Asian movie newbie! Help!

[Mortis]

I want to get into Asian movies, but I don't really know a damn thing about them. Are there any good R1 movies? I know about Versus and Junk, but are there any others? Give me a list. I'll end up getting a region free player at some point, so tell me what movies I should start off with. I always feel so lost when I come to this forum. Help me become a regular.

[Deaddevilman]

Glad to see you're getting away from that crap Romero makes.

Another Heaven, Tomie, Black Angel, Tell Me Something, Shiri, Audition, Biozombie, Evil Dead Trap, The Untold Story, Dr. Lamb, Organ, Chaos, Freeze Me, Uzumaki are some of my personal horror favorites.

I'm partial to Japanese films and anything Beat Takeshi puts out is good and loaded with lots of Yakuza violence such as Violent Cop, Fireworks, Boiling Point and Sonatine. His latest film, a remake of Zatoichi the story of a blind samurai, is great and you can view the trailer at
http://office-kitano.co.jp/zatoichi/ give it time to load and the buttons will switch to English when you move your mouse over them. Two movies that you shouldn't miss are The Seven Samurai, which I think is the greatest film ever made, and Jigoku a great story of one man's journey to hell.

Brother of Darkness and Daughter of Darkness are recommended to sastisfy any deviant cravings you may have. Enjoy.

[Andrew]

I'm still inexperienced with Asian horror, but I can easily say that every film I have seen has been at least pretty good. Which is good to know. BATTLE ROYALE is great to start with. It's not horror, but it's a fantastic movie. VERSUS, JUNK, and STACY are also a lot of fun. AUDITION is great, and VISITOR Q has some fucked up moments. And EVIL DEAD TRAP is a lot of fun also.

[Atmims]

Some excellent recommendation DevilMan. One of my all time favorites is "Red to Kill", I hightly recommend that one Mortis.

[Grim]

Well, I absolutely loved Battle Royale, so I'd suggest seeing that, even though it's not horror.

[Mortis]

Thanks for the info, guys. :)

Is there a R0/R1 version of Battle Royale?

[Numania]

Not particularly horror, but Tetsuo is great. I love that movie. It's like a Japanese Eraserhead, but whacked out on speed and technology.

[Numania]

If we're talking about just Japanese movies, check out Tampopo. That is a funny one. Although not on dvd, Early Spring is a fantastic film. Ozu was a great director, and I cannot wait until Tokyo Story is put out by Criterion in the coming months. Also, if you get the chance, check out Black Lizard (I think that's what it's called). It stars a transvestite that plays a jewel thief or something like that. Psychedelic and very cool, I would highly recommend it.

[Mr.Vengance]

www.kfccinema.com is your one stop shop for all information related to asian cinema.:D

[Paff]

Actually, I'd avoid going to Asian movie sites like kfc at first, since everyone there already loves Asian flicks and are used to the differences between them and western movies.

As a newbie, I'd throw out a recommendation for the original Ring (aka Ringu), as you'd have an American version to compare to, and you can see the differences to see if you like the Asian style more. And Battle Royale is just fun all around, can't go wrong there.

Avoid something like Versus at first, which you may find a bit repetitive (I like Asian films, and I found it very repetitive). Evil Dead Trap just gets too damn weird at the end.

Remember when you recommend films to a newbie, to consider that newbies may not be familiar with the styles of Asian film, and too much too soon may be more of a turn-off.

[Trout]

When you mean Asian films are you just talking about horror or other kinds as well? There are a whole lot of HK action film out there that you shouldn't miss.

[Atmims]

I agree with what Paff said. One of the first Asian horror movies I seen was Untold Story. You should definetly make that one of your first viewings.

[Mortis]

I'm on the process of obtaining a few different flicks, but I finished watching Junk last night. I saw the first 45 minutes of it the day before and didn't think it was that great up to that point, but the last 20-25 minutes were a lot better. I like weird movies, so a lot of these Asian films sound like they'll be right up my alley.

[Parasite4202]

BioZombie is one of my favorites.

[DVD Connoisseur]

When I started the search for our favourite Asian horror movies, the following (excellent) list was the outcome from this forum (in reverse order):

The Untold Story
Uzumaki
Tell Me Something
Kairo
Evil Dead Trap
The Eye
Ichi the Killer
Battle Royale
Audition
The Ring

You really can't go wrong with any of these films (although some have yet to make their way over to R1...).

[Mortis]

I've been gathering up some flicks, and so far I have Uzumaki, Evil Dead Trap, Evil Dead Trap 2, Battle Royale, Wild Zero, Versus and Junk. I've only watched Junk so far, but it was pretty cool. I'll get around to checking out the others. I love checking out new stuff. I really appreciate everyone giving me their recommendations.

[drown021]

Good thread Mortis.I have been wondering the same thing about asian movies.The only one I have is Biozombie wich is comedy horror,but I really enjoyed it.I have been tempted to pick up some other ones like Junk,Stacy,audition etc but havent yet.Maybe I will pick up a couple and venture into the bliss that is asian horror.If the movies suck,everyone here is buying me beer.:glasses:

[slinker]

Well i really enjoyed the following :

Audition
Shaolin Soccer (wild but non-horror obviously!)
The Eye
Ring 2 (yes the sequel rocks!!)
Evil Dead Trap
A Chinese Torture Chamber Story 1 & 2
Dark Water
Kairo
The Ebola Syndrome
The Untold Story

And anything by Takeshi Kitano! :)

[Hoodoo Operator]

I want to get into Asian movies, but I don't really know a damn thing about them. Are there any good R1 movies? I know about Versus and Junk, but are there any others? Give me a list. I'll end up getting a region free player at some point, so tell me what movies I should start off with. I always feel so lost when I come to this forum. Help me become a regular.

I would also reccomend http://www.kfccinema.com/ to you. I found that board and asked the exact same question you are asking and got a ton of reccomendations. You can see that thread at:

http://www.kfccinema.com/temple/viewtopic.php?t=5437

That site also has some pretty great reviews. You can also check out jpreview.com and http://www.midnighteye.com/.

As far as recommendations, it really depends on what you're into. The two films that made me want to explore Asian cinema were Battle Royale and Visitor Q. Battle Royale is definately the more recommendable of the two - very fun movie that has some good action, drama and dark humor. Visitor Q you have to be a little patient with as its rather absurdist in nature and has some VERY bizarre scenes. If you like weird over the top scenes then I would DEFINATELY see Visitor Q. It's worth seeing for the hysterical necrophilia sequences alone. Also, if you have a fetish for lactation you should see it as well :)

Hope that helps

Hoodoo Operator

[Rainbowthief]

I personally don't consider Junk a great movie. My picks are:

Battle Royale
Audition
Ichi the Killer
Cure
Pulse
Tetsuo
Ringu

Really just about anything from Takeshi Kitano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Takeshi Miike or Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

Actually, the BEST place to learn about Japanese cinema (they don't cover Chinese, Korean, etc) is http://www.midnighteye.com The articles are very well written, not like most of the fanboy e-zines out there (no offense to 'em, many are quite good) and they've intruduced me to movies I might've never found otherwise.

[Rainbowthief]

Oh, damn, Hoodoo! I somehow missed the last four posts before mine, so I didn't notice you linking Midnight Eye!

I'll just second your recommendation. :D

[Hoodoo Operator]

Oh, damn, Hoodoo! I somehow missed the last four posts before mine, so I didn't notice you linking Midnight Eye!

I'll just second your recommendation. :D

It's all good. I rely on kfccinema.com more than anything but you're right the material on Midnight Eye is very well written. As I'm new to the Asian films as well I have a rather short list of faves but here's mine so far:

Visitor Q (so, so wrong.. :) )
Happiness of Katakuris
Tetsuo
Battle Royale
Heroic Trio (mainly for the final battle scene - soooo much fun)
Versus (drags in parts but pretty damn fun overall)
Chinese Ghost Story (GREAT fantasy/swordplay/humor/romance film with slight horror overtones..LOVED this)

I still have to watch Flirtong Scholar and Ichi the Killer (saw parts of Flirtong Scholar on tv a decade ago and loved it) but will probably love those. I'm excited to see Tricky Brains and Uzumaki (just ordered from sensasian.com).

I thought The Eye was very well made but a bit slow and dont really understand the hype where Evil Dead Trap is concerned. I found it kinda boring, with some stupid characters and didnt find the gore scenes as plentiful or disturbing as had been promised.

Hoodoo Operator

[Paff]

Heroic Trio (mainly for the final battle scene - soooo much fun)


Is there something strange that I actually like Executioners more?

The fight scenes aren't half as good in Executioners, but a lot of Heroic Trio is pretty silly. I thought the sequel was more consistent throughout. Well, that or just the idea of Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, and Maggie Cheung taking a bath together...

[etale]

My favorites are UZUMAKI, RINGU, RINGU 2, GHOST ACTRESS and DARK WATER (Except for the ending, which goes too far over the top).

[etale]

Well i really enjoyed the following :

Audition
Shaolin Soccer (wild but non-horror obviously!)
The Eye
Ring 2 (yes the sequel rocks!!)
Evil Dead Trap
A Chinese Torture Chamber Story 1 & 2
Dark Water
Kairo
The Ebola Syndrome
The Untold Story

And anything by Takeshi Kitano! :)

Re: DARK WATER. What did you think of the ending? I felt it went too far. The final scene, I felt was unnecessary.

[onebyone]

Hoodoo Operator or anyone, any chance you could give us just a little more on Chinese Ghost Story? Is it scary, action/adventure, or all of the above perhaps? I can't really tell from reading the descriptions. I have had a lot of folks recommend that too me of late and am very close to picking that baby up but want just a tiny bit more information first.

Thanks in advance. :cool:

[Ichi]

Visitor Q
Tetsuo: Iron Man
Tetsuo: Body Hammer
Ringu
The Eye
Dark Water (not THAT awsome, but still)
Ichi the Killer
Kairo
Versus
Uzumaki

[Deaddevilman]

Hoodoo Operator or anyone, any chance you could give us just a little more on Chinese Ghost Story? Is it scary, action/adventure, or all of the above perhaps? I can't really tell from reading the descriptions. I have had a lot of folks recommend that too me of late and am very close to picking that baby up but want just a tiny bit more information first.

Thanks in advance. :cool:

Believe it or not Chinese Ghost Story is a love story. It's got your typcial HK action/flying and bad but good SFX. Overall I enjoyed it, I can't say the same for the 2 sequels.

[Hoodoo Operator]

Chinese Ghost Story is definately a love story but not your typical love story. It has some fun martial arts, some silly slapstick-ish comics and elements of horror. There's NOTHING scary about the movie at all (except maybe the Clash of the Titans level special effects for the skeletons) but there are a few evil spirits that make the romance difficult. It's a Chinese Romeo and Juliet where the difficulties are caused by the living/nonliving status and the fact that the ghost the main character is in love with is bound to an Evil Tree Spirit that is 1000s of years old and uses her to lure men to their deaths.

It's hard to describe but trust me its a very cool movie.

Hoodoo Operator

[onebyone]

Thanks for the information guys. I am glad you told me it was a love story, I would have been taken aback had I watched it thinking scares and gotten love. It still sounds really good though, because any movie that melds love, martial arts, silliness, and a little horror sounds like something I want to see. No wonder everyone and their brother was recommending that to me. I think I will try and procure it this week.

[Nemesis]

What's Bio Zombie like?? anyone care to give a mini review?

is the R1 release a good version?

[aoiookami]

Bio Zombie rocks, if you're ready for some good cheese. It's more or less a NoTLD/DoTD for Korea (or China? Dunno) A group of people are trapped within a mall faced with hordes of Zombies. The movie is really hilarious at points, in fact its more of a horror comedy than anything. It starts off slow but once the zombies start movie in it really picks up, and has some great shooting style and quirky things, like a very video game-ish scene where the characters of the movie 'rotate while standing still' as their 'stats' are displayed as if a character select screen, including 'weapon of choice' : P. It's really a fun movie and I reccomend it.

The dvd has an okay transfer...probably as good as its going to get for a low budget asian film. kinda scratchy, but not totally horrible. There are no extras as far as I remember. As far as I know the R1 is probably the best. But if you're in the mood for a cheezy/funny zombie movie, this is it. The makeup is sooo corny, heh heh

[onebyone]

Just posting to thank Devildeadman and Hoodoo Operator for the information on Chinese Ghost Story. Going into it knowing what to expect made a difference, I was able to relax and just enjoy the hell out of it. I thought that movie was a whole lot of fun.

[Atmims]

Aeon. Aoiookami review was pretty much what I thought about Bio-Zombie. It's a decent movie, with lots of comedy. As long as you don't go in expecting a gore fest I think you'll get a kick out of it.

[Deaddevilman]

BioZombie is from Hong Kong. My favortie part of the movie are the character names. It's a fun movies to watch with friends.

[Deaddevilman]

1x1... glad to hear you enjoyed Chinese Ghost Story, it is a great movie. Now you need to check out the 2nd and 3rd installments.

[Mortis]

I finally got around to seeing Battle Royale. I was getting fucked up while doing so, but I liked it. I'll have to watch it a few more times to get a better feel for it.