Category: Violence

Sana (2023) review

Takashi Shimizu cannot avoid his film from being held back from the fan-service it needs to deliver.

Suzuki=Bakudan (2025) review

A thrilling ride that brutally confronts the spectator with the effects of the over-emphasis of pleasure and consumption within social interactions on the subject

Party 7 (2000) review

Ishii elevates the staging of the truth of the phallus with many moments of refined interactional absurdity and a finale that, in an inimitable fashion, exposes lack and castration.

Kisaragi Station Re: (2025) review

This fun horror-thriller invites the spectator to consider the dynamic between the lurking presence and the visitors it constantly eyes as staging the uncomfortable truth of our contemporary societal field. 

Wolves, Pigs and Men (1964)

Fukasaku and Junya Sato’s decision to go beyond Nikkatsu’s Borderless Action and Toei’s nostalgic Ninkyo fantasies to critique the capitalistic current within the post-war societal field and its perverting effects on interpersonal bonds gave birth to a shockingly beautiful experience that is as relevant today as it was in the sixties.

One Percenter (2023) review

Yamaguchi delivers a love-letter to down-to-earth action that proves that there is plenty of poetry to be found in the physical action-performances.

Samurai Fury (2025) review

Yu Irie delivers a samurai narrative that, while not able to match the masterpieces of the genre, offers everything fans have come to expect from the genre.

Blazing Fists (2025) review

Miike delivers a drama of hope, a narrative that shows, in a satisfying manner, that a subject can materialize himelf within in the ring and by punching and kicking the demeaning discourses concerning criminality within the Japanese Other into shreds.  

Dollhouse (2025) review

Yaguchi’s horror will please audiences new to the J-horror genre as well as long-time fans of the genre.