1
heartaem
England
Country 2: Thailand
Film: Still [Die a Violent Death]
Director: Poj Arnon; Tanwarin Sukkhapiait; Manussa Vorasingha & Chartchai Ketnust
Rating: 1/5 [2/10]
Die a Violent Death is a Thai horror film following four stories that were based off of four main headlines from the country. With four directors bringing something different to each segment, you’d think at least one of these would be good.
I was sorely mistaken. I don’t want to go on a rant, so I’ll keep it short.
This fil’s CGI and special effects were absolutely tragic. The acting was poor at best by most of the actors. You couldn’t feel any form of emotion from the directors – no form of love, or care, for their segments. The last segment portrays trans people as sexual predators. The ghosts weren’t even believable as ghosts.
2 stars only for the nightclub segment and the prison segment was half decent.
I will not be watching anything from these directors willingly; I will not be looking forward to seeing these actors in anything else – and after watching this, I’m taking a long break from Thai horror because damn did this suck massively.
This film could have been good, funny, more comedic, but they tried too hard to be serious with a horrendous budget. Not a good look for Thai horror or for anyone involved with the film.
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Exte was easily my "most uncomfortable" watch of 2019. I've only watched one other film of Sono's, so I knew he was very good when it came to gore, but I didn't know what to expect from him when it came to ghosts and ghouls.
Dear Christ, I will NEVER be getting hair extensions for the rest of my life.
Before I go into it, do remember, this was 2007. The CGI and such are not going to be amazing and top of the line. Watch this as you'd have watched a film you were going to see in the cinema in 2007 for the best impression of this film.
With a very unique plot - I for one, have never come across a horror film personally that has hair extensions as the main "evil" object. This has drawn me in for quite a while and it's not hard to see why this has become a very influential horror film.
Starting off very serious and dark this film promises quite a lot at the start. This does fade after a little while and we become a bit more upbeat and a little more fun. I'm not faulting the film for this - it must be pretty hard to keep a film about hair extensions murdering people to a degree of seriousness - however, it really does pick up after a while.
Once the spooky things start going down, we get uncomfortable scenes of body horror (I wouldn't really call them body gore, but either way) that made me feel a little queasy and very uneasy. I was rubbing at my eyes, picking my lips and trying my best not to pause the movie and leave it for a while and return to it.
Sono creates such a stunning piece of art that is so uneasy and makes the viewer squirm. Although the plot doesn't seem to make much sense. There's two different plot lines going on at once - the investigation of the woman murdered and a secondary plot following Yuko - and I don't think that the investigation got much attention once it first switches to Yuko. Both plots do eventually overlap and come together, but I just don't think this was done as 100% as it could have been. Everything comes to a close well, but I did find myself wishing for JUST a little bit more from Sono to bring this up just one or two notches. (And that bloody song is gonna be stuck in my head all day...) The ending is pretty vague and more of a horror-comedy piece than a horror, but that's who Sion Sono is, so definitely a plus in this situation.
This all said, I do very much love this film. It's spooky, it's unsettling, it has definitely made me a little uneasy at the idea of having hair extensions. The atmospheric creation of Sono is something that I truly appreciate. The 2000s of Japanese horror have a legacy for their moments of unease and Exte is no different. Truly unnerving, extremely uncomfortable and breath hitching, this film truly is one of the gold films of the 2000-2010 Japanese iconic ghost horrors.
All of the cast were amazing (and I can't imagine some of these scenes were easy to record either), and it really helped develop the film further.
Again, I will never be having hair extensions and secondly, I think I have a new found fear of hair in general. Some of these scenes were just too creepy.
(My only qualm is... doesn't Yuko have to like legally adopt Mami... not just move her into her place?)
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Tunnel is a film that starts off relatively slow, and, at first, I'd given up after half an hour because I didn't think there would be much more to it. Prompted to finish it, again, all I can say is just: wow.
Tunnel takes you across a journey that is utterly heart wrenching, heart thumping, leaves you on the edge of your seat and left me gasping audibly at different parts of the film. It's hard to remember this film is a work of fiction - the cast is simply amazing.
Between their raw emotional acting, the casual gentle humor and the realistic expressions and actions all characters created throughout the film, this was just utterly stunning. For the last forty minutes of the film, I was in tears. My emotions were all over the place, I was stamping my feet with the tense atmosphere, gasping out loud and had to pause a few times to wipe my tears enough to see.
The acting alone in this makes this film utterly worth the while, and I was definitely blown away. Maybe it was because I went into this film with low expectations, expecting it to be another rubbish survival movie but this had utterly everything - atmosphere, acting, soundtrack.
I would gladly sit and watch this again and I'm not someone who watches something more than once unless completely enamored. A solid 10/10 and a high recommendation.
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Or at least, I expected Teke-Teke to be somewhat good. The story of a woman's torso going around Japan cutting people in half, and two desperate girls trying to break a curse. It sounds like quite a lot of Asian / Japanese horror movies, but this one has potential. It was based off of one of the most famous Japanese urban legends of all time! This legend was so famous, people use to avoid train stations if they could go with other people after dark. It held districts in fear.
And that fear was exactly what I was looking for within this movie. Maybe it's my own fault for holding so many expectations, many of which were high – but this really didn't do it for me at all.
The acting was relatively well done in most moments when needed, but there were many times it just didn't come through. The characters do something insufferable that sometimes leads to death and you're just left staring at the screen like "Were you born naturally stupid or did you have sections of your brain removed?"
That's part of this that I'm pretty sure I lost IQ points watching. It's generic horror movie dumbness but it seemed even more rampant throughout this and I assume that's down to the characters not being believable as people.
The CGI was painfully to watch, especially as Teke-Teke starts jumping around. It's meant to be tense scenes that have you sat on the edge of your seat, but you just sit there laughing at how purely ridiculous it looks. Now props to the editors and everyone, this did come out in 2009 when CGI wasn't as great – but it was still a degree better than it was in the film and it seriously could have been better.
It's been months since I saw this movie and I can still write a coherent review on how bad it actually was, that's alarming.
Overall, if you're here to watch something scary, give Teke-Teke a skip. However if you're here to watch something comedy, give Teke-Teke a try. They were in the ballpark with this movie, but in the complete wrong state. Comedic in general, not as horrifying and scary as you would think and a bit of a let down to the original urban legend.
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I didn't expect too much from this; horror concerning mobile phones doesn't have much uniqueness left to exploit. Maybe expecting less from this allowed me to enjoy it more. Following a case of filming and the recording acting strange compared to the real life, Naru manages to make a tense atmosphere within simply 3 minutes. Although not the best ever atmosphere - if this was the case for a feature length, I'd be leaving a very angry review - for a horror short, this is well done.
This had me fiddling in my seat, watching the corner of the screen to ease some tension and try my best not to jump out my skin (which I did, much to my partner's delight). A relatively strong film to start with Naru's directing, I do look forward to watching more from him.
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My Twitter friends said that it was hyped up in the Philippines but it was commonly held as a bit of a flop within the horror genre.
Now, Aurora is made and is meant to be a horror film. I went into it expecting to be a little spooked, not to a high degree because of the reviews I had heard said it was pretty bad. The few CGI effects to give this the horror theme completely tanked for me, and I won't lie - the horror is pretty bad. It doesn't hold its own as a horror film in any form.
However, the acting in this, the story behind it are intriguing. It kept me hooked in, it kept me rooted in my seat in pure curiosity. This is definitely a much more sad thriller than a horror film. I finished this feeling devastated, with tears in my eyes after the credits began to roll. The acting in this made this utterly amazing, the cast truly brought the feelings in this to life. It felt like this was currently happening in Asia, watching these families go through their loss and watching Leanna and her younger sister was going through hell.
The music in this was as well amazing, it fits the film perfectly; there wasn't a single score in this that didn't help my emotions lift or drop alongside the story.
I think the best way to go into this film is to not expect a good horror film. Expect a sad, chilling thriller that is similar to many real-life occurrences around the world. Not as good as it could have been as a horror film, but definitely give this a try if you like sad films.
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I think I can safely say that is one of the best decisions I have done when it comes down to watching something because of random chance.
When I first began this, due to the name the uploader had set it as (The Dark Maidens), I believed this was going to be another high school set suicide blood fest horror film living up to many of Japan's horror tropes in their films. After the first twenty minutes or so, I had to pause to come and read the synopsis because I was confused. After reading it, I did think twice about watching it as I don't really go for the whole murder mystery genre; I find quite often Japan doesn't do it as well as they do their high school based horror. Shrugging it off, I decided why not because I'd already started it: and wow.
The Dark Maidens took me on a long, twisting, amazing journey of friendship and betrayal, of life and death. The first thing I picked up from this film was the utterly beautiful connections from well-known murder mysteries - such as Miss Marple and Agatha Christie, of whom are referenced in the film's prominent literature club. Although reminiscent, it still had its own originality that left me glued to my screen - something that is pretty rare for me. Usually, I have to pause quite a bit and rest my eyes due to poor eyesight and having to read subtitles, but I watched this almost entirely in its completeness.
As the twists begin to unfold, the story becomes more and more convoluted with such a shocking twist and turn at the end that was nothing short of smart. I was confused for a short while in this film but the script writing sets it up utterly perfectly for its ending. The writing in this is absolutely nothing sort of genius and I haven't been left this gobsmacked by a twist in a film for a long, long time.
The cast in this was perfectly selected. Every single cast member played their roles perfectly, whilst also giving off such a feeling of ethereal beauty (along with a little help from the gorgeous editing), that made me feel like I was watching a twisted fairy tale rather than a murder mystery. Their acting in this was spot on and they took what they were given with the script and made it, simply, their own.
Every single thing about this film adds up to create something that I would say is nothing short of a masterpiece. There was nothing in this film I can even recall as a fault, nor can I think of anything I would have liked to see more or done better. This is one of those films I recommend everyone try if they can find the time to try it out and I am utterly grateful for whatever choices I made to sit and watch it when I did. This has definitely opened me up to the murder mystery genre; that's something I never thought would happen with how obvious and guessable many are in the genre.
I have seen comments and remarks that this is quite rushed for the film considering this is based off a book and frankly, I' thankful I watched the film first. I didn't know this franchise existed and I will definitely be reading the book later this year after watching this. I would say, having not read the book, if you want a full experience for the film to definitely watch the film first. I don't think if I had read the book first that I would have enjoyed this as much as I had done and although it spoils some of the book, from what I have seen, there is a lot more content in the book that is free game to discover brand new even after watching the film.
Note: My rewatch value rating is pretty low, but that's because after the first time you watch it with all the initial twists and such that - half of the original intrigue is gone. I'd definitely rewatch it again, but I definitely don't think it would have the same all round effect as the first time you watch it. It is definitely not anything against the film at all.
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And that is pretty much all I got to do with this film. Tick a film name off a list and also catch up on some sleep.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of things, I want to say that the cast in this was amazing. The characters all felt real and three-dimensional. There were no parts where I felt like there was bad acting or anything of the sort. The cast all did amazingly with what they had been given and I'm very interested in at least attempting to watch some other things they've been in.
That's pretty much where my enjoyment runs out.
My issue mostly that lies with Ghost Mother is that it's promoted and shared as a horror film. This is not a horror film. This is a thriller if anything. Although it fits many horror tropes, this film is not relatively scary, nor creepy or unsettling, and I struggled with finishing this - probably wouldn't have if my OCD allowed me to abandon things and not force me to finish them.
There were a few points where I did get a little tense and had my hairs stand up on end, but that was about 7 minutes of the entire film if that. This is promoted as such a wonderful horror film but it's just not. There was a point where I fell asleep for ten minutes, woke up and made a coffee, woke myself up and then almost fell back asleep during the same ten minutes.
The storyline is unique enough for it to have pulled some amazing work out of the bag but it fell short on so many levels. There are moments where I was staring at my screen confused as to what was going on, I couldn't remember some characters relationship to other characters, and all in all this just fully struggled to keep my attention for longer than a few minutes at a time. My mind kept wandering, I kept checking how long I had left to watch, and I just didn't enjoy it at all.
I admit I am sad I couldn't enjoy this film. I didn't go into it expecting a massive amazing 10/10 across the board film, but I figured it would at least be at an average or just above average standard. I went into Ghost Mother expecting a 6-7/10 film but came out of it disappointed with a 4.5/10 and I'm pretty sure I'm being nice because it's such a beloved piece. There are other Thai horror films that are truly scary, are true epitomes of horror and I recommended spending an hour and a half watching one of those, rather than this, unfortunately.
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Now this movie is probably well known for the fact is it gory. It is shameless in its cult tropes, including sexual assault, beatings, torture and gory deaths. In fact, when it was first debuted at a film festival, the audience received barf bags with the movie's logo on it as a gimmick. I have no doubts some of those bags were actually used.
Ichi the Killer is dark and twisted. The torture scenes do not leave anything to the imagination in its full graphic imagery. Miike truly outdid himself in this bloody twisted plunge into the yakuza.
But strangely enough, it actually bored me a little bit. When coming into this, if you've seen the trailer for the film, you've pretty much seen all the most horrifying contents of this film - and if you're a gore horror fan this is probably the only reason why you're watching this film. It was disappointing, to a small degree, that the parts of the film that either intrigued audiences to watching or horrified them were already broadcast throughout this film leaving only two or three scenes to truly shock the audience if they've seen the trailer.
That being said, however, the story is intriguing. Although it seems mundane especially at first, the plot line is twisting and surprising at times. I found it enjoyable to go through the story as things began to twist out of proportion, as they didn't make sense before they linked up in unbelievable ways.
Everything about it really keeps the audience captive throughout the movie and I find that's something hard to do in a movie like this. Gore films are usually splatter-horror, disgusting images on the screen to shock the viewer and keep their stomachs twisting with little thought to plot or the plot suffering as an afterthought. Many plot-driven horror films also end up story driven, without much gore or shock-horror within them to make the audience's stomach churn, but Miike truly got the best of both of these aspects into one film.
However, I feel like the storyline became rushed at the end of the movie coming up to the final fight scene and I feel like perhaps they cut some of the script out for timing issues which were a shame. There could have been more to it and things didn't feel quite right when it finally ended. There were also a few loopholes that didn't get closed in the final scenes before the credits which made me hope for a sequel, yet I don't think any plans have been thought up or ever will be.
The acting in this was something special, in my opinion. It must have been hard for the actors to go through these gory scenes without flinching, cringing and such, even with it not being its full content within filming. I can't think how many takes some of the scenes must have taken. Each character is well developed, is completely three dimensional.
Asano Tadanobu and Omori Nao in their respective roles were truly amazing. Each of their characters felt completely real - like these were people who could be living down the street to you or you might pass when walking down to the shops. They truly brought the characters to life in all their sick ways and it was stunning to see.
Overall, I think this is a movie you only really watch once. This movie is a lot for most people and I don't think many people could stomach the thought of watching it again. However, I think this does have a certain rewatch value to it for the gore/slasher horror fans that come across it. It has a certain charm of disgust that chills the soul and sends goosebumps down the spine. It's deliciously wicked in disgusting ways and Miike definitely made a mark in the slasher-horror genre with this. I don't think another movie could ever stand up to the legend this classic has created.
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Wow.
First of all, I didn't read any summary before I went into this movie. I put it in and that was it; I let myself be pulled through the movie with what the director wanted us to see straight in the face. This is probably a decision that I'm very glad I made.
Not knowing what to expect allowed me to be pulled along on a string with wide eyes and open mouth. It allowed me to discover the movie with no prehibitions and I'm glad – if I'd read the mixed reviews and such before I'd watched it, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much.
It's dark and twisted. There's a semblance of heaven versus hell, trying to do good before you lose hope, finally giving up only to find hope again. There's something archaic about the tropes but Thirst somehow brings this around into a new form of horror.
Now the basic plot to this is very much that - basic. It's been done countless times before across all forms of horror and thriller and honestly I'm a little bit sick of it. However, there's something about the characters that makes this plot work; they bring the overdone trope back to life and make it something enjoyable and dark. It's something that holds placement inside the title of "cult classic" and "original".
I truly believe if the cast were anyone else, this would have been as amazing as it was.
This film is dark, poetic, sexual and raw. And it paid off. It worked and it's beautiful.
I don't think watching it again would be as amazing as the first time, however. Part of the charm is experiencing it for the first ever time, and I think some of that would be lost watching a second time around. However, I would definitely watch this again for the story line and the characters.
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It's Dangerous Beyond the Blankets: Pilot
3 people found this review helpful
I was excited for this reality show back when it was first announced in 2017, due to the inclusion of Kim Min Seok (aka Xiumin) in the show, a favourite celebrity of mine. When it first aired, I somehow completely forgot about the show, but managed to find it again just before the second series aired on the 5th of April.
Watching this through was absolutely wonderful. Although there are a lot of awkward silences that make you shift as a viewer, it's still absolutely wonderful. There are many instances that make you laugh out loud, although the editing of repeating clips a few times can tend to kill a funny moment very quickly, there is a lot of humour in this, that truly brings out the humour.
This show was almost never aired, due to having a cast of quiet people, but the celebrities managed to come into themselves and create relationships on camera and show their true personalities whilst having fun out of their comfort zone. This is probably one of my favourite reality shows and they truly managed to come out with a show that caught the attention of many people. If you like even one of the celebrities in this show, you should definitely give it a watch. It's hilariously brilliant.
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Country 4: Japan
Film: Impossibility Defense
Director: Shiraishi Koji
Rating: 9/10 [4.5/5]
I'm not too big on crime like films, especially when it comes from the 'adapted from a manga' tag. I usually find that directors do too much or too little during crimes, or there's too many sub-plots they try to do, but all in all... This was pretty solid.
It was dark, creepy, there was enough there to make your own guesses, and the acting was all stellar. There wasn't really anything I didn't like about this besides I thought some scenes were just a bit too much or needed some better explaining, but other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Matsuzaka Tori's portrayal of The Man in the Black Suit was absolutely stunning and I will for sure be going on to read the manga this was adapted from from his performance alone.
Sawajiri Erika's performance is the reason 'strong female lead' was created and I adored both these mains in their roles.
I cannot wait to read more of this universe and I am wholly excited for the future of discovering more about the world shown to us in Impossibility Defense.
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If I did a shot for every dumb or unnecessary, or over the top or just downright ridiculous thing in this movie, I'd be having my stomach pumped and be having a liver and kidney transplant right now.
I'm no stranger to over the top Japanese horror/horror-comedies - in fact, I'm quite a fan of a lot of the over the top horrors (i.e. Tokyo Gore Police, Liverleaf), but an hour and a half of this hour and forty-minute movie was just not needed at all.
This could have been a really decent film if the director has just toned it down a slight bit and it really could have been a serious 3-4/5 star movie. Shame that didn't happen, whoever recommended this to me owes me almost two hours of my life back.
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Highland: Thailand's Marijuana Awakening
1 people found this review helpful
This was… a very interesting documentary and not just on Thailand but it also focuses on drug laws in other South Eastern Asian countries. This also touches briefly on the Vietnam War and how the American soldiers often become addicted due to the potent opiates in the area and how it became a staple in America – which in turn has effected Thailand’s culture around the drug.
I had no idea just how vast the drug culture in South East Asia was and this really opened my eyes to a lot. Checking the statistics after viewing they were all correct for the time (2017) and the information they give on medicinal uses was actually really astounding. I had no idea on a lot of the information that this documentary gave beforehand. I’m pretty sure I just learned a lot more watching this than in those “don’t do drugs” science lessons and social lessons and that’s quite alarming, actually.
An extremely interesting and eye-opening piece, curious and intriguing, I definitely recommend giving this documentary just an hour of your time. Whether it’s just to learn more, educate yourself on marijuana, or other reasons, this is definitely 100% worth the watch on an education point of view.
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