A new bunch of shows land on the Film Stories Podcast Network – from Lost and vampires, to horror and Red Dwarf. More here.
This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network, our shows have been busy bringing you an array of film and TV conversation. Here’s what we’ve been up to…
The Magic Box
Lost, that bonkers show we all watched relentlessly back in the day, is 20 years old this week so Kurt North fully kicks off coverage of the first season, looking at the ‘Pilot’ Part One with guest, A. J. Black…
Vampire Videos
Dan Owen and Hugh McStay continue their voyage through 100 years of vampire cinema by the 1997 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Night Flier, with guest Robert Clark…
One Rules Them All
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues apace and this week, host Luke Winch is joined by fantasy author...
This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network, our shows have been busy bringing you an array of film and TV conversation. Here’s what we’ve been up to…
The Magic Box
Lost, that bonkers show we all watched relentlessly back in the day, is 20 years old this week so Kurt North fully kicks off coverage of the first season, looking at the ‘Pilot’ Part One with guest, A. J. Black…
Vampire Videos
Dan Owen and Hugh McStay continue their voyage through 100 years of vampire cinema by the 1997 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Night Flier, with guest Robert Clark…
One Rules Them All
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues apace and this week, host Luke Winch is joined by fantasy author...
- 9/23/2024
- by A J Black
- Film Stories
The Criterion Channel’s at its best when October rolls around, consistently engaging in the strongest horror line-ups of any streamer. 2024 will bring more than a few iterations of their spooky programming: “Horror F/X” highlights the best effects-based scares through the likes of Romero, Cronenberg, Lynch, Tobe Hooper, James Whale; “Witches” does what it says on the tin (and inside the tin is the underrated Italian anthology film featuring Clint Eastwood cuckolded by Batman); “Japanese Horror” runs the gamut of classics; a Stephen King series puts John Carpenter and The Lawnmower Man on equal playing ground; October’s Criterion Editions are Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Hunter, Häxan; a made-for-tv duo includes Carpenter’s underrated Someone’s Watching Me!; meanwhile, The Wailing and The Babadook stream alongside a collection of Cronenberg and Stephanie Rothman titles.
Otherwise, Winona Ryder and Raúl Juliá are given retrospectives, as are filmmakers Arthur J. Bressan Jr. and Lionel Rogosin.
Otherwise, Winona Ryder and Raúl Juliá are given retrospectives, as are filmmakers Arthur J. Bressan Jr. and Lionel Rogosin.
- 9/17/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Japanese filmmaker Kôji Shiraishi knows his way around a haunt, having established a reputation for scare crafting with documentary-style horror movies Noroi: The Curse, Occult, and A Record of Sweet Murder. The director occasionally showcased his sense of humor, dialing up the camp factor in commercial films like Sadako vs. Kayako. Kôji Shiraishi’s latest, House of Sayuri, splits the difference between serious scares and irreverent horror-comedy. A vengeful ghost doles out shocking violence in this haunted house, with a comically combative grandma standing in its way, making for a tonally disjointed effort as bizarre as that setup suggests.
After a cold open that establishes the haunting’s inciting event, House of Sayuri cuts to the present to introduce the Kamiki family, a tight-knit and cheerful group of seven who’ve just moved into the home, blissfully unaware of its history. The new home comes after years of blood, sweat,...
After a cold open that establishes the haunting’s inciting event, House of Sayuri cuts to the present to introduce the Kamiki family, a tight-knit and cheerful group of seven who’ve just moved into the home, blissfully unaware of its history. The new home comes after years of blood, sweat,...
- 8/5/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Seven of the genre’s most distinctive titles are packed together in Arrow Video’s upcoming Blu-ray collection J-Horror Rising, which is scheduled to release in the U.S. on October 29.
Arrow previews, “Vengeful ghosts returning from beyond the grave, young women with supernatural abilities, investigative narratives, a terror of technology, and an ominous aura of urban alienation and isolation mark the wave of horror and mystery films that emerged in Japan at the turn of the millennium, collectively labeled as “J-Horror.” Remastered from the best available elements and packed with a host of new and archival extras, J-Horror Rising presents seven of the genre’s most distinctive titles.
“In the ghostly pastoral horror of Shikoku, a young woman returns after many years to her rural birthplace, only to find her best friend from childhood has died by drowning when just sixteen. The dead girl’s mother, the local Shintoist priestess,...
Arrow previews, “Vengeful ghosts returning from beyond the grave, young women with supernatural abilities, investigative narratives, a terror of technology, and an ominous aura of urban alienation and isolation mark the wave of horror and mystery films that emerged in Japan at the turn of the millennium, collectively labeled as “J-Horror.” Remastered from the best available elements and packed with a host of new and archival extras, J-Horror Rising presents seven of the genre’s most distinctive titles.
“In the ghostly pastoral horror of Shikoku, a young woman returns after many years to her rural birthplace, only to find her best friend from childhood has died by drowning when just sixteen. The dead girl’s mother, the local Shintoist priestess,...
- 7/26/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
In a world where over-polished corporate products dominate the media landscape while the ever-growing threat of AI-generated “art” haunts the horizon, I can’t help but remember a story about how Wes Anderson insisted on using real fur on the stop-motion puppets of his animated opus, Fantastic Mr. Fox. When the animators complained that using fur would result in obvious thumbprints and erratic hair movement that would ruin the “illusion” of lifelike movement, the filmmaker explained that these imperfections were the point.
Why am I bringing this up on a horror website? Well, I’ve always been of the opinion that low production value is simply part of the appeal of independent cinema, and nowhere is this more evident than in the horror genre. Rubber monster suits and watery blood effects are a big part of what make even the cheapest scary movies so endearing, and horror fans are uniquely...
Why am I bringing this up on a horror website? Well, I’ve always been of the opinion that low production value is simply part of the appeal of independent cinema, and nowhere is this more evident than in the horror genre. Rubber monster suits and watery blood effects are a big part of what make even the cheapest scary movies so endearing, and horror fans are uniquely...
- 5/16/2024
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
It’s prom night 2008 and Donna Keppel is planning to wear a champagne-colored dress. Corseted, with pink and gold beads. Unfortunately, it might also get splattered with blood and tears, because the teacher who’s obsessed with her has broken out of the mental hospital, tracked her down to the prom venue, and is ready to make sure she’ll be his forever. Even if that means having to slaughter her friends first. That’s the story of the 2008 version of Prom Night (watch it Here) – and if you haven’t seen this one, it might be the Best Horror Movie You Never Saw.
The Prom Night franchise began with the release of a 1980 slasher movie which starred scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis as a young woman who has to deal with a ski mask-wearing maniac crashing her prom. People are stabbed and hacked, knocked off a cliff, decapitated, throats are slit,...
The Prom Night franchise began with the release of a 1980 slasher movie which starred scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis as a young woman who has to deal with a ski mask-wearing maniac crashing her prom. People are stabbed and hacked, knocked off a cliff, decapitated, throats are slit,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Koji Suzuki's novel "Ring" was first published in 1991, and no one could have guessed that the simple, tech-based ghost story would spawn a decades-long, worldwide media franchise that incorporates multiple movies, crossovers, comics, audio dramas, and video games. If one does a deep dive into the entire "Ring" series, one will uncover a massively complicated mythos that repeatedly peels back layers of reality to reveal an onion-like media metafiction that Marshall McLuhan would be proud of.
The premise of "Ring" is wicked and fun, and would have been all the more terrifying in 1991 when VHS was still in vogue. In the book, an investigative reporter named Asakawa finds a cursed video cassette of a surreal, 20-minute short film. At the end of the video, a captain informs him that he has seven days to live. Asakawa takes the threat seriously, as several teenage girls who watched the video have already died.
The premise of "Ring" is wicked and fun, and would have been all the more terrifying in 1991 when VHS was still in vogue. In the book, an investigative reporter named Asakawa finds a cursed video cassette of a surreal, 20-minute short film. At the end of the video, a captain informs him that he has seven days to live. Asakawa takes the threat seriously, as several teenage girls who watched the video have already died.
- 5/6/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
There was a moment in Japanese culture when writers and filmmakers began to update centuries-old fears so that they could still be effective storytelling tools in the modern world. One of the best examples of this is how extremely popular stories like Ringu and Parasite Eve began re-interpreting the cyclical nature of curses as pseudo-scientific “infections,” with this new take on J-Horror even making its way over to the world of video games in titles like Resident Evil (a sci-fi deconstruction of a classic haunted house yarn).
However, there is one survival horror game that is rarely brought up during discussions about interactive J-Horror despite being part of a franchise that helped to popularize Japanese genre cinema around the world. Naturally, that game is the Nintendo Wii exclusive Ju-On: The Grudge, a self-professed haunted house simulator that was mostly forgotten by horror fans and gamers alike despite being a legitimately...
However, there is one survival horror game that is rarely brought up during discussions about interactive J-Horror despite being part of a franchise that helped to popularize Japanese genre cinema around the world. Naturally, that game is the Nintendo Wii exclusive Ju-On: The Grudge, a self-professed haunted house simulator that was mostly forgotten by horror fans and gamers alike despite being a legitimately...
- 4/16/2024
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
You can never underestimate the power of hearsay. Sometimes, something sounding like it could be true is enough to convince people that it must be. And while this phenomenon can have disastrous real-world consequences when applied to science and politics, it’s also responsible for some memorable instances of collective storytelling.
From hook-handed murderers to gerbils becoming stuck inside famous actors, urban legends are the modern equivalent to ancient campfire stories about werewolves and vampires – which is why it makes sense that they’ve inspired some of most beloved genre films. And with so many of these allegedly “true” stories to choose from, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six of the most underrated movies based on urban legends.
Naturally, we’ll be shying away from more popular films like Candyman and Jamie Blanks’ Urban Legend, but don’t forget to comment below with your own...
From hook-handed murderers to gerbils becoming stuck inside famous actors, urban legends are the modern equivalent to ancient campfire stories about werewolves and vampires – which is why it makes sense that they’ve inspired some of most beloved genre films. And with so many of these allegedly “true” stories to choose from, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six of the most underrated movies based on urban legends.
Naturally, we’ll be shying away from more popular films like Candyman and Jamie Blanks’ Urban Legend, but don’t forget to comment below with your own...
- 3/8/2024
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
“Audition” is quite a historic production (at least for its cult following), since it was the film that established Takashi Miike as a prominent member of the horror category and Eihi Shiina as a “priestess” of the grotesque.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Based on the homonymous novel by Ryu Murakami, who actually wrote it as a reaction to a failed love affair, “Audition” tells the story of Shigeharu Aoyama, a middle aged entrepreneur who has recently lost his wife and has been living a disinterested life ever since. His 17-year-old son, Shigehiko, who worries about the turn his father's life seem to have taken, prompts him to meet new women. Yoshikawa, a friend of Shigeharu and a film producer, proposes that he take part in a sham in order to meet women, an idea he agrees to. According to the plan, actresses would...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Based on the homonymous novel by Ryu Murakami, who actually wrote it as a reaction to a failed love affair, “Audition” tells the story of Shigeharu Aoyama, a middle aged entrepreneur who has recently lost his wife and has been living a disinterested life ever since. His 17-year-old son, Shigehiko, who worries about the turn his father's life seem to have taken, prompts him to meet new women. Yoshikawa, a friend of Shigeharu and a film producer, proposes that he take part in a sham in order to meet women, an idea he agrees to. According to the plan, actresses would...
- 1/19/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Horror is iterative, but it just as regularly moves through the same cycles decade after decade, ostensibly breaking new ground, when in reality, the genre is simply doing what is has always done. Today's horror landscape, for as remarkable and diverse as it is, is principally a landscape of legacy sequels. The horror of yesterday is new again, and commonly, old faces and names are dredged up to headline the latest nostalgic bloodbath. Reasonably, the present iteration could be decried as Hollywood's lack of originality, though seasoned horror veterans have seen this cycle before.
The early aughts were replete with imported horrors. Hollywood studios regularly borrowed transnational scares, repackaged them, and presented them as the next big thing. They were successful, too. Gore Verbinski's "The Ring," a remake of Hideo Nakata's "Ring," grossed nearly $250 million when released in 2002. Hollywood studios also remade the likes of "A Tale of Two Sisters,...
The early aughts were replete with imported horrors. Hollywood studios regularly borrowed transnational scares, repackaged them, and presented them as the next big thing. They were successful, too. Gore Verbinski's "The Ring," a remake of Hideo Nakata's "Ring," grossed nearly $250 million when released in 2002. Hollywood studios also remade the likes of "A Tale of Two Sisters,...
- 1/14/2024
- by Chad Collins
- Slash Film
While it might seem like Ghost Stories was only acting on the emerging J-Horror trend, this 2000 anime was in fact another adaptation of Tōru Tsunemitsu’s popular series of children’s books. After four live-action films based on the teacher-turned-author’s books, animation was the obvious next step. The anime — technically the second after a standalone ’96 Ova — has since gone on to become a favorite among Western audiences, although not for reasons the Japanese showrunners could have expected. No, this series is best remembered for its off-the-wall English adaptation that many fans liken to South Park.
Admittedly, Ghost Stories didn’t leave a big mark upon and after its initial release (other than a controversy regarding the ultimately unaired Kuchisake-onna episode). In its defense, though, many anime back then had a hard time standing out or living up to new expectations. As a reminder, that previous decade gave rise to...
Admittedly, Ghost Stories didn’t leave a big mark upon and after its initial release (other than a controversy regarding the ultimately unaired Kuchisake-onna episode). In its defense, though, many anime back then had a hard time standing out or living up to new expectations. As a reminder, that previous decade gave rise to...
- 11/30/2023
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
Recently-released titles by – very different – Japanese film icons Yamada Yoji and Shimizu Takashi adorn the Tiffcom sales slate of Shochiku, one of Japan’s oldest and most powerful film studios.
The 91-year-old Yamada, known for classics including “The Yellow Handkerchief” and “The Twilight Samurai,” is behind “Mom, Is That You?,” a heartwarming drama that marks the third picture in his recent “Mother” series, following “Kabei, Our Mother” and “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son.” Starring Yoshinaga Sayuri and Oizumi Yo, the film tells how a dissatisfied salaryman pays a rare visit home and discovers his mother’s previously hidden fashionable and outgoing sides. It released in Japanese theaters on Sept. 1.
Shimizu, who played a large part in bringing Japanese horror to Hollywood’s attention with titles such as “Tomie: Rebirth” and “Ju-on: The Grudge,” has returned to his horror roots with “Sana.” It depicts a musical curse that is delivered in...
The 91-year-old Yamada, known for classics including “The Yellow Handkerchief” and “The Twilight Samurai,” is behind “Mom, Is That You?,” a heartwarming drama that marks the third picture in his recent “Mother” series, following “Kabei, Our Mother” and “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son.” Starring Yoshinaga Sayuri and Oizumi Yo, the film tells how a dissatisfied salaryman pays a rare visit home and discovers his mother’s previously hidden fashionable and outgoing sides. It released in Japanese theaters on Sept. 1.
Shimizu, who played a large part in bringing Japanese horror to Hollywood’s attention with titles such as “Tomie: Rebirth” and “Ju-on: The Grudge,” has returned to his horror roots with “Sana.” It depicts a musical curse that is delivered in...
- 10/22/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
A hospital in the decommissioning process–housing only a skeleton staff and a few patients–receives an ambulance call, which gives no alternative other than to drop off an extremely ill man. When the person arrives, the hospital staff finds a bandaged body constantly oozing a thick green discharge. As the night goes on, it seems to affect the body and mind of those at the hospital, and they transform into violent zombies.
Coming up on Halloween, it was hard not to go with a horror movie, and one that certainly deserves more fanfare is Masayuki Ochiai’s 2004 film “Infection.” An entertaining mix of body horror and supernatural mystery, Masayuki Ochiai makes up for the limited budget by crafting ghastly moments of horror and disgust, like grabbing a handful from the needle dispensary. Moreover, “Infection” leaves much up to interpretation, and the source of the madness that overcomes the hospital...
Coming up on Halloween, it was hard not to go with a horror movie, and one that certainly deserves more fanfare is Masayuki Ochiai’s 2004 film “Infection.” An entertaining mix of body horror and supernatural mystery, Masayuki Ochiai makes up for the limited budget by crafting ghastly moments of horror and disgust, like grabbing a handful from the needle dispensary. Moreover, “Infection” leaves much up to interpretation, and the source of the madness that overcomes the hospital...
- 10/22/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Neve Campbell (screenshot via Miramax), Janet Leigh (screenshot via Paramount Pictures), Jamie Lee Curtis (screenshot via Compass International Pictures), Danielle Harris (screenshot via Dark Sky Films), Heather Langenkamp (screenshot via New Line Cinema)Graphic: Libby McGuire
Whether they’re called scream queens, final girls, or some other variation on the term,...
Whether they’re called scream queens, final girls, or some other variation on the term,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Todd Gilchrist, Gil Macias, Brian Collins, Robert DeSalvo, Saloni Gajjar, William Hughes, Matthew Jackson, Matt Schimkowitz, Ian Spelling, and Luke Y. Thompson
- avclub.com
J-Horror is among the most renowned internationally genres of Asian cinema, with the popularity of titles like “Ringu”, “Ju-on”, “Pulse” and so many others still echoing quite intensely. As such, it is quite interesting, even today, to shed a more thorough look to the roots, the motifs, and the reasons of success of these movies, also because some of the most central directors are still at large.
Check also this article Is J-Horror Coming Back? Six Movies that Suggest So
As such, I have to begin the review by stating that shooting this documentary seems like a colossal endeavor, both for arranging interviews with the likes of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Teruyoshi Ishii, Joji Iida, Masayuki Ochiai, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Mari Asato, and for tracking down Rie Ino'o, who played Sadako in the first two films, and Takako Fuji, who played Kayako in a number of entries of “Ju-on”. Add...
Check also this article Is J-Horror Coming Back? Six Movies that Suggest So
As such, I have to begin the review by stating that shooting this documentary seems like a colossal endeavor, both for arranging interviews with the likes of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Teruyoshi Ishii, Joji Iida, Masayuki Ochiai, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Mari Asato, and for tracking down Rie Ino'o, who played Sadako in the first two films, and Takako Fuji, who played Kayako in a number of entries of “Ju-on”. Add...
- 8/29/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Lakeith Stanfield, and Owen Wilson in Haunted Mansion.Photo: Jalen Marlowe
It would be interesting to see the version of Haunted Mansion that star Lakeith Stanfield seems to think he’s in—one where his jaded, grieving, scientist-turned-wannabe believer in ghosts could see his grounded performance...
It would be interesting to see the version of Haunted Mansion that star Lakeith Stanfield seems to think he’s in—one where his jaded, grieving, scientist-turned-wannabe believer in ghosts could see his grounded performance...
- 7/25/2023
- by Luke Y. Thompson
- avclub.com
Takashi Shimizu, the mastermind behind the Ju-On series (he also directed the first two American remakes) is back in familiar J-horror surroundings with his second film of 2023. Sana, serving as the closing film of this year's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), stars all seven members of the J-pop outfit Generations from Exile Tribe, playing themselves. Yet sometimes familiarity breeds contempt and it will be up to individual viewers to decide whether Shimizu's latest is a fun and confidently-staged trip down memory lane with a J-pop twist or an old-fashioned rehash of tired tropes. Those tried tropes begin with the film's concept. A pop star unearths a 30-year-old cassette tape at a radio station marked 'Everyone's Song.' By the time he returns to the...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/7/2023
- Screen Anarchy
The Japanese horror boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, spawned in large part by Hideo Nakata’s Ring, gets the spotlight in the upcoming documentary The J-Horror Virus.
Check out the trailer below, first shared by Fangoria earlier today.
From Sarah Appleton and Jasper Sharp, The J-Horror Virus is said to be a “feature-length documentary charting the origins, evolution and diffusion across the world of a distinctive brand of made-in-Japan supernatural chillers that seeped into the global consciousness at the turn of the millennium, films featuring vengeful ghosts manifesting themselves through contemporary technology again a backdrop of urban alienation and social decay.”
The synopsis continues, “From its origins in Teruyoshi Ishii’s 1988 fake documentary Psychic Vision: Jaganrei (1988) and Norio Tsuruta’s seminal Scary True Stories (1991/92) straight-to-video series, through such key titles as Hideo Nakata’s Ring (1998), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (2001) and Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge...
Check out the trailer below, first shared by Fangoria earlier today.
From Sarah Appleton and Jasper Sharp, The J-Horror Virus is said to be a “feature-length documentary charting the origins, evolution and diffusion across the world of a distinctive brand of made-in-Japan supernatural chillers that seeped into the global consciousness at the turn of the millennium, films featuring vengeful ghosts manifesting themselves through contemporary technology again a backdrop of urban alienation and social decay.”
The synopsis continues, “From its origins in Teruyoshi Ishii’s 1988 fake documentary Psychic Vision: Jaganrei (1988) and Norio Tsuruta’s seminal Scary True Stories (1991/92) straight-to-video series, through such key titles as Hideo Nakata’s Ring (1998), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (2001) and Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge...
- 6/20/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
By Henry McKeand
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's “Pulse” had an inescapable impact on the Japanese horror scene when it hit theatres in 1997. Countless filmmakers were inspired by its pervasive unease and refusal to settle for simple scares. Along with the release of Hideo Nakata's “Ringu” a year later, it set the standard for the J-Horror renaissance that forever altered the cinematic landscape in the 2000s. But even with the hordes of imitators and worshippers, perhaps no film owes more to “Pulse” than “Saimin” by Masayuki Ochiai. Released later as “The Hypnotist” in the U.S., “Saimin” shares themes of hypnosis and the inherent darkness of human nature with “Pulse”, but it is ultimately a more commercial take on the same material, trading in Kurosawa's ambient dread for gonzo thrills.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
The film kicks off in bravura fashion, with Ochiai cross-cutting...
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's “Pulse” had an inescapable impact on the Japanese horror scene when it hit theatres in 1997. Countless filmmakers were inspired by its pervasive unease and refusal to settle for simple scares. Along with the release of Hideo Nakata's “Ringu” a year later, it set the standard for the J-Horror renaissance that forever altered the cinematic landscape in the 2000s. But even with the hordes of imitators and worshippers, perhaps no film owes more to “Pulse” than “Saimin” by Masayuki Ochiai. Released later as “The Hypnotist” in the U.S., “Saimin” shares themes of hypnosis and the inherent darkness of human nature with “Pulse”, but it is ultimately a more commercial take on the same material, trading in Kurosawa's ambient dread for gonzo thrills.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
The film kicks off in bravura fashion, with Ochiai cross-cutting...
- 4/8/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Jeff Howard to write and Executive Produce Fangoria Studios’ live-action feature film adaptation of “Junji Ito’S Bloodsucking Darkness”: "Legendary Japanese horror mangaka/manga author and artist Junji Ito and Fangoria Studios are set to produce Bloodsucking Darkness; a vampire tale from the beloved master of horror’s hit manga Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection. Executive Producer and screenwriter Jeff Howard has been tapped to develop the screen adaptation on behalf of Fangoria Studios. Bloodsucking Darkness, a live action feature film of Ito’s acclaimed works, is set to be the first of three stories that Fangoria Studios plans to adapt from Smashed.
“Fangoria Studios is going to adapt my manga! I'm so excited to see how it will turn out,” said Ito. “I hope I get to see the trailer in my dreams tonight!,”said Junji Ito.
Junji Ito began his career as a manga horror writer while working as a dental technician.
“Fangoria Studios is going to adapt my manga! I'm so excited to see how it will turn out,” said Ito. “I hope I get to see the trailer in my dreams tonight!,”said Junji Ito.
Junji Ito began his career as a manga horror writer while working as a dental technician.
- 4/3/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Welcome to the Ghostface Glossary, a guide to every horror reference and nod throughout the first five films of the Scream franchise.
After a lot of pausing, rewinding, and zooming in, as well as researching, we’re catching all of the many horror-specific references Williamson, Craven, and Co. included in this beloved postmodern slasher franchise. If we’ve forgotten any glaring ones, kindly let us know.
This guide will exclude homages from previous Scream films and their respective sequels— we’re only looking at outside horror franchises and inspirations, because any red-blooded Ghostface fan is likely already aware of those. (Goes without saying that the beloved faux franchise ‘Stab’(s) 1-8 will also not be counted, since, even though our neon green ‘Stab’ t-shirts and mock VHS tapes feel very real, it’s still a very fake franchise). If we’ve forgotten any glaring ones, kindly let us know.
“You...
After a lot of pausing, rewinding, and zooming in, as well as researching, we’re catching all of the many horror-specific references Williamson, Craven, and Co. included in this beloved postmodern slasher franchise. If we’ve forgotten any glaring ones, kindly let us know.
This guide will exclude homages from previous Scream films and their respective sequels— we’re only looking at outside horror franchises and inspirations, because any red-blooded Ghostface fan is likely already aware of those. (Goes without saying that the beloved faux franchise ‘Stab’(s) 1-8 will also not be counted, since, even though our neon green ‘Stab’ t-shirts and mock VHS tapes feel very real, it’s still a very fake franchise). If we’ve forgotten any glaring ones, kindly let us know.
“You...
- 3/10/2023
- by Julieann Stipidis
- bloody-disgusting.com
This post contains spoilers for "Skinamarink."
Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" has become an indie horror phenomenon. For those who need catching up, the micro-budget film was financed via GoFundMe and was shot in Ball's childhood home for a thin 15,000 budget. It initially premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival in 2022, but soon after, the film leaked on the internet after a digital festival screening and became a viral sensation. "Skinamarink" was soon spread all over YouTube and TikTok; the grainy found footage video aesthetic made it an interesting and horrifying watch for those locked in their houses during Covid-19. This month, the film has been enjoying a successful limited theatrical run before it launches on Shudder on February 2nd.
"Skinamarink" follows two children who wake up in the middle of the night to find out that their parents have gone missing. Not only that, but all the doors and windows...
Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" has become an indie horror phenomenon. For those who need catching up, the micro-budget film was financed via GoFundMe and was shot in Ball's childhood home for a thin 15,000 budget. It initially premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival in 2022, but soon after, the film leaked on the internet after a digital festival screening and became a viral sensation. "Skinamarink" was soon spread all over YouTube and TikTok; the grainy found footage video aesthetic made it an interesting and horrifying watch for those locked in their houses during Covid-19. This month, the film has been enjoying a successful limited theatrical run before it launches on Shudder on February 2nd.
"Skinamarink" follows two children who wake up in the middle of the night to find out that their parents have gone missing. Not only that, but all the doors and windows...
- 1/28/2023
- by Tyler Llewyn Taing
- Slash Film
It’s time for a new episode of our video series Best Foreign Horror Movies, and with this one we’re looking back at a movie that is quite disturbing. The 1997 Austrian production Funny Games (get it Here). To find out what we had to say about Funny Games, check out the video embedded above.
Written and directed by Michael Haneke, Funny Games has the following synopsis:
An idyllic lakeside vacation home is terrorized by Paul and Peter, a pair of deeply disturbed young men. When the fearful Anna is home alone, the two men drop by for a visit that quickly turns violent and terrifying. Husband Georg comes to her rescue, but Paul and Peter take the family hostage and subject them to nightmarish abuse and humiliation. From time to time, Paul talks to the film’s audience, making it complicit in the horror.
The film stars Arno Frisch,...
Written and directed by Michael Haneke, Funny Games has the following synopsis:
An idyllic lakeside vacation home is terrorized by Paul and Peter, a pair of deeply disturbed young men. When the fearful Anna is home alone, the two men drop by for a visit that quickly turns violent and terrifying. Husband Georg comes to her rescue, but Paul and Peter take the family hostage and subject them to nightmarish abuse and humiliation. From time to time, Paul talks to the film’s audience, making it complicit in the horror.
The film stars Arno Frisch,...
- 11/1/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
It’s time for a new episode of our Best Foreign Horror Movies video series, and in this one we’re looking back at the 2007 Spanish production [Rec] (watch it Here), directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. To find out what we had to say about [Rec], check out the video embedded above!
Balagueró and Plaza wrote [Rec] with Luis A. Berdejo, crafting the following story:
A young TV reporter and her cameraman cover the night shift at the local fire station. Receiving a call from an old lady trapped in her house, they reach her building to hear horrifying screams – which begins a long nightmare and a uniquely dramatic TV report.
The film stars Manuela Velasco, Ferrán Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso, David Vert, Vicente Gil, Martha Carbonell, Carlos Vicente, Carlos Lasarte, María Lanau, Claudia Silva, Akemi Goto, Chen Min Kao, María Teresa Ortega, Manuel Bronchud, Ben Temple, Ana Velasquez, Daniel Trinh,...
Balagueró and Plaza wrote [Rec] with Luis A. Berdejo, crafting the following story:
A young TV reporter and her cameraman cover the night shift at the local fire station. Receiving a call from an old lady trapped in her house, they reach her building to hear horrifying screams – which begins a long nightmare and a uniquely dramatic TV report.
The film stars Manuela Velasco, Ferrán Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso, David Vert, Vicente Gil, Martha Carbonell, Carlos Vicente, Carlos Lasarte, María Lanau, Claudia Silva, Akemi Goto, Chen Min Kao, María Teresa Ortega, Manuel Bronchud, Ben Temple, Ana Velasquez, Daniel Trinh,...
- 8/25/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Ghostwire: Tokyo isn’t just developer Tango Gameworks’ long-awaited return to the horror genre after 2017’s underrated The Evil Within 2; it’s a pretty great excuse to check out some of the greatest J-horror movies ever made.
While Japanese horror films enjoyed a global “boom period” in the late ’90s and early 2000s (and we’ll certainly be talking about some of the movies from that era very shortly), some of the best horror movies of the last 70+ years are J-Horror films. The long history of Japanese horror movies includes quite a few films that truly challenged viewers just as they challenged the common perceptions of what horror cinema is capable of.
So far as that goes, it’s important to realize that this isn’t a list of the absolute best J-Horror movies ever made. If it was, I can assure you Audition would be somewhere on it. Instead,...
While Japanese horror films enjoyed a global “boom period” in the late ’90s and early 2000s (and we’ll certainly be talking about some of the movies from that era very shortly), some of the best horror movies of the last 70+ years are J-Horror films. The long history of Japanese horror movies includes quite a few films that truly challenged viewers just as they challenged the common perceptions of what horror cinema is capable of.
So far as that goes, it’s important to realize that this isn’t a list of the absolute best J-Horror movies ever made. If it was, I can assure you Audition would be somewhere on it. Instead,...
- 3/22/2022
- by Matthew Byrd
- Den of Geek
Cameras Roll On Ghosts Of Hiroshima! From a screenplay by Emmy Award-winning writer Brandon Walker, Ghosts of Hiroshima is an east meets west paranormal thriller in the vein of Ju-On: The Grudge and Ringu. The project stars Robert Palmer Watkins (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Akihiro Kitamura (The Human Centipede) and Ashley Park (Los Angeles …
The post Cameras Roll On Ghosts Of Hiroshima! appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post Cameras Roll On Ghosts Of Hiroshima! appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 3/14/2022
- by Mike Joy
- Horror News
Takashi Shimizu, director of Marebito, Ju-On: The Grudge, and the initial U.S. remake of The Grudge, is back with Suicide Forest Village, a brand new J-horror offering that’s set to curse On Demand & Digital HD this coming March 1st, via Cinedigm. Screambox will then stream the horror film exclusively on May 6. Suicide Forest Village is […]
The post ‘Suicide Forest Village’ Trailer – ‘The Grudge’ Director’s New Movie Haunting VOD March 1st and Screambox May 6th! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
The post ‘Suicide Forest Village’ Trailer – ‘The Grudge’ Director’s New Movie Haunting VOD March 1st and Screambox May 6th! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
- 2/17/2022
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Mitski reflects on bus stop songwriting, elementary school plays, and making the move from piano to guitar for the sake of efficiency in the latest installment of The First Time.
While Mitski has said in past interviews that she officially wrote her first song when she was 17 or 18, she corrects the record here to note the first time she ever “wrote a song without knowing I was writing a song” was when she was waiting for the school bus to pick her up in first or second grade. “I just...
While Mitski has said in past interviews that she officially wrote her first song when she was 17 or 18, she corrects the record here to note the first time she ever “wrote a song without knowing I was writing a song” was when she was waiting for the school bus to pick her up in first or second grade. “I just...
- 12/28/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Cinedigm has acquired all North American rights to Suicide Forest Village, Takashi Shimizu’s supernatural horror inspired by a real forest in Japan known for its frequent suicides and disappearances.
Shimizu previously helmed the Ju-On (The Grudge) franchise, directing the 2004 originals and three sequels. His latest stars Jun Kunimura (Kill Bill: Vol. 1), Yumi Adachi (Tokyo Vampire Hotel) and Asuka Kurosawa (Silence) in a story following a group who come across a mysterious box with a deadly secret: the item holds a curse that quickly spreads to those around them. The source of the box is the ‘Jukai Village,’ a rumored location deep within the Jukai Forest.
Shimizu co-wrote the film with Daisuke Hosaka, who previously worked together on Howling Village and The Shock Labyrinth 3D. The film is produced by Muneyuki Kii, Harue Miyake, Chikako Nakabayashi and Daisuke Takahashi.
The deal was negotiated by Brandon Hill, Manager of Acquisitions,...
Shimizu previously helmed the Ju-On (The Grudge) franchise, directing the 2004 originals and three sequels. His latest stars Jun Kunimura (Kill Bill: Vol. 1), Yumi Adachi (Tokyo Vampire Hotel) and Asuka Kurosawa (Silence) in a story following a group who come across a mysterious box with a deadly secret: the item holds a curse that quickly spreads to those around them. The source of the box is the ‘Jukai Village,’ a rumored location deep within the Jukai Forest.
Shimizu co-wrote the film with Daisuke Hosaka, who previously worked together on Howling Village and The Shock Labyrinth 3D. The film is produced by Muneyuki Kii, Harue Miyake, Chikako Nakabayashi and Daisuke Takahashi.
The deal was negotiated by Brandon Hill, Manager of Acquisitions,...
- 12/13/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Years before the ‘Resident Evil’ and ‘Silent Hill’ franchises, and J-Horror classics such as ‘Ringu’ and ‘Ju-On: The Grudge,’ pulp filmmaker Toshiharu Ikeda created a plethora of pulp films to simultaneously disturb and intrigue his late night viewers. Sadly, Ikeda’s legacy came to an end when he passed away in 2010, but fans of J-horror still uncover, restore, and admire his films today. Arguably Ikeda at his weirdest and best, ‘Evil Death Trap’ is a visceral sexploitation horror from the 80’s which would go on to set the standard for the countless celebrated horror films and video games to come out of Japan within the next decade. With the movie’s recent Unearthed Films restoration, ‘Evil Dead Trap’ has never felt more hideously enthralling.
The story begins at a production studio in the 1980’s, where an almost exclusively female TV crew is desperate for leads on a new story to cover.
The story begins at a production studio in the 1980’s, where an almost exclusively female TV crew is desperate for leads on a new story to cover.
- 9/10/2021
- by Spencer Nafekh-Blanchette
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: First Details on New Streaming Series Leave Quietly: "New streaming series Leave Quietly is set to deliver echoes of terror.
When a group of friends on an Audio-Chat App confront a mysterious stranger, they get more than they bargained for. That is the premise of Leave Quietly, a new suspense packed streaming series written and directed by Curt Wiser (Cam-Girl).
This chilling, limited series features an ensemble cast which includes genre favorites Victoria De Mare (the Killjoy franchise), Brooke Lewis Bellas (iMurders), Susan Lanier (The Hills Have Eyes) and Jackie Dallas (Stranger Things – TV Series), alongside Preston Butler III (The Face of Evil), Doug Penikas (Glee – TV Series), Michael Ruesga (Talons) and Elena Dizon (Shooter – TV Series). Close attention was paid to the group dynamic of these actors while casting.
Here is what Brooke Lewis Bellas had to say about working on this project:
"This pandemic has brought some challenging times for us creatives.
When a group of friends on an Audio-Chat App confront a mysterious stranger, they get more than they bargained for. That is the premise of Leave Quietly, a new suspense packed streaming series written and directed by Curt Wiser (Cam-Girl).
This chilling, limited series features an ensemble cast which includes genre favorites Victoria De Mare (the Killjoy franchise), Brooke Lewis Bellas (iMurders), Susan Lanier (The Hills Have Eyes) and Jackie Dallas (Stranger Things – TV Series), alongside Preston Butler III (The Face of Evil), Doug Penikas (Glee – TV Series), Michael Ruesga (Talons) and Elena Dizon (Shooter – TV Series). Close attention was paid to the group dynamic of these actors while casting.
Here is what Brooke Lewis Bellas had to say about working on this project:
"This pandemic has brought some challenging times for us creatives.
- 9/1/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Fantasia Film Review: Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993) by Shunji Iwai
16th episode of the TV series “If”, “Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?” was Shunji Iwai’s first work to garner attention, netting him a New Director Award from the Director’s Guild of Japan. The film was eventually adapted into a highly successful anime in 2017.
“Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
It is the end of the elementary school year, right before a festival taking place in the area, which features a show of fireworks. A group of sixth graders are having an argument: are fireworks round, or flat? Do they change if we watch them from the side, or the bottom? The argument gets more and more heated, and eventually bets are placed. In the meanwhile, two of the group, Norimichi and Yosuke, meet their mutual object of passion, Nazuna, at the school pool.
“Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
It is the end of the elementary school year, right before a festival taking place in the area, which features a show of fireworks. A group of sixth graders are having an argument: are fireworks round, or flat? Do they change if we watch them from the side, or the bottom? The argument gets more and more heated, and eventually bets are placed. In the meanwhile, two of the group, Norimichi and Yosuke, meet their mutual object of passion, Nazuna, at the school pool.
- 8/5/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Kourtney Bell, Will Stout, Skyler Hart, Jeffrey Holm, Jaqueline Fleming, Amanda Grace Benitez, Damon Lipari, Han Soto, Dean J. West, Stephen Twardokus | Written and Directed by Jeffrey Reddick
[Note: With the film now released in the UK, here’s a reposting of our review of Don’t Look Back from its screening at Frightfest last year]
Writer/director Jeffrey Reddick has a lot of form when it comes to supernatural horror. Not only did he create the long-running Final Destination franchise but he’s also behind the likes of underrated and under-seen supernatural slasher Tamara, Dead Awake and the more recent The Final Wish. All films that play with the idea of the dead returning for revenge on the living in one form or another. And Don’t Look Back is no different.
Don’t Look Back tells the story of Caitlin Kramer, a young woman trying to overcome her traumatic past who, whilst walking through the park one day, sees a man brutally assaulted. However no one intervenes to stop the attack. Instead they all start...
[Note: With the film now released in the UK, here’s a reposting of our review of Don’t Look Back from its screening at Frightfest last year]
Writer/director Jeffrey Reddick has a lot of form when it comes to supernatural horror. Not only did he create the long-running Final Destination franchise but he’s also behind the likes of underrated and under-seen supernatural slasher Tamara, Dead Awake and the more recent The Final Wish. All films that play with the idea of the dead returning for revenge on the living in one form or another. And Don’t Look Back is no different.
Don’t Look Back tells the story of Caitlin Kramer, a young woman trying to overcome her traumatic past who, whilst walking through the park one day, sees a man brutally assaulted. However no one intervenes to stop the attack. Instead they all start...
- 6/14/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Ever since “The Exorcist” (1973) little children have proven their ability to scare us. In the Japanese horror industry, titles like Hideo Nakata’s “Dark Water” (2002) or Takashi Shimizu’s “Ju-On” (2002) picked up that trend and turned it into a success model. The Short Film “Payment” by Kazuyuki Miyabe features a single mother, who is missing her daughter. As the dorm’s janitory comes under suspicion, the case seems closed. But the ending holds up some breathtaking revelations.
Payment screened at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival
Satomi (Fusuako Urabe) is a mother awaiting the return of her young daughter, Yumi, who has gone missing. When the police investigation runs into difficulties, she grows suspicious of the apartment building’s secretive janitor. One day, Satomi happens upon the janitor at the garbage collection area who then proceeds to inform her of something no one else would know except Satomi and her daughter.
Payment screened at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival
Satomi (Fusuako Urabe) is a mother awaiting the return of her young daughter, Yumi, who has gone missing. When the police investigation runs into difficulties, she grows suspicious of the apartment building’s secretive janitor. One day, Satomi happens upon the janitor at the garbage collection area who then proceeds to inform her of something no one else would know except Satomi and her daughter.
- 1/15/2021
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
The Ju-On franchise, better known to Western audiences as The Grudge, is one of the most expansive brands in the history of the horror genre, spanning 20 years and encompassing thirteen movies, two short films, a TV series and even a video game. That’s an awful lot of content being wrung from a relatively thin premise, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to discover the law of diminishing returns set in a long time ago.
So far, there’ve been sequels, prequels, remakes and sequels to the remakes and reboots, with 2020 bringing a double dose of Ju-On. Netflix’s six-episode Ju-On Origins arrived in July to very little fanfare, while the fourth edition in the American series touched down in January to muddle the timeline even further and swiftly gain a reputation as one of the most dismal cinematic efforts of the year.
Netflix Releases New Images From The Grudge...
So far, there’ve been sequels, prequels, remakes and sequels to the remakes and reboots, with 2020 bringing a double dose of Ju-On. Netflix’s six-episode Ju-On Origins arrived in July to very little fanfare, while the fourth edition in the American series touched down in January to muddle the timeline even further and swiftly gain a reputation as one of the most dismal cinematic efforts of the year.
Netflix Releases New Images From The Grudge...
- 12/20/2020
- by Scott Campbell
- We Got This Covered
Stars: Kourtney Bell, Will Stout, Skyler Hart, Jeffrey Holm, Jaqueline Fleming, Amanda Grace Benitez, Damon Lipari, Han Soto, Dean J. West, Stephen Twardokus | Written and Directed by Jeffrey Reddick
Writer/director Jeffrey Reddick has a lot of form when it comes to supernatural horror. Not only did he create the long-running Final Destination franchise but he’s also behind the likes of underrated and under-seen supernatural slasher Tamara, Dead Awake and the more recent The Final Wish. All films that play with the idea of the dead returning for revenge on the living in one form or another. And Don’t Look Back is no different.
Don’t Look Back tells the story of Caitlin Kramer, a young woman trying to overcome her traumatic past who, whilst walking through the park one day, sees a man brutally assaulted. However no one intervenes to stop the attack. Instead they all start filming the...
Writer/director Jeffrey Reddick has a lot of form when it comes to supernatural horror. Not only did he create the long-running Final Destination franchise but he’s also behind the likes of underrated and under-seen supernatural slasher Tamara, Dead Awake and the more recent The Final Wish. All films that play with the idea of the dead returning for revenge on the living in one form or another. And Don’t Look Back is no different.
Don’t Look Back tells the story of Caitlin Kramer, a young woman trying to overcome her traumatic past who, whilst walking through the park one day, sees a man brutally assaulted. However no one intervenes to stop the attack. Instead they all start filming the...
- 10/23/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Acclaimed horror director Takashi Shimizu has been announced as the director for the upcoming adaptation of Mariko Koike’s “The Graveyard Apartment“
Released in 1986, the novel follows the Kano family, Hazuki, Brooke and their son Shiro as they move into a new apartment surrounded by a graveyard, Buddhist temple and crematorium. As one of the few occupants of the building, the family soon find themselves the sole target of a malicious attack from countless supernatural entities.
Currently in pre-production, the English-language supernatural horror is scheduled to start shooting around November 2020. With screenplay written by Takashi Shimizu and Paul Harris Boardman. The adaptation will star Kazunari Ninomiya as Hazuki.
Released in 1986, the novel follows the Kano family, Hazuki, Brooke and their son Shiro as they move into a new apartment surrounded by a graveyard, Buddhist temple and crematorium. As one of the few occupants of the building, the family soon find themselves the sole target of a malicious attack from countless supernatural entities.
Currently in pre-production, the English-language supernatural horror is scheduled to start shooting around November 2020. With screenplay written by Takashi Shimizu and Paul Harris Boardman. The adaptation will star Kazunari Ninomiya as Hazuki.
- 10/15/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
A hallmark of the international horror scene, Takashi Shimizu’s legendary Ju-On served as a lightning rod when it was first released in 2002. This came about not only for the effect it had on drawing warranted attention at Asian genre cinema who discovered other similar titles from Japan produced in the wake of its success, but also cultural acceptance as many of those efforts were given US reboots and remakes. While the franchise that spawned has had its ups and downs over the ensuing near-two decades, this new adaptation on Netflix Japan takes a new and unique look at the iconic series by moving away from Kayako and looking at a newfound aspect of the series.
Appearing on a TV show together, paranormal researcher Yasuo Odajma (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) and actress Haruka Honjo (Yuina Kuroshima) become intertwined when she relates a story that intrigues him. New student Kiyomi Kawai (Ririka) arrives...
Appearing on a TV show together, paranormal researcher Yasuo Odajma (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) and actress Haruka Honjo (Yuina Kuroshima) become intertwined when she relates a story that intrigues him. New student Kiyomi Kawai (Ririka) arrives...
- 7/20/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
The following contains spoilers for Ju-On: Origins.
There are many notable horror franchises to come out of Japan that have made an undeniable mark on the genre, both in their native country and on an international level. The powerful Ju-On/Grudge franchise has been around for over two decades and accrued over a dozen films and additional material that fleshes out this haunting story. The Ju-On series hinges on a simple premise where when a person dies with a deep and powerful rage within them, it births a curse. This idea and the disturbing ghostly characters of Kayako and Toshio have helped Ju-On stand out among the imitators.
While the series has struggled recently in America, Ju-On: Origins marks a six-episode Netflix series from Japan that strives to return to the franchise’s roots. Ju-On: Origins looks at an actress and a paranormal investigator who become obsessed with a cursed...
There are many notable horror franchises to come out of Japan that have made an undeniable mark on the genre, both in their native country and on an international level. The powerful Ju-On/Grudge franchise has been around for over two decades and accrued over a dozen films and additional material that fleshes out this haunting story. The Ju-On series hinges on a simple premise where when a person dies with a deep and powerful rage within them, it births a curse. This idea and the disturbing ghostly characters of Kayako and Toshio have helped Ju-On stand out among the imitators.
While the series has struggled recently in America, Ju-On: Origins marks a six-episode Netflix series from Japan that strives to return to the franchise’s roots. Ju-On: Origins looks at an actress and a paranormal investigator who become obsessed with a cursed...
- 7/3/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
The Ju-On/Grudge franchise is one of the most acclaimed horror series to come out of Japan. Despite the series’ reputation, the more recent efforts have struggled to recapture the magic and they’ve stumbled through the franchise’s progressively dense mythos. Not every horror franchise can sustain the expansion to a six-episode television series, but in the case of Ju-On: Origins it allows the show to bring more depth to its characters and help solve a lot of problems.
More than anything else, Ju-On: Origins excels as a metaphor for how abuse can be learned behavior and that generational pain is a very real thing. This is hardly a new idea for the franchise, but due to the scope that’s covered in this series, that message has never been clearer. This clarity and ferocity is why Ju-On: Origins is as powerful as it is and a return to...
More than anything else, Ju-On: Origins excels as a metaphor for how abuse can be learned behavior and that generational pain is a very real thing. This is hardly a new idea for the franchise, but due to the scope that’s covered in this series, that message has never been clearer. This clarity and ferocity is why Ju-On: Origins is as powerful as it is and a return to...
- 7/3/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Netflix is often home to some of streaming’s absolute best content, including top-tier original films and shows that have long-since rivalled the production quality of theatrical and cable releases. It’s also one of the easiest places to find huge collections from your favorite genres, especially since it’s so well-known for procuring plenty of classics alongside more modern content. That said, if you’re a fan of horror, you’re really in luck come July, as you can expect a smorgasbord of scary and unsettling content launching for you to watch throughout the month.
One notable entry making its way to the service is 2007’s Paranormal Activity, which is often credited for kicking off the “home camera” sub-genre of supernatural horror films. It tells the story of a young couple who are being terrorized by forces they can’t visibly see, and it’s shot entirely via a home camera.
One notable entry making its way to the service is 2007’s Paranormal Activity, which is often credited for kicking off the “home camera” sub-genre of supernatural horror films. It tells the story of a young couple who are being terrorized by forces they can’t visibly see, and it’s shot entirely via a home camera.
- 6/30/2020
- by Billy Givens
- We Got This Covered
Every year, movies are being produced at faster rates and in greater quantity, and that’s thanks – in part – to streamers like Netflix. Because of their business strategy, customers can now watch thousands of films for the same price as a single cinema ticket. As such, the entertainment appetite of the American public has been growing stronger with each passing season. To that end, here’s an overview of the best new movies coming to Netflix next month.
First off, we got science fiction and fantasy. Fans of visiting other worlds will be in for a treat in July, as Netflix will be adding Cloud Atlas to its library. Directed by the Wachowski siblings – the same ones who created the now-infamous Matrix franchise – this time-traveling epic follows the stories of a handful of reincarnating souls who live their different yet similar lives across several centuries.
Up next we got acclaimed classics,...
First off, we got science fiction and fantasy. Fans of visiting other worlds will be in for a treat in July, as Netflix will be adding Cloud Atlas to its library. Directed by the Wachowski siblings – the same ones who created the now-infamous Matrix franchise – this time-traveling epic follows the stories of a handful of reincarnating souls who live their different yet similar lives across several centuries.
Up next we got acclaimed classics,...
- 6/29/2020
- by Tim Brinkhof
- We Got This Covered
When you think of long-running horror franchises, the first things that usually jump to mind are the classics like Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, or the more recent ones that have churned out countless sequels to diminishing returns such as Saw or Paranormal Activity.
However, this is by no means a uniquely American phenomenon and one of the most prominent brands outside of Hollywood is Japan’s Ju-On, better known to Western audiences as The Grudge. Since debuting via two short films in a TV movie, the first feature-length Ju-On went on to spawn eight sequels over the course of nearly two decades.
If that wasn’t enough, the inevitable Hollywood remake that hailed from original director Takashi Shimizu starring Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2004 would get two sequels of its own, and a reboot that landed in January of this year to generally terrible reviews.
However, this is by no means a uniquely American phenomenon and one of the most prominent brands outside of Hollywood is Japan’s Ju-On, better known to Western audiences as The Grudge. Since debuting via two short films in a TV movie, the first feature-length Ju-On went on to spawn eight sequels over the course of nearly two decades.
If that wasn’t enough, the inevitable Hollywood remake that hailed from original director Takashi Shimizu starring Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2004 would get two sequels of its own, and a reboot that landed in January of this year to generally terrible reviews.
- 6/20/2020
- by Scott Campbell
- We Got This Covered
Released in 2000, Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Curse kick-started a successful J-horror franchise that spawned multiple follow-ups and an American-made remake franchise (The Grudge) that received a brand new installment earlier this year. This coming summer, the original Japanese franchise returns with the Netflix series “Ju-On: Origins.” Netflix’s official description reads: “The J-Horror classic franchise Ju-On was actually based […]...
- 6/17/2020
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Netflix has been a lifeline over the last two months of lockdown. Smash hits like Tiger King have given people something to talk about other than a deadly virus and many folks have taken the chance to catch up with some shows they might have missed. But if you’re running low on material that interests you, there are some really cool Netflix Originals scheduled for July.
These include a reboot of classic children’s show The Baby-Sitters Club (July 3rd), a new action-thriller starring Charlize Theron called The Old Guard (July 10th), the long-awaited Us streaming premiere of Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance (July 19th) and (hopefully) the long-awaited fourth season of critically acclaimed anime The Seven Deadly Sins.
But there are two awesome projects coming down the pipeline that I’m particularly looking forward to. The first is Ju-On: Origins, a new series that will explore the...
These include a reboot of classic children’s show The Baby-Sitters Club (July 3rd), a new action-thriller starring Charlize Theron called The Old Guard (July 10th), the long-awaited Us streaming premiere of Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance (July 19th) and (hopefully) the long-awaited fourth season of critically acclaimed anime The Seven Deadly Sins.
But there are two awesome projects coming down the pipeline that I’m particularly looking forward to. The first is Ju-On: Origins, a new series that will explore the...
- 5/18/2020
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
Back in 1998, Takashi Shimizu unwittingly created a monster when he debuted a couple of short films about a haunted house. Little did he know, a lingering horror franchise was about to be born. In 2000, a first feature film about the story, Ju-On: The Curse, arrived – and the rest is history. There are now thirteen Ju-On movies in the bank, including an initial 2004 Us remake, that run all the way up to this year’s Sam Raimi-produced ‘sidequel’ – it’s a perfectly cromulent word – which unfortunately debuted to a weary critical reception and a mere wisp of a western audience.
Now, Netflix has jumped on on the Ju-On bandwagon – the streaming service has just set a July release date for its foreign language TV series based on the ongoing myths surrounding the iconic Grudge house.
The show seeks to rejuvenate the franchise on the small screen, but objectively, the most...
Now, Netflix has jumped on on the Ju-On bandwagon – the streaming service has just set a July release date for its foreign language TV series based on the ongoing myths surrounding the iconic Grudge house.
The show seeks to rejuvenate the franchise on the small screen, but objectively, the most...
- 5/13/2020
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
Netflix subscribers are in for a horrifying surprise. The long-running “Ju-On” franchise, also known as “The Grudge,” is getting adapted into a television series that will hit the streaming service on July 3.
Here’s the upcoming Japanese-language series’ synopsis, per Netflix: The J-horror classic franchise “Ju-On” was actually based on real events that occurred over four decades — and the truth is even more terrifying. Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?
The series stars Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yuina Kuroshima, and Ririka. Most other details, such as episode directors, executive producers, and episode numbers, are unknown. IndieWire reached out to a Netflix representative for further details about the series.
The “Ju-On” franchise was created by Takashi Shimizu via two short films in 1998. The “Ju-On: The Curse” feature film was released two years later and...
Here’s the upcoming Japanese-language series’ synopsis, per Netflix: The J-horror classic franchise “Ju-On” was actually based on real events that occurred over four decades — and the truth is even more terrifying. Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?
The series stars Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yuina Kuroshima, and Ririka. Most other details, such as episode directors, executive producers, and episode numbers, are unknown. IndieWire reached out to a Netflix representative for further details about the series.
The “Ju-On” franchise was created by Takashi Shimizu via two short films in 1998. The “Ju-On: The Curse” feature film was released two years later and...
- 5/13/2020
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
The horrors of The Grudge, aka the Ju-On franchise, get a new lease on life via Netflix. Ju-On: Origins is a new series that once again takes viewers to the cursed house that has figured so prominently into the film series. The house even made a cameo appearance in the recent The Grudge reboot/sequel […]
The post ‘Ju-On: Origins’ Trailer: Netflix Unleashes a ‘Grudge’ TV Series appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Ju-On: Origins’ Trailer: Netflix Unleashes a ‘Grudge’ TV Series appeared first on /Film.
- 5/12/2020
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Following The Grudge movie released back in January, another new entry to the Ju-On franchise is coming our way this year with the July 3rd release of the Netflix series Ju-On: Origins.
"The legendary Japanese horror franchise that has become a smash hit worldwide gets its first drama adaptation. In the Netflix Original Series Ju-On: Origins, the story based on a truth more terrifying than fiction returns.
Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?
Streaming only on Netflix from July 3, 2020!"
The post Watch the Trailer for New Series Ju-on: Origins, Coming to Netflix on July 3rd appeared first on Daily Dead.
"The legendary Japanese horror franchise that has become a smash hit worldwide gets its first drama adaptation. In the Netflix Original Series Ju-On: Origins, the story based on a truth more terrifying than fiction returns.
Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?
Streaming only on Netflix from July 3, 2020!"
The post Watch the Trailer for New Series Ju-on: Origins, Coming to Netflix on July 3rd appeared first on Daily Dead.
- 5/12/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
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