Halloween Movie Recommendations

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Asian Horror Films

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Hollywood studios are falling all over themselves to remake Asian horror films, but as most foreign horror film fans, know, a lot is usually lost in translation. And the horror genre travels well across boundaries of age, race and culture, so don't be afraid of subtitles, you'll be amazed at how little you often need them to understand what's going on. Film director Kelvin Tong notes that "Hollywood horror films have very linear, five-act stories with a twist at the end, but the structure of a Japanese horror film resembles more a deep hole...They are not averse to unhappy endings with all the heroes dying. As a culture, the Japanese are gloomier and more fatalistic. Technically, the films are very dreamy, surreal, almost nightmarish." Tony Borg, president of the American film distributor Tartan Video, explains the difference this way: "In Hollywood horror films, the monster is outside and he's trying to get into your house. In Asian horror, the monster is already inside, it might be someone you love and it may even be you." Asian horror films, he added, "don't wrap up neatly with the killer dead and the hero safe. There's a lot of gray area." To me that's much more interesting approach to filmmaking, and a lot more like real life, which is why I have included this section in my Halloween recommended horror movie guide.



Memento Mori-DVD

Min-Ah discovers a shared diary and is soon fascinated to learn that two people she thought to be very close friends have in fact begun a forbidden romance at her school. She finds herself unable to tear her eyes away from the literally page-turning high drama of her classmates' lives, and the allure of the secret diary begins to take over. When one of the diary's writers is found dead from an apparent suicide, rumors spread and Min-Ah begins to feel a strange presence. The once-tranquil school is transformed into a place of morbid terror, as if the words written in the journal, "memento mori" (remember the dead), have come to life.

 

A Tale of Two Sisters-DVD (Deluxe Edition)

Two young sisters recovering from an unnamed trauma must face a mysterious past in this excellent South Korean shocker. A worldwide hit upon its release and based on an old Korean fairy tale; two sisters (wonderfully played by Su-jeong Lim and Geun-yeong Mun) come to live with their cold and distant father and turn-on-a-dime stepmother in a house where nothing is as it seems. A wonderfully haunting score, starkly beautiful imagery, and a labyrinthine plot that twists and turns at every dark corner all set the stage for a riveting and often terrifying guessing game of a movie. Equal parts drama, mystery, and ghost story, A Tale of Two Sisters is a richly complex and challenging cinematic treat that may very well demand repeat viewings.

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Ringu-DVD (1998)

A grainy, enigmatic videotape has the power to kill people seven days after they watch it. This brilliant premise fueled the 2002 Hollywood hit The Ring, but before that it conquered Japan in Ringu, Hideo Nakata's quietly unsettling study in terror. Fans of the U.S. version will find a less elaborate storyline and more primal fear in the original; the basic plot, however, still has a worried reporter (Nanako Matsushima) tracking down the meaning of the video--and, having watched it herself, she has only a week to work. The film's calm, economical style actually adds to the creeping sense of dread throughout, and the hair-curling set-pieces stand out in contrast. Like an old photograph of something evil, Ringu has the strange-but-familiar power to unnerve. Guaranteed, its effect will linger for at least seven days. Longer... if you're lucky.


Dark Water-DVD (2005)

Dark Water is Japanese horror auteur Hideo Nakata's return to the genre after his Ring cycle made you too scared to watch television ever again. Where Ringu dealt with a supernatural force wreaking revenge via technology, this film is a much more traditional ghost story. Yoshimi simply wanted a better life – for both herself and her daughter Ikuko. Unfortunately, such wishes may sometimes be hard to come by. The custody battle has grown embittered and hurtful, her new job is less than desirable, and Ikuko’s schoolwork has taken a turn for the worse. But, Yoshimi has something bigger to worry about. Something upstairs. Something cold and dank. Something that should have never been.


Koma-DVD

KOMA intricately weaves a jaw-clenching, teeth-grinding joyride through the darkest regions of the human psyche. A psychological thriller tackling the urban myth of organ theft from a humane perspective, Hong Kong director Lo Chi Leung weaves an emotional cat-and-mouse game between two women. As facts begin to emerge, the truth becomes clearerone has something that the other one desperately needs. As they become closer to each other, they find themselves on the brink of unspeakable danger.


Cure (2001) -DVD

This spine-tingling, atmospheric horror/thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa is set in and around a bleak, decaying Tokyo, where a series of murders have been committed by average, ordinary people who claim to have had no control over their horrifying actions. Following the only link—a mysterious stranger who had brief contact with each perpetrator/victim, detective Kenichi Takabe places his own sanity on the line as he tries to end the wave of inexplicable terror.


The Haunted Lantern-DVD

A contemporary variation of classic Japanese kwaidan (ghost) stories. which involves (at least) three fated karmic cycles in which the main characters' lives are tragically and overwhelmingly intertwined.


Audition (1999)- DVD

Fascinating tale in this Japanese horror/suspense film about the very dark and violently twisted private life of a very quiet, shy and sensitive young woman. Great suspense and a strong cast.

Bio Zombie-DVD (2001)

Woody and Bee are a pair of young punks working at a DVD store in this Hong Kong cult smash. Out for a joy ride, the two hit a pedestrian and end up with a dead body in their trunk! Un-fortunately for Woody and Bee, this is just the beginning. The dead body is infected with a strange biochemical formula, which transforms the hapless mall goers into an army of blood-hungry zombies! Cheesy, fun, low-budget flick with lots of humor.

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Ebola Syndrome-DVD

Actor Anthony Wong, who has made a career portraying psychos, plays a serial killer who has become infected with ebola and uses his disease as an opportunity to avenge all of the abuse he has suffered in his life. Almost every frame of this film oozes, sprays or splatters blood and infected bodily fluids, making this one gore fest hard-core horror fans won't want to miss.



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Nang Nak

"Nang Nak" (or "Ghost Wife") is set in the late 1860s and is based on a Thai legend of the supernatural. When war comes to Thailand, a young husband, Mak, leaves his newly pregnant wife and goes off to fulfill his duty as a soldier. A serious wound leaves Mak convalescing in Bangkok for many months, but eventually he becomes strong enough to return home. There he reunites with his devoted wife, Nak, and finally sees their infant son. However, it soon becomes evident that Nak's labor pains caused a singular transformation in her. The other villagers have come to fear Nak--and for good reason.

"Nang Nak" set box office records in Thailand when it was released in 1999. It even managed to outsell James Cameron's "Titanic" in that country, and it is easy to see why. Filmed among menacing rivers and lush jungles, "Nang Nak" is a visually stunning film grounded in a solid story line. From the beautiful shots of Thailand's flora and fauna to the chilling supernatural scenes (which occasionally have the slightest--and rather surprising--hint of Sam Raimi's distinctive cinematic style), director Nonzee Nimibutr immerses his audience in an enchanted world.

Wild Zero

Japan’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Zombie Horror Classic Is Finally Coming To DVD! Ace, a rockabilly fan who really wants to be cool, is on his way to seeing his favorite group Guitar Wolf when a strange thing occurs . . . aliens invade the Earth and people start returning to life as flesh-eating zombies! Enlisting the help of the (real-life) Japanese rock/ punk band Guitar Wolf (and self-proclaimed coolest rock band in the world), Ace and the members of the band get entangled in many misadventures with crazy rock managers in very tight shorts, transsexuals, naked women shooting guns in the shower, and bloodthirsty zombies ready to tear them apart. Leather jackets, loud over-modulated music, laser guitar picks, motorcycles, muscle cars, and LOTS of fire . . . it’s all right here! Did we also happen to mention flesh-eating zombies? Think Dawn of the Dead meets Kiss meets The Phantom of the Park with the humor of Evil Dead 2 and that’s what Wild Zero is all about!

Bangkok Haunted

The three chapters of the film, all by diffent directors and in different styles. are tied together by three female friends who are spending the closing hours in a cafe, each of them entertaining the others with a ghost story she's chosen to share. An stmosphere/mood piece from the Asian ghost-story genre


Ichi the Killer DVD (Unrated Edition) (2001)

Welcome to a world where violence is a virtue and depravity is a way of life. This is the underside of Shinjuku, and the home of Kakihara, a sadistic yakuza killer. He relentlessly tears apart the underworld searching for the man who killed his boss. The mastermind behind the plot is Jijii, an ex-cop bent on turning the gangsters of Japan against one another. His trump card is a physically powerful lunatic who is constantly on the verge of snapping. This madman is Ichi the Killer, and between him and Kakihara, the streets will run red with blood.

 

Victim (1999)

The Victim once again proves that Ringo Lam is perhaps Hong Kong's greatest director's with a stylish and gripping film that is on par with Lam's Full Contact. This horror/thriller revolves around a computer engineer who is kidnapped by loan sharks...Trying to solve the case, a manic cop played by Tony Leung attempts to solve the case... Here the story takes various sharp twists. Is he possessed? Lam keeps you guessing right until the final frame.

Inspired by "The Shining: by Stanley Kubrick the film has a creepy and haunting feel that is punctuated with scenes of real horror. The film also features some inspired chase scenes and action, making this is a must for any Ringo Lam or Hong Kong film fan.