All posts by James Mudge »
Cursed (2005) Movie Review
“Cursed” is a film which has become famous for all the wrong reasons, receiving a great deal of attention for what amounted to more than a year of production delays and re-shoots, script rewrites,...
Read More »Vampire vs. Vampire (1989) Movie Review
“Vampire vs. Vampire” is another entry in the time honoured genre of Chinese hopping vampire films, once again starring the late, great Ching Ying Lam as an undead-battling, one-eye browed Taoist priest. The film...
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6ixty9 aka 69 aka 6ixtynin9 (1999) Movie Review
“6ixtynin9″ is an early film from Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, who has recently won acclaim for “Last Life in the Universe”, his stunning slice of cross-culture ambience. “6itynin9″ has actually been around for a...
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Bright Future (2003) Movie Review
“Bright Future” is a recent effort from acclaimed Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, best known for horror films such as “Kairo” and “Cure”. Kurosawa’s films have always had an appeal beyond the genre, mainly due...
Read More »Ring 2 (2005) Movie Review
Given that “The Ring Two” is the sequel to the remake of a film which itself has spawned a franchise in addition to a legion of imitators, it was never likely to win any...
Read More »Magic Cop (1990) Movie Review
“Magic Cop” is basically a modern day version of the popular and enduring Hong Kong classic, “Mr. Vampire”, even sharing the presence of bushy eye-browed star Lam Ching-Ying, who plays a detective who uses...
Read More »The Machinist (2004) Movie Review
“The Machinist” is a film which has gathered a great deal of attention due to the fact that lead star Christian Bale (“Reign of Fire”) shed a shocking 65lbs for the role, transforming himself...
Read More »Boogeyman (2005) Movie Review
“Boogeyman” is produced by Sam Raimi (the creator of the cult “Evil Dead” films and most recently the director of the “Spiderman” movies), as well as being released by Raimi’s newly formed ‘Ghosthouse’ company,...
Read More »Killer Snakes (1975) Movie Review
Although the famous Shaw Bros. studio is primarily associated with its output of martial arts films, it has also been responsible for a fair number of sleazy exploitation howlers. “The Killer Snakes” is an...
Read More »Beyond Our Ken (2004) Movie Review
“Beyond our Ken” is a film by Edmond Pang, director of the awkwardly titled, yet excellent “Men Suddenly in Black”, who is being touted in some circles as one of the great young hopes...
Read More »Blood Surf (2000) Movie Review
Since the late 1990s box office success of films like “Anaconda” and “Lake Placid”, the time-honored ‘creature feature’ genre has been enjoying an extended lease on life. Filmmakers have been pretty undiscriminating in selecting...
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Dolls (2004) Movie Review
“Dolls” is a film which represents a change of pace for legendary Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, a man best known in the West for his violent, often abstract gangster epics. “Dolls” represents the first...
Read More »The Trail (1981) Movie Review
“The Trail” is an early film from Hong Kong director Ronny Yu, best remembered for his classic “The Bride with White Hair”, and who would later go on to underwhelm horror fans with “Freddy...
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Wisconsin Death Trip (1999) Movie Review
Despite its title, “Wisconsin Death Trip” is not a crazed backwoods slasher film, but rather a feature length documentary about the high incidence of murder and madness which afflicted the small town of Black...
Read More »Fu Bo (2003) Movie Review
“Fu Bo” is a film which takes place in a location rather unusual for Hong Kong cinema: a morgue. Although there have been a number of films, mostly horror comedies, with this setting (such...
Read More »Women on the Run (1993) Movie Review
“Women on the Run” is one of the better known category III exploitation films, and is one with a pedigree of sorts, having been directed by the team of Hong Kong action master Corey...
Read More »The Imp (1981) Movie Review
Director Dennis Yu’s “The Imp” is a Hong Kong horror film from the early 1980s, which comes with the heady boast of being one of the all-time genre greats from its native country. Whilst...
Read More »Ebola Syndrome (1996) Movie Review
Even within the most dependable bastion of bad taste known as the category III genre of Hong Kong cinema, there are a few films which stand out as having a reputation for being truly...
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Ichi the Killer, Koroshiya: Episode 0 (2004) Movie Review
Takashi Miike’s infamous splatter-fest “Ichi the Killer” has proved to be a controversial cult favourite, and so it comes as no surprise that it has inspired a spin off in the form of an...
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