"Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl" Japanese Theatrical Poster
Looking for a bloody good time? In the spirit of the Halloween season, we spotlight a few Asian horror movies now streaming on Netflix Instant:
Thirst (2009) – the director of “Oldboy,” Chan Wook-Park, presents his unconventional take on the vampire myth
Retribution (2006) – arguably the master of Asian horror, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, weaves a bleak ghost story with apocalyptic ramifications
Infection (2005) – a fan-praised Japanese horror film set in a hospital where something is not quite right
Meatball Machine (2005) – a gruesome Japanese splatterpunk film in the tradition of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” and “Versus”; a must-see for those who like their horror movies with a healthy heaping of gore
Noriko’s Dinner Table (2005) – acclaimed Japanese director Sion Sono presents this nearly three hour long prequel to his own “Suicide Club”
Three…Extremes (2005) – an Asian horror anthology featuring three distinct tales from Hong Kong director Fruit Chan, “Oldboy” filmmaker Chan Wook-Park, and the legendary Takashi Miike
Dumplings (2004) – Fruit Chan expands his “Three…Extremes” piece into a macabre full-length film
Tokyo Zombie (2005) – a zany zombie comedy based off the manga and starring Tadanobu Asano of “Ichi the Killer” fame
Ab-Normal Beauty (2004) – one half of the Pang Brothers directs this creepy Hong Kong horror movie starring Ekin Cheng
Spider Forest (2004) – this unsettling Korean horror film deals with the notion of a fractured mind a la “Fight Club” or “Memento”
Doppleganger (2003) – Kiyoshi Kurosawa directs this decidedly offbeat tale of a man who meets his evil double
Ju-On 2 (2003) – internationally acclaimed director Takashi Shimizu continues the “Ju-On” saga that made him famous
Visible Secret (2001) – Hong Kong critical darling Ann Hiu directs this rare horror outing, starring Eason Chan, Shu Qi, Anthony Wong, and Sam Lee
Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) – a pitch black Korean comedy from Joon Ho Bong, the world-renown director of “The Host” and “Mother”
Demon Warriors (2007) – this dark Thai thriller is more of an action movie than a horror flick but it features plenty of blood ‘n gore. Imagine Clive Barker directing an X-Men movie and you’re halfway there
Hellavator: The Bottled Fools (2005) – an ultra low-budget sci-fi horror movie made by Japanese film students. What’s not to love?
Epitaph (2007) – a Korean horror anthology centered around a haunted, war-time hospital
Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009) – from the director of “Tokyo Gore Police” comes this Japanese splatterfest that probably explains itself from the title [dubbed]
Goth (2008) – based on a popular manga, this Japanese horror movie follows two death-obsessed high school girls trying to track down a serial killer
The Machine Girl (2008) – the movie that started it all for the “Tokyo Gore Police” team and arguably still their best, it follows a teenage girl with a machine gun attachment looking to get revenge on the Yakuza [dubbed]
Robogeisha (2009) – another ultra-violent Japanese treat from the makers of “Tokyo Gore Police” [dubbed]
Tokyo Gore Police (2008) – a blood-splattered Japanese film set in a near future where mutants and other societal outcasts have run amok [dubbed]
There is a good amount of erotic sex going on in ‘Spider Forest’ for those of you that are interested…..
I love dogs, will I get offended when watching ‘Barking Dogs never bite?”
I’m really not sure, as I haven’t seen it yet, but the dog on the cover is one of those little yapping poodle dogs. Some people love dogs but don’t like those kind (me included). The opinions on Netflix are kind of mixed. Here are some quotes:
“If…you’re looking for a funny, slow-paced, mildly suspenseful movie about dogs, this movie will make you laugh and feel good about yourself. Similar movies like this comedy would be ” Best in Show”, “Napoleon Dynamite”, or “I love Huckabees.'”
but also:
“what could possibly be laugh out loud funny about an animal geing tortured, unless you are twisted. animal lovers should not watch this sick movie; which who are about half of the human race who actually respect our fellow dog companions.”
I’ve seen it. It’s a REALLY good movie. I don’t remember any dogs being hurt (for real, or in the movie). But one thing’s for sure, they’re definitely in danger. I haven’t seen the other two “similar” movies (see ningen’s post above), but i can tell you it’s NOTHING like Napoleon Dynamite.
There’s actually quite a few on here that I’ve been meaning to watch myself but “Retribution” would be a personal favorite. I love Kiyoshi Kurosawa and that film, while not necessarily his best, represents everything he does so well in the horror genre.