Vampire Doll (1970)
Vampire Doll is brilliant stuff, and it's made all the more fascinating with the handful of cues it appropriates from western horror. But don't expect a traditional, bloodsucking tale. This is a kind of gloomy and spooky cinema unique to Japan.
Midori’s animated deformation nightmare
Midori is a shocking and hypnotic slice of animation. As unsettling as it may be and as raw as its animation is, it is a strangely beautiful film filled with many gloriously disturbing sequences like the clip below demonstrates.
Snake Girl transforms and attacks!
Filled to the brim with mad effects and hallucinatory sequences, The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch perfectly captures the lunacy of an Umezu story. To whet your appetite, here's a scene that had me grinning ear-to-ear.
Red Room (1999) & Red Room 2 (2000)
The flat out absurdity and unabashed goofiness of the Red Room films mean that they sit outside the world of truly soul-destroying Japanese films like the Guinea Pig series. Yamanouchi just can't play things straight. In the past this has worked against him. Here, it works.
Best worst line reading ever
I don't think I've ever pressed rewind so many times, and all to hear a mangled line of dialogue over and over again. I'd imagine the Japanese director of Gappa had no clue how horrifically this poor gaijin actor, clearly not a native speaker, was delivering his line.
The Gappa Family (ガッパ)
It's a shame Nikkatsu only made this single kaijū film. Gappa, while no masterpiece, has a lot more energy and passion than some of the Godzilla and Gamera efforts that appeared towards the end of the Shōwa era.
Absurd tongue torture in Japanese Hell
Jigoku is two unfinished films mashed awkwardly into one, and the results are as messy as you'd expect. The absurdity hits its peak towards the end of the film where we watch a bunch of evil assholes get tongue tortured.
Weird porny Japanese trailer I found on a sticky old tape
I totally forgot about Clip of the Week today. I'm in the middle of shooting a feature, so you'll have to forgive me. Anyway, I dug through my piles of garbage and pulled out this confusing porny trailer.
Father’s Day – Japanese chirashi
While in Tokyo last year, I watched Manborg in a mainstream Shinjuku cinema. Unfortunately, we left the country before we could see the hilarious Father's Day, but I nabbed a small chirashi sized poster from the rack of flyers.
Milk the Maid (2013)
If you're in the mood for a light and fluffy pinku eiga, free from nihilism and weeping, then Milk the Maid may be for you.
Detachable arm in Gamera vs. Viras
My favourite moment from Gamera vs. Viras is when the heroic child-stars of the film attempt to lasso an alien, which leads to an Nobuhiko Obayashi-esque airborne arm detachment.
Ghost Cat of Arima – Japanese poster
I've watched my fair share, but there is one ghost cat film I just cannot find anywhere: Arima neko. I have no idea whether the film is actually any good. But I love its poster — one of my favourites from my collection.
