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BUTTERFLY SWORDS slices onto U.S DVD

An all-star cast laden movie, including martial arts Superstars Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung...soooold! The 1990s Hong Kong classic, Butterfly Swords (aka ‘Butterfly and Sword’) lands on U.S DVD July 10th from Well Go USA Entertainment.

A must for fans of classic wire-fu. New we say more?

Synopsis: Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh combine amazing martial arts with high flying wire work as members of an elite group of assassins loyal to the king. When a group of Rebels threaten to take down the empire, they must infiltrate the organization in order to stop them.

 

Butterfly and Sword trailer

Two teasers for Taiwanese horror THE GHOST TALES

We’ve not one but two teaser trailers for Tso Shih-chiang's Taiwanese horror fantasy The Ghost Tales and in this one evil spirits, demonic curses and one hell of a sinister Goat are the name of the game. Both teasers look great, but the first shorter one has menace (and more than hint of strangeness) coming off it, by the bucket load - Doesn’t hurt that it looks beautifully shot too! The Ghost Tales opens in Taiwan in September, and hopefully nearer to us, very soon.

Synopsis: After being discharged from the army, Chuan brings a lost goat home as no one claims it. On his way to the station, the goat starts talking and tells him an ancient Chinese ghost story… Yet, Chuan finds himself on a train. He tells the young girl beside him about this bizarre dream. The girl seems uninterested in his accosting. But when she sees that Chuan has a goat with him on the platform, she laughs. Because of this incident, they become a couple. One day, Chuan’s younger sister, Qi, is playing around with little stones near unidentified urns. Qi starts hearing strange sounds, asking her to give the stones back. However, the siblings don’t take this seriously. On a routine workday, Chuan accidentally discovers an invaluable bonsai being treated like trash at a millionaire’s mansion. To possess the bonsai, he undergoes several challenges. Yet, trimming is needed before the bonsai can be sold at a high price. He is hence entangled deeply in the intricate mysteries and eventually causes him a deadly setback. Meanwhile, Qi is scared by the calls for the stones so she puts some other stones near the urns. At night, the ghost calls out in anger. Qi is terrified and clears out all items from the house to avoid the sounds. In the nearly empty apartment, when the siblings are making tea, Chuan teases, “if this ghost can turn the sound of boiling water into "Give me back my stone”, I will fight the ghost myself for you”. After a brief pause, it’s Qi who suddenly starts to mumbles "Give me back my stone …” Chuan, understanding what is going on, goes finding a baseball bat and walks toward Qi…Yet, the most unexpected twist is about to be revealed by the goat which Chuan has brought back home, because it starts talking again…

The Ghost Tales teaser 2  

Five tales of horror in Korean fright flick HORROR STORIES

No one, or two but five directors (Hong Ji-young, Im Dae-woong, Jeong Beom-sik, Kim Gok, Min Gyoo-dong, Kim Sun) are set to bring us five tales of terror, in the Korean omnibus fright flick Horror Stories – And yes you guessed it...its trailer time. Portmanteau films are sometimes hard to pull off successfully, if there’s a weak point in the chain, but so far it doesn’t look like that’s the case. Judge for yourself, at the link.

Synopsis: HORROR STORIES, the horror omnibus film of five episodes by five filmmakers including Jeong Bum Shik (EPITAPH), Kim Gok and Kim Sun(WHITE), Hong Ji Young (THE NAKED KITCHEN), Yim Dae Woong (MY TEACHER) and Min Gyu Dong (MEMENTO MORI, ANTIQUE), who finished the bridge cuts connecting all episodes. All the episodes are combined in a film-in-film structure provided by a story of a young girl who is kidnapped by a serial killer who cannot sleep until he listens to a story horrifying to death. All directors - except Hong - made horror films before present distinctive styles and themes of their own in the frame of traditional horror conventions. Introducing classic elements of horror films like zombie, serial killer, each episode addresses different social issues of contemporary Korea from laborer’s reality to vulgar capitalist desires. Unlike its past years of having best time in summer season, Korean horror seems top keep losing its attraction recently. Hopefully, HORROR STORIES will fuel the heat of Korean horror films, again. 

Horror Stories trailer

Teaser trail for Korean action flick R2B: RETURN TO BASE

Korea's going “Top Gun” in a fighter pilot action flick R2B: Return to Base, and seeing as K-pop, crooning megastar Rain is behind the stick in one of the jets, there’s no doubt this will be a huge box office smash.

Plot wise its you usual; cocky young pilot comes of age and saves us all from nasty bad guys, but hey...its fast planes with things going BOOM, so it could well make for an interesting distraction, before something a little more high brow comes our way. R2B opens in Korea this August. Teaser trail at the link...

 

 

R2B teaser

 

Chinese Western WIND BLAST on U.S DVD & Blu-ray

It might be full of sweeping vistas and lush cinematography but lets get one thing very clear about Gao Qunshu's contemporary western film Wind Blast; its all about the (right down to real life stampede) ACTION, and its heading for the U.S on DVD and Blu next month from Well Go USA.

Duan Yihong, Xia Yu, Wu Jing, Yu Nan and Charlie Young play four detectives - each with a unique skill - chasing down a criminal into the wild desert, while at the same time fighting two bounty hunters. Not too sure about the “Wind,” but this really does look a blast.

Bonus Features Include a Making of Featurette and Behind-the-scenes shenanigans, but forget all that for now and check out the kick ass trailer!

 

 

Wind Blast U.S trailer

Final trailer for fantasy epic PAINTED SKIN 2

Crank up those speakers and select 480p, the final Hong Kong trailer for martial arts fantasy Painted Skin 2 has arrived with a whirl of visual eye candy to keep any fantasy fan more than happy. We have to say the quality of the FX (for a movie outside of the U.S) look outstanding, and another big plus - this being the HK trailer - it’s got excellent English subs.

Painted Skin 2 opens in HK July 5.

Synopsis: According to demon lore, it takes hundreds of years to attain human form. Even then, lacking a human heart, a demon cannot experience the true pains and passions of existence. However, there is a legend that if a pure human heart is freely offered to a demon, it can become a mortal and experience true life.

Painted Skin 2 trailer

Sion Sono’s LOVE EXPOSURE finally coming to Blu-ray

Independent U.S. distributor Olive Films was nice enough to give us a domestic DVD release of Sion Sono's already classic, 4 hour cult drama/romance/comedy Love Exposure late last year and today we found out that in September, they'll be giving the film a well deserved Blu-ray release. So those of you who don't have the film yet, but were planning to pick it up... bonus! The UK will also be getting in on the Blu-ray fun when Third Window releases the film on Blu-ray in August.

Technical details and supplements for the US disc have yet to be announced, but honestly, as long as the picture and sound are decent, this is going to be worth the buy. Once more is known, we'll let you know. The UK release is apparently going to be a 2 disc set with featurettes, an interview with Sono, deleted scenes and trailers. It's currently available for pre-order at Amazon.

Synopsis: Having grown in a devout Christian family and desperate to please his sin-obsessed Catholic priest father, young Yu (Takahiro Nishijima), a fairly normal kid who has no legitimate sins to confess, decides to take on sinning big time and becomes a master of up-skirt photography while perfecting his ninja moves required to get just the right angle on his subjects. Things become complicated when our drag-clad hero meets the woman of his dreams; the man-hating Yoko (Hikari Mitsushima), who's involved in [an] all-out street brawl...beating up a gang of men.

Watch the trailer

Read the 24FPS review

U.S trailer for Chen Kaige’s SACRAFICE

We dropped word last month that it was on the way, and now Samuel Goldwyn Films have dropped a sumptuous hi-def trailer (only ruined by the ever present, god awful voiceover man) onto Apple, for their release of Chen Kaige's historical, martial arts epic...Sacrifice. For those in the technical know, it will be available on VOD, and for us lesser mortals...movie theatres - from July 27th.

Synopsis: A story of epic revenge, SACRIFICE, written and directed by Chen Kaige, focuses on a power hungry general who wipes out his rival along with his entire family, save for one newborn. The infant is protected by the doctor who delivered him and raises him as his own, hoping to mould him into his own instrument of retribution.

 

Sacrifice U.S trailer

Poster for Norwegian period action pic FLUKT aka ESCAPE

The story title might not make it sound like a riot of fun, but things get a whole lot more interesting when you consider the great new teaser poster and the fact that Norwegian, period, action movie Flukt (aka Escape) is directed by Roar Uthaug - who brought us one of our fave horror movies of the last few years...the hugely enjoyable splatter horror 'Cold Prey.'

Add to that it also stars Ingrid Bolsø Berdal the fantastic leading lady from the aforementioned blood bath, and things are shaping up nicely, for a new addition to our must see list. Escape is set to open in Norway this September, but it looks like we wont have too long to wait - Seems we aren’t the only ones who think it’ll be a winner, as its already pre-sold to both U.S and UK distributors! Teaser trailer below.

Synopsis: Ten years after the Black Death ravaged the country, a poor family flee across country to find better living conditions. On a deserted mountain pass, they are attacked by a gang of ruthless bandits. The only one who is saved is nineteen year old Signe. She is taken prisoner and dragged back to their camp where she quickly learns that her intended fate is worse than death. Signe understands that the only solution is to escape. But the escape is discovered, and soon the band has taken up the hunt.

Columbian horror THE SQUAD: DVD review

Director: Jaime Osorio Marquez. Review: Adam Wing.

Jaime Osorio Marquez directs this 2011 Colombian horror film, which focuses on a special army unit wandering around in dense fog – quite a lot of the time as it happens. I’m pretty sure there’s more to the plot than that, but there’s precious little else to recommend about this languid thriller. Apart from the murkiness that is, they spend a lot of time wandering around in the darkness as well.

When contact is lost with a military base set deep in the desolate plains of Colombia, a special high mountain command unit is sent to check things out. The Squad jumps right into the thick of it, both literally and figuratively, with next to no time devoted to character development or back-story. The majority of the first act is spent following one-dimensional characters around the darkness, with no sense of fear, purpose or drive. The cinematography deserves praise, as does the solid – not to mention formulaic – musical score, but Marquez fails to introduce his characters in a competent manner, resulting in a cold and distant opening that lacks fizz...Continue here. 

 

The Squad trailer

New poster and trailer for Korean horror TWO MOONS

There’s something spooky in the woods in the new Korean chiller Two Moons, but don’t just take our word for it, there’s a fresh new trailer to cast your eyes over. Two Moons is directed by Kim Dong-bin, who brought us the Train based frightener ‘Red Eye,’ whilst starlet Park Han-byeol (who’s cut her teeth on some horror in her time...‘Wishing Stairs’ ‘Yoga’ to name a few) provides the lead....And the screams! Two Moons opens Korea side, next month.

 

 

 

Two Moons trailer

Spanish bloodbath [REC]3 GENESIS - U.S release date

You’ve been oh so very patient, and its looks like you will have to be a while longer, but at least now all you U.S [Rec] fans finally get to know when your next fix of extreme Spanish horror will arrive. [REC] 3: GENESIS lands on video on demand (blah) August 3, and then hits theatres (better, but its a very limited number of venues and dates) Sept 7.

Plotline: Koldo and Clara are about to celebrate the most important day of their lives: their wedding. Everything appears to be running smoothly and the bride and groom and their families are enjoying a wonderful day; that is until some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness. Before they know what’s happening, the bride and groom find themselves in the middle of a hellish ordeal, as an uncontrollable torrent of violence is unleashed on the wedding. Amidst the chaos, Koldo and Clara become separated and begin a desperate search for one another. What started off as an idyllic day quickly descends into a nightmare of the worst kind...

 

[REC] 3 trailer 

THE PACT: review

Director: Nicholas McCarthy. Review: Chris Sawin.

Annie (Caity Lotz) has just shown up at her mother's place in search of her sister Nicole (Agnes Bruckner). Their mother wasn't exactly kind to either of them growing up and resorted to things like locking the children in the closet when they misbehaved. Nicole had to pull Annie's arm just to show up for their mother's funeral, but now Nicole is missing. As Annie is convinced that Nicole has been burdened with the family solution of bailing whenever anything becomes difficult, strange things begin happening in her mother's old house. It begins as a few bumps in the night, but gradually escalates to someone making their presence known. Annie just wants to find her sister, but comes to realize that some mysteries are better left unsolved.

The Pact has this Insidious feel to it early on. It's the combination of a paranormal entity being in somebody's house and a heavy use of strings in the score that makes it feel that way. As Annie begins to get thrown around the house by something you can't see, you immediately think of Paranormal Activity. Thankfully, the camera work is much better than it was in those movies. Once Creek (Casper Van Dien) enters the picture and brings his camera along, you're reminded of Shutter (never saw the remake, so we're strictly talking about the Thai film from 2004 here). Needless to say, with so many movies The Pact reminds you of; it's safe to say that the premise isn't very original...Continue reading review.

The Pact trailer

Beware the LESBIAN VAMPIRE WARRIORS!

With a title like this how could we not?? Dennis Law’s Kung-fu action comedy Lesbian Vampire Warriors (starring Jiang Lu-Xia, Chrissie Chau Sau-Na, Yuen Wah, Chin Siu-Ho, Rock Ji, DaDa Lo Chung-Chi, A. Lin) is to released by Arrow Films in the UK.

As a plus, we’ve thoughtfully provided a link to the movies trailer below - because type that title into Youtube, and who knows what you’d end up finding!? Lesbian Vampire Warriors goes on sale June 25.

Synopsis: In this twilight world the humans live alongside the blood-sucking predators as long as they stick to their diet of small animals. Ar (Jiang Luxia) – a non-vampire and her vampire-girlfriend Max (Chrissie Chau Sau-Na) cohabit happily despite their ‘cultural differences’. But, for Max and her vampire siblings, life is otherwise very dull. They experience no pain, cold, discomfort, touch, or warmth and without the thrill of the kill there is nothing to do except hang upside down in bed all day, think about sex, and loiter around street corners with their vamp-teen friends. However their non-lives are about to get a lot more exciting and very dangerous indeed.

Vampire Warriors trailer

 

Indie horror UNSPEAKABLE: DVD review

Director: Chad Ferrin. Review: Adam Wing.

When a director informs you that – in order to make a movie – he sold his house and didn’t make a dime, you realise just how personal the art of filmmaking can be. That will probably be the last time I use the word ‘art’ in the same sentence as ‘a Chad Ferrin movie’. In a humorous introduction to his breakout movie, Unspeakable, Chad is incredibly honest about his hopes for the DVD release of his “warts and all” debut. In an emotional plea to the camera, he informs the audience that – with the aid of a recognised distributor – he hopes to afford some filtered cigarettes. We all have dreams I guess.

Chad Ferrin is a low-budget horror filmmaker from Minnesota. Shot for just $20,000, Unspeakable was his writing and feature-directing debut. Unspeakable is available for the first time this month courtesy of Cine du Monde, no strangers to the work of Chad Ferrin. The good folk at Cine du Monde were also responsible for the release of his 2006 oddity, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! Great title I know. Despite a slower start than a teasing tortoise, EBKK is a movie that bounces away with your common sense and taste. It sure takes its time to get there, but Ferrin’s gut-punching gore fest is a low budget horror movie worth its weight in gold-en foil. Unspeakable – warts and all – attempts the same trick, but can Ferrin pull the rabbit out of the hat for the second time, or are some things better left unsaid...Continue review here.

Unspeakable trailer

First wave of Fantasia 2012 announcements

The 16th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is gearing up to take Montreal by storm with three weeks of inspiration and thrills starting July 19, 2012. The full 2012 line-up of programming and special events will be revealed next month but here’s an early peek of several selected highlights and info to whet your appetite.

FANTASIA LOVES JENNIFER LYNCH : From the day she exploded onto the scene with the largely misunderstood and still-controversial BOXING HELENA nineteen years ago, Jennifer Lynch has been a spellbinding iconoclast on the American indie landscape, her provocative approach to filmmaking seeing her alternately championed and demonized. She is a fascinating filmmaker who has made but several works across her near-twenty year career. Each have been standouts, their connective tissues threaded in baroque aesthetics, unconventional performance styles, darkly eccentric streaks of humour and subversively compelling gazes into our capacities for cruelty, obsession and sexual deviancy. This year, Fantasia will celebrate the wildly individualistic work of Jennifer Lynch with a pair of special screenings.

MARK HAMILL & TONY TODD ARE COMING TO TOWN WITH “SUSHI GIRL” : Among their 150+ feature film line-up, Fantasia will be presenting the international premiere of Kern Saxton’s hotly anticipated crime thriller SUSHI GIRL, featuring Mark Hamill in a startlingly sinister lead. Hamill’s portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the originating STAR WARS trilogy is one of the most iconic performances in Fantastic Film history and remains among the most beloved screen characters in the annals of pop culture. SUSHI GIRL was produced by - and co-stars – the inimitable Tony Todd (CANDYMAN, the FINAL DESTINATION films). Also appearing in the film are Noah Hathaway (THE NEVERENDING STORY, James Duvall (DONNIE DARKO), Danny Trejo (MACHETE), Michael Biehn (THE TERMINATOR) and none other than Sonny Chiba (STREET FIGHTER). Hosting the Fantasia launch will be Mark Hamill, Tony Todd, Michael Biehn and Kern Saxton – with additional guests to be announced!

And the list just goes on and on...........Looks like another epic year at Fantasia. Keep checking the official site for updates and more news here.

Korean horror DERANGED goes viral

New promo material for upcoming Korea horror Deranged has hit the net - in the form of a viral trailer, made up of candid home video and CCTV footage - and it certainly packs a punch.

Further to our previous post we’ve also discovered the infection is actually caused by a parasite like worm, that burrows into the victim’s brain causing them to become extremely violent, with a complete and irrational craving for water. Urgh Narsty!

Deranged opens in Korea next month. Can’t wait to get our hands on this!  

Synopsis: Jae-hyuk is an ordinary man in his 40s. He works as a medical supplies salesman and is hassled by doctors all day. His brother Jae-pil is a detective that is not all that interested in public safety and spends most of his time moaning about the stock market. The discovery of a series of floating, gruesomely skeletal bodies around the country sparks hysteria. The police commissioner is disturbed to see CCTV footage of people jumping into water as if they were possessed, and drowning themselves. Time passes and hundreds of similar cases are reported, leaving officials stumped as to the cause of the deaths. The government declares a national emergency. Jae-pil joins the massive investigation and meets the mayor of a small town who claims he witnessed several men in work uniforms dumping infected dogs into the streams and realizes that there is a conspiracy behind the outbreak. Meanwhile, Jae-hyuk’s wife and children are showing the same symptoms as the victims, leading to a frantic search for medicine. Through Jae-pil he learns of a warehouse containing a potential cure in thousands and thousands of doses and heads there with no idea of what he’s heading into.

Deranged official site

Deranged teaser trailer 

 

A BETTER TOMORROW 2012: Review

Director: Song Hae Sung. Review: Adam Wing.

It’s not often you’ll find me looking forward to a remake, especially when I’m such a big fan of the film it’s based on. There I was though, greeting the arrival of Song Hae Sung’s A Better Tomorrow with genuine excitement. There are two reasons for my enthusiasm, even if the first one might seem trivial. A Better Tomorrow 2012 isn’t an American production, so even if we sidestep the usual arguments about Hollywood remakes, at least the film keeps its eastern flavour. More importantly, this newfangled version comes from Korea, and I firmly believe that South Korea is producing some of the best films in the world right now. So if there is a film ripe for the remake treatment, surely John Woo’s classic tale of bullets, brotherhood and heroic bloodshed finds itself in the firing line.

John Woo wasn’t about to give up his baby without a fight, so he acts as executive producer on this one. Directed by Song Hae Sung (Maundy Thursday), A Better Tomorrow 2012 changes the setting to Busan but stays true to the original’s themes of loyalty, betrayal and revenge. One of Chow Yun Fat’s most memorable performances is given a new lease of life by Song Seung Heon (Fate), while Ju Jin Mo (A Frozen Flower) takes on the role of a troubled mobster struggling with the demands of being both a brother and a friend. Kim Kang Woo (Le Grand Chef) plays the whiny, conflicted policeman/younger brother, and Jo Han Sun (Attack the Gas Station! 2) brings our backstabbing big bad to life with extra relish...Continue reading review.

A Better Tomorrow trailer

FrightFest announces opening & closing nighters

The UK’s premiere horror movie festival - The Film4 FrightFest - has announced the opening and closing night films, and we have the details…

Opening night: Paul Hyett’s claustrophobic, psychological horror, THE SEASONING HOUSE is set to open this year’s Film4 FrightFest. Starring Sean Pertwee, Kevin Howarth and Rosie Day, this hard-hitting exploration of war-time sexploitation, set in a Balkan brothel, marks special-effects guru Hyett’s directorial debut. Hyett and the cast will be attending the premiere on Thurs August 23.

To close: Film4 FrightFest hosts the world premiere of Lionsgate’s TOWER BLOCK. Directed by James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson, this is a stunning suspense shocker. Trapped on the top floor of their run down East End home, a disparate group of neighbours are being targeted by a mystery sniper. This taut gripper stars Sheridan Smith, Jack O’Connell and Russell Tovey. The directors and the cast will attend this fabulous finale to FrightFest the 13th.

If that’s wasn’t enough good news there’s more. FrightFest have announced the line-up will also include the UK premiere of Paco Plaza’s [REC]3 Génesis. Both Paco and his leading lady Leticia Dolera will be attending the screening, and if that doesn’t seal the deal, we don’t know what will?! Full details on the fests official site.

Takashi Miike’s CROWS ZERO II lands on UK DVD!

Should that be lands, or explodes!? Its been a long time coming, but cult director Takashi Miike’s Crows Zero 2 – the follow up to his 2007 gang wars epic – is finally heading for a UK DVD release.

That’s really all you need to know, if you’re a die hard (and who isn’t) Miiki fan. CZ2 arrives on July 2nd...Go get it.

Synopsis: “Crows Zero” introduced us to Genji Takiya, a student recently transferred to the notorious Suzuran Senior High School for Boys, Japan’s lowest achieving and most violent school, nicknamed “The School of Crows” after its students’ tendency to band together in conflicting factions and battle each other for domination. Picking up immediately where the first film ended, “Crows Zero II” sees Genji as the head of the now-unified student factions following his successful but very bloody takeover of Suzuran. But his victory has left him unsatisfied and the uneasy peace amongst the students is, in reality, nothing more than a powder keg waiting to explode. Making the situation even more volatile, a truce that has been maintained between Suzaran High and its bitter rivals at Hosen Academy is about to come to a violent end.

Crows Zero 2 trailer

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