All posts by James Mudge »
Cross Fire (2000) Movie Review
“Cross Fire” was produced by the Japanese Toho studios, best known for the classic, enduring “Godzilla” series. This attempt at trying something a little different with the horror genre, as opposed to simply churning...
Read More »
The Untold Story 2 (1998) Movie Review
Given the success and influence of “The Untold Story”, a sequel was inevitable; the only surprise being that it actually took five years for it to appear. Although “The Untold Story 2″ has no...
Read More »The Untold Story (1992) Movie Review
“The Untold Story” is not only the greatest category III film ever made, but also one of the best of any kind to have come from Hong Kong. Gripping, horrific and uncompromising, this infamous...
Read More »The Quiet Family (1998) Movie Review
“The Quiet Family” is the debut film by Korean director Kim Ji-Woon, who has been attracting a considerable amount of attention recently with his complex and multi-layered “A Tale of Two Sisters”. The two...
Read More »
Gozu (2004) Movie Review
“Gozu” is another recent effort from the apparently tireless Takashi Miike, bringing his total of films released over the last couple of years to a staggering 12, though it’s quite possible there are even...
Read More »
One Missed Call (2004) Movie Review
Takashi Miike is a master of wild, unpredictable cinema. The man regularly churns out multiple films each year which range from the ultra-violence of “Ichi the Killer” to wacky musicals like “Happiness of Katakuris”...
Read More »The Witch Who Came From the Sea (1976) Movie Review
These days, the term ‘cult film’ is fairly redundant in American cinema. For ‘cult’, read ‘weird, but commercial’ — or worse still, ‘kooky’. Many films now come pre-packaged as cult hits and in general...
Read More »
The Isle (2000) Movie Review
The films of South Korean director Ki-duk Kim tend to divide audiences. On one hand, they are nihilistic, violent and misogynistic, and are generally abstract pieces which are equal parts art house and dubious...
Read More »
Devilman (2004) Movie Review
Adapting manga or anime for live action cinema is never an easy affair. Although some stand alone features such as “Perfect Blue” have leant themselves quite naturally to the real life medium, anime series...
Read More »A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) Movie Review
Korean director Kim Ji-woon’s “A Tale of Two Sisters” has been hailed as one of the best Asian horror films of recent years, and has been snapped up by the Hollywood machine for a...
Read More »Saw (2004) Movie Review
The American horror film has been in a slump for the last few years, drowned in a murky sea of cash hungry sequels, gimmicky pseudo-villains, and castrated remakes of Asian horror films. Therefore, it...
Read More »Run and Kill (1993) Movie Review
“Run and Kill” is another Category III film from the prolific master of the genre, Billy Tang (“Red to Kill”, “Dr. Lamb”). Given the trashy DVD cover and the rating, prospective viewers would be...
Read More »There is a Secret in my Soup (2001) Movie Review
The U.S. box office has borne witness to a number of head to head battles between films about giant meteors, Robin Hood, and even crime solving dogs. However, Hollywood has never seen a contest...
Read More »
Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) Movie Review
“Dead Man’s Shoes” has been playing at various international festivals, and has been described as revitalizing the slasher film in much the same way that “28 Days Later” recently did to the zombie genre....
Read More »Naked Poison (2000) Movie Review
If you ignore the lurid pictures of naked women covered with snakes and spiders on the box, “Naked Poison” may initially seem to be a Hong Kong variant on the Hollywood bad taste sex...
Read More »
Chaos (1999) Movie Review
Hideo Nakata, best known for the genre defining Japanese horror “Ringu”, has finally given in to the persuasive lure of Hollywood, signing up for the sequel to the remake of his original film. Time...
Read More »
Cannibal Holocaust (1980) Movie Review
With all the recent hype and furor surrounding Asian gore films such as “Ichi the Killer” and more extreme fare like the “Guinea Pig” series, it’s sometimes easy to forget the wave of splatter...
Read More »
Kakashi (2001) Movie Review
Like “Uzumaki”, “Kakashi” is based upon a manga by Japanese artist Ito Junji. There are actually a number of similarities between the two films, as both are set in small rural towns in the...
Read More »Red to Kill (1997) Movie Review
“Red to Kill” is possibly the most infamous Hong Kong Category III film of all, and is a journey to the darkest, sleaziest recesses of exploitation cinema. Even compared to its deranged peers, it...
Read More »
