Movies
A somewhat surprising film from Mari Asato, who is best known for her work in the horror genre. This is full-blown drama with a touch of mystery thrown into the mix. A quest of a couple of high school kids into the mysterious events that happened 33 years earlier. A low-key and calm little film that does just about everything right, but doesn't truly excel at anything.
One of Asato's better films. Maybe because it's not just a horror film, but also a pretty nifty mystery. Asato leaves the typical Japanese horror tropes behind her and delivers a film that's a little spooky, a little eerie, but mostly very mysterious. Well acted, nicely shot and interesting from start to finish.
A decent but slightly underwhelming horror anthology. Six respected directors tackle 10 horror stories, but with a setup like this there simply isn't enough variation in style and themes. There are no real weak entries, on the other hand far too few shorts that make an effort to stand out. Solid filler, but nothing more.
A lesser film in the Hideshi Hino series. A bit surprising maybe, as Mari Asato is a pretty decent horror director, and should've been capable enough to handle a film like this. Some effects are really too poor though (not to mention utterly pointless, like the car ride in the beginning of the film), which makes it a lot harder to enjoy this one. Daio is a young boy growing up in a loving family. A carefree car ride turns into a nightmare when the boy sticks his head out of the window and is decapitated by an oncoming truck. The mother is devastated, when she's given the chance to resurrect her son, she leaps at it right away. The boy who returns isn't quite the son she remembered. If properly executed, it could've been pretty interesting, but this felt more like a poor Teruo Ishii clone with bad CG. The effects are truly poor, the performances are awkward and the horror never really impresses. The film is pretty weird and out there, so there's at least some appeal, but not enough to save The Boy from Hell.Read all