (2026) review [Nippon Connection 2026]
A darkly twisted comical horror narrative that exposes the dynamic of repressive societal violence and what the Japanese societal field seeks to refuse.
The Blood Of Rebirth (2009) review
Toyoda transforms the folkloric tale of Oguri Hangan into a personal warning for the Other: I will not let you ‘kill’ my societal position as director.
Sana: Let Me Hear (2024) review
Dramatic, thrilling, chilling, shockingly good.