Category Archives: Reviews

Ebola Syndrome (1996) Review

"Ebola Syndrome" Chinese DVD Cover

Director: Herman Yau Producer: Wong Jing Cast: Anthony Wong, Angel Wong, Vincent Wan, Mariane Chan, Lo Meng, Ng Sui Ting, Peter Ngor Chi Kwan, Shing Fui On, Cindy Yip, Chang Yin, Tsang Yin Running Time: 97 min. By Martin Sandison After the success of the sadistic and powerful Bunman: The Untold Story, the director and star team of Herman Yau and Anthony Wong set about making another classic slice of … Continue reading

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Terra Formars (2016) Review

"Terra Formars" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Hideaki Ito, Takayuki Yamada, Kane Kosugi, Emi Takei, Shun Oguri, Masaya Kato, Rinko Kikuchi, Tomohisa Yamashita, Eiko Koike, Mariko Shinoda, Rila Fukushima, Kenichi Takito, Rina Ohta, Ken Aoki, Kiyohiko Shibukawa Running time: 108 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic Fans and those familiar with the work of Takashi Miike might be missing the “old” Miike; whoever enjoyed films such as Dead or Alive, Deadly Outlaw: Rekka, Ichi … Continue reading

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Reign of Assassins (2010) Review

Reign of Assassins | DVD (Anchor Bay)

AKA: Rain of Sword Director: Su Chao-Bin Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Jeong Wu Seong, Wang Xue Qi, Barbie Hsu, Kelly Lin, Shawn Yue, Nina Pau, Guo Xiao Dong, Matt Wu, Leon Dai, Jiang Yiyan, Hu Xiao Guang Running Time: 117 min. By Kelly Warner As a fan of John Woo and star Michelle Yeoh, Reign of Assassins was once a film I couldn’t wait to see. Then, like the rest of America, I … Continue reading

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Insane (2015) Review

"Insane" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lee Chul-Ha Cast: Gang Ye-Won, Lee Sang-Yoon, Choi Jin-Ho, Ji Dae-Han, Chun Min-Hee, Lee Hak-Joo, Choi Yoon-So, Jo Jae-Yun, Kim Jong-Soo, Jang Tae-Seong Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall Mainstream Korean horror has always been a tricky beast, dating back to when the new wave really put Korean cinema on the map in the early 2000’s, the one constant seemed to be over promise and under deliver. Posters … Continue reading

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Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016) Review

"Kickboxer: Vengeance" Japanese DVD Cover

Director: John Stockwell Cast: Alain Moussi, Georges St-Pierre, T.J. Storm, Matthew Ziff, Sam Medina, Dave Bautista, Sue-Lynn Ansari, Darren Shahlavi, Gina Carano, Hawn Tran, Sara Malakul Lane, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tanzpol Chuksrida Running Time: 90 min. By Zach Nix Kickboxer: Vengeance is a remake/reboot of the original and classic Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts film, Kickboxer, which was released in 1989. While there were a string of Van Damme-less Kickboxer … Continue reading

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Nilalang | aka The Entity (2015) Review

"Nilalang" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Creature Director: Pedring Lopez Cast: Cesar Montano, Maria Ozawa, Meg Imperial, Yam Concepcion, Cholo Barretto, Dido de la Paz, Kiko Matos, Aubrey Miles, Alexandre Charlet, Sonny Sison Running Time: 90 min.  By Paul Bramhall After a long absence out of the spotlight, Filipino cinema has been making a quiet but assured comeback in recent years. Movies like Erik Matti’s On the Job, Sean Ellis’s Metro Manila, and Khavn de la … Continue reading

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Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) Review

"Halloween III: Season of the Witch" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace Cast: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O’Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait, Jadeen Barbor, Brad Schacter Running Time: 98 min. By Kelly Warner “Happy, Happy Halloween! Silver Shamrock!” The original vision of the Halloween series was not always going to be about Michael Myers, his issues with his sister, and his need to kill babysitters every October. But when 1978’s Halloween was a smash success, director John Carpenter was tasked with … Continue reading

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Kwaidan | aka Ghost Stories (1965) Review

AKA: Weird Tales Director: Masaki Kobayashi Writer: Yoko Mizuki, Lafcadio Hearn Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Tetsuro Tamba, Takashi Shimura, Michiyo Aratama, Kunie Tanaka Running Time: 182 min. By Kyle Warner It’s long been my opinion that every great filmmaker should try their hand at horror at least once over the course of their career. Horror directors sometimes repeat some of the same themes, the same scares, the same monsters, and it takes … Continue reading

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Bruce Lee: Tracking the Dragon (2016) Review

"Tracking the Dragon" DVD Cover

Director: John Little Writer: John Little Cast: John Little, Malisa Longo, Jon T. Benn, Anders Nelsson, Riccardo Billi, Chaplin Chang Running Time: 100 minutes By Jeff Bona Back in 2013, I reviewed a documentary titled In Pursuit of the Dragon, by noted Bruce Lee historian, John Little (A Warrior’s Journey). Unlike the most of the endless, oversaturated list of Bruce Lee documentaries – many of which featured the same tired footage, usual interview clips and other useless … Continue reading

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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) Review

“Jack Reacher” Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: Jack Reacher 2 Director: Edward Zwick Cast: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yarosh, Patrick Heusinger, Holt McCallany, Austin Hebert, Robert Catrini, Robert Knepper, Talbott Lin Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall The announcement that Tom Cruise was going to be playing Jack Reacher, the character of author Lee Child’s ongoing series of novels about an ex-military drifter that has an uncanny ability for finding trouble, was … Continue reading

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Men Behind the Sun (1988) Review

"Men Behind the Sun" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Camp 731 Director: T. F. Mou Producer: Fu Chi, Hung Chu Cast: Gang Wang, Hsu Gou, Tie Long Jin, Zhao Hua Mei, Zhe Quan, Run Sheng Wang Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall Men Behind the Sun comes with the reputation of being one of the most controversial movies ever made, often mentioned in the same sentence as the likes of Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust, and Japan’s Guinea Pig … Continue reading

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Deep Red (1975) Review

Deep Red Blu-ray/DVD (Blue Underground)

Director: Dario Argento Cast: Macha Meril, David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Giuliana Calandra, Glauco Mauri, Clara Calamai, Piero Mazzinghi, Glauco Mauri, Aldo Bonamano Running Time: 126 min. By HKFanatic I consider myself a massive fan of Italian horror and, specifically, director Dario Argento. That said, I’ve never felt that Deep Red (released as Suspiria 2 in Japan) was the masterpiece that many claim it is. So maybe that makes … Continue reading

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Shin Godzilla | aka Godzilla: Resurgence (2016) Review

"Godzilla: Resurgence" Teaser Poster

AKA: Godzilla: Resurgence Director: Hideaki Anno Co-director: Shinji Higuchi Cast: Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Kengo Kora, Ren Osugi, Akira Emoto Running Time: 120 min. By Kelly Warner In the 90’s, the Japanese Godzilla was killed off by his own nuclear heart going into meltdown, and the American Godzilla was killed off by the world’s general disinterest in ever seeing Roland Emmerich’s monster iguana on screen again. Toho’s ‘Millennium’ … Continue reading

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Evil Hits Evil | aka Three Dark Spirits (1983) Review

"Evil Hits Evil" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang Cast: Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, Doris Lung, Alan Lau, Peng Kang, Yeung Hung, Cheung Ching Fung, Gam Wing Cheung, Kim Yu-Haeng Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall If you’re going to watch a horror movie, then one which credits its director as Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang is as good a place to start as any. In what appears to be his first and last time in … Continue reading

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Return of Godzilla, The | aka Godzilla 1985 (1984) Review

"The Return of Godzilla" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Godzilla 1985 Director: Koji Hashimoto Cast: Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tankaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Shin Takuma, Yosuke Natsuki, Eitaro Ozawa, Hiroshi Koizumi, Mizuho Suzuki, Taketoshi Naito Running Time: 103 min. By Kyle Warner Godzilla’s back. Warner Bros. is crafting a kaiju shared-universe along the lines of what superheroes are doing and will be soon be pitting the Godzilla of 2014 against King Kong. Back in Japan, Toho has jumpstarted their own Godzilla … Continue reading

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