Three You Need To See

Atrocious

a·tro·cious/əˈtrōSHəs/Adjective

Horrifyingly wicked: "atrocious cruelties".

 

Atrocious focuses on the case of a brother and sister who investigate a local urban myth while on holiday, resulting in strange occurrences at the family’s summer house.

In April 4th of 2010, Quintanilla family was found murdered in their country side house. Police reported the existence of 37 hours of recorded evidence. "Atrocious" shows the real images of such evidence. Quintanilla family traveled to their old farm house in Sitges, where Christian and July investigated about the Legend of the Girl in the Garraf woods. Both of them used to record all day whatever they did. On the fifth day of their arrival they were found dead under strange circumstances. ATROCIOUS shows the last five days of life for Cristian Quintanilla and his siblings. It also shows the strange situations that they lived in those moments and which remain unexplained.

The Tunnel
The Light Runs Out

In 2007 the New South Wales government suddenly scrapped a plan to utilise the water in the disused underground train tunnels beneath Sydney's St James Train Station.
In 2008, chasing rumours of a government coverup and urban legends surrounding the sudden backflip, investigative journalist Natasha Warner led a crew of four into the underground labyrinth.
They went down into the tunnels looking for a story – until the story found them.
This is the film of their harrowing ordeal. With unprecedented access to the recently declassified tapes they shot in the claustrophobic subway tunnels, as well as a series of candid interviews with the survivors, we come face to face with the terrifying truth.

This never before seen footage takes us deep inside the tunnels bringing the darkness to life and capturing the raw fear that threatens to tear the crew apart, leaving each one of them fighting for their lives.

The Loved Ones

Don't Break Her Heart

Brent, a 17 year old student, still grieving for his father, declines an invitation to the school formal from Lola, the quietest girl in school. When Lola and her father kidnap Brent he must fight to survive the macabre celebration they have in store for him.

Alternate: Brent (Samuel) never recovered from the car crash that killed his father: the crash that he was responsible for. His only solace is his loving girlfriend Holly (Thaine). But there's another girl who yearns to comfort Brent, the quietest girl in school, Lola (McLeavy), and when he turns down her invitation to the end of year dance he enters a nightmare beyond imagining.

A terrifying series of events take place under the light of a mirrored disco ball, involving pink satin, glitter, syringes, nails and power drills. Brent must summon every ounce of will he possesses if he is to survive and prevent Lola and her father from extending their revenge to those he loves the most.

 

Scene Of The Week

Another creepy one. This week it comes from Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Kairo which was remade in the US as Pulse.

Scene Of The Week

I have to say that watching this before I posted it still creeped me out.

Top Ten Asian Horror Films You've Never Heard Of

Alright, so the title is a little misleading.  We have a large array of horror fans and I'd be foolish to think I'm the only one who has ever seen or heard of these titles.  However, for the most part when you talk to people about Asian horror you get a LOT of the same titles thrown around.  There is nothing wrong with that because there are some pretty damn good Asian horror flicks that most people have seen.  With that said, I wanted to broaden people's horizons and came up with a list of ten Asian horror films that often go overlooked.  It's a big genre so it's my attempt to get people to branch out a little and get past all the scary dark haired girls of Asian horror cinema.

10.) Men Behind the Sun (1988): This is a tough one to start this list off with.  Men Behind the Sun is really a war film, but it's torture and brutality make this a very realistic horror film IMO.  The storyline is revolves around a place called Squadron 731 where Japanese troops torture Chinese troops and use them as test subjects for a deadly plague during WWII.  The film is basically gore scene after gore scene with some pretty intense torture.  This film is not for the weak stomached and probably not best for war vets as it is pretty grotesque.  I'm not trying to spoil anything but just to warn you there is a scene where a real live animal is gruesomely killed and a real child cadaver is used for a scene. I dont advocate either, but unfortunately its part of the "realism" they were striving for.

9.) Eko Eko Azarak series:  Here is a film series I am surpirsed hasnt been remade yet.  The reason behind this is this series is the definition of teen targeted horror.  It's very similar idea to Buffy.  It deals with young school girls dabbling in black magic and unleashing demons on each other.  However unlike Buffy, the Eko Eko Azarak films have more interesting characters, a great musical score, and much more explicit sex and violence.  Even if you arent into a film about female students using black magic, check out the first film in the series Eko Eko Azark: Wizard of Darkness.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

8.) The Doll Master (2004):  I am pretty sure the title made everyone think Puppet Master and its a fair thought as it is sort of a knockoff.  However, this one isnt built to be cheesy and actually is pretty creepy.  It follows a group of students who were invited to see a private viewing of a doll gallery.  The dolls begin to kill the kids after a vengeful spirit brings the dolls to life.  Pretty familiar plot but the dolls can be kind of creepy and the film is very well acted.  It does start off a little slow but I think it picks itself up as it moves along.  For you gore hounds, there is some decent blood but nothing above and beyond what you'd expect.

7.) Alone (2007):  From the Writer and Directors of the original film Shutter comes another Thailand horror film that will keep you on edge.  Alone revolves around a girl who survived being removed from her Siamese twin sister when they were teenagers.  The other sister who died during the seperation operation begins to haunt the survivng sister at her mothers home.  The story is a bit familiar, but it is executed very well and is a great combination of suspense film and ghost story.  It has the same kind of creepy feel that Shutter had and it builds to a successful yet somewhat predictable twist.  Worth checking out is you thought the Asian version of Shutter was good.

6.) Rampo Noir (2005):  While many people know 3....Extremes, not as many know of the horror anthology called Rampo Noir.  Rampo Noir is an artisticly grotesque collection of 4 short films based on the writings of Edogawa Rampo, widely considered to be the Japanese Edgar Alan Poe.  The whole compilation is dark, violent, and disturbing yet it is still stylishly poetic. All four segments will get different reactions depending on the viewer, but watch segment three titled Caterpillar and tell me that didnt leave you with a disturbing taste in your mouth.

5.) Marebito (2005):  Here is a film that gets overlooked because of the directors other successful films.  Takashi Shimizu, director of the wildly successful Ju-on Series, creates a very stylish film that is a little puzzling and a little uncomfortable.  The film follows Masuoka as he discovers an underground tunnel run by creatures called Deros.  He finds a girl that he brings home to try and rescue but he soon finds himself at wits end trying to accomidate her insatiable appitite for blood.  It is a film that will make you think and also disturb you a little.  Shot in only 8 days before Ju-On began filming, Marebito is an intriguing psychological horror that doesnt get the recognition it deserves.

4.) Ebola Syndrome (1996): Straight out of Hong Kong, here is a film that is a little Sweeney Todd mixed with Outbreak.  The story revolves around a man who came down with the Ebola virus after raping a girl in South Africa.  He returns to Hong Kong and begins to spread the disease in various ways such as unknowingly infecting people, killing them, and then serving them as burger meat in his restaurant.  This one is quite brutal as it is filled with over-the-top sex and violence.  Its got all the blood and bodily fluid that anyone looking for a graphically violent film could ask for and even has some pretty good laughs as well.  This is definately one for those of you with a twisted mind.

3.) Jigoku (1960):  Foreign horror films that date back almost 5 decades arent high on everybody's "to do" list.  However I think everyone should get their hands on Jigoku and see what was once Japan's most gruesome and bizarre movie.  This film is almost split into two halves because half takes place in real life and half takes place in the afterlife. The second half in Hell is definately where things begin to get crazy but on the whole the film is an all-around treat.  I see some of the gore and it makes me wonder if this can be considered one of the first gore films.  Not too many other films were doing what they did with Jigoku back in 1960.  I suggest you check this classic out and see for yourself.

2.) Cure (1997):  So this may be the most well known film I am mentioning, but I still think there are enough people who havent heard of it to include it.  Cure is Japanese equivalent to the US film Se7en.  It is a slow paced crime thriller/drama that follows a string of extremely gory murders. Every murder is commited by someone who doesnt have any recolection of what happened or how they got there, but victim is linked with an X carved in their necks.  Cure is a film that has wonderful cinematography and is a great case study on madness.  It's almost hypnotic as it plays with your mind and keeps you thinking up until the very end.  A definite must see if you enjoy a blood filled crime themed horror films.

1.) Noroi (2005): Somebody send a note to the Blair Witch people because this is what a fake horror documentary should be.  A journalist obsessed with the paranormal begins to investigate unrelated strange phenomenons.  He eventually links them to a ritual to the demon Kagutaba and he will soon stop at nothing to uncover Kagutaba's mysteries on film.  If someones handed me Noroi and told me nothing about it, I would have thought it was real.  From start to finish the style made me feel like it was a true documentary and did so while maintaining a high level of tension.  The suspense builds all the way to the almost perfect and completely unnerving ending.  If you can find this movie, see it. You wont regret it.

Posted By : jmh314
Courtesy of Horror-Movies.ca

Scene Of The Week

Ringu. Need we say more?

Review: Confessions

March 25th. It’s the end of the school year for Class B and the teacher would like to say something. She announces to cheers and claps that she will not be coming back next year. She feels her students are no longer trust-worthy because of an incident between an angry teen and one of the teachers. She then begins to explain her life choices and tells her life story to a less-than-interested juvenile crowd. Then she reveals something truly shocking to her students and …… silence. Accusations are made and fingers are pointed. Someone is responsible and to blame for a terrible crime, but who? Only the culprit(s) and the teacher know. There is now one last thing teacher Yuko Moriguchi must confess before she leaves…

Wow. This Japanese actress made me lose track of what I was doing: reviewing her work. She’s (in my opinion) very good.  Takako Matsu’s character, Yuko Moriguchi, is something out of the ordinary. She seems so frail and delicate. Almost too nice for a teacher, if you know what I mean.  I always wanted to know what she was going to say next and I have to admit (or I must confess, pun intended): I felt a great deal of empathy for her. On the other side, I wanted to squeeze these kids’ heads off because they also play their parts to perfection. Their job was to represent everything you loved and hated about high school. It might sound like a big cast when you think of an entire class of students plus the teacher but overall, this is mostly about a handful of characters. Two students obviously stand out because of their ”creepiness” levels: students A and B, played by 15 year old Yukito Nishii and 14 year old Kaoru Fujiwara.

Director Tetsuya Nakashima had me mesmerized from the get-go. He’s very fluid with his camera, I’d say. I found that he can capture whatever he’s looking for very quickly.  A great deal of emotion passes through his lens and I found myself not only hearing what his characters had to say but also listening. The use of emo-music throughout really helped cement the whole thing and a good helping of American music kept things interesting. The way ”Confessions” or ”Kokuhaku” is edited only makes this hidden gem all the more enjoyable to watch. Because of the editing, this thriller/character study never really loses pace, even when it switches gears it’s more the terrain that changes if we can make that analogy. Which is primordial for any good thriller. What makes this one a great thriller for me is the fact that I wish that I’d been there. OOooo that would have been so good…

Let me sum it up for you in a few lines. I really liked ”Confessions”, borderline loved it. No guns, no nudity, no car chases, no explosions, no zombies, no vampires. Thank God. A couple of kids that needed to be punished were or were not but the story doesn’t end there. Teen love, teen angst and a bunch of twisted ideas to keep you well entertained. Some of the best dialogue/script I’ve seen in a few months. A very solid cast. Recommendation: Yes. A big fat one.

Courtesy of AMP

Scene Of The Week

This week we take a look at a scene from Takashi Miike's masterpiece Audition. This still gives me goosebumps.