The wicked priest (V.O. Gokuaku Bozu) Japan, 1968 Director: Kiyoshi Saeki Genre: Action, Comedy, Gendai-geki Plot Buddhist monk Shinkai (Tomisaburo Wakayama) is an unusual religious man: drinker, womanizer, inveterate gambler… And also a seasoned martial artist. In the early years of the Meiji era (around 1870), when the public carrying …
Naked Blood (V.O. Nekeddo Buraddo: Megyaku) Japan, 1996 Director: Hisayasu Sato Genre: Horror/Science Fiction/Gore Screenplay: Taketoshi Watari Cast: Misa Aika, Yumika Hayashi, Mika Kirihara, Sadao Abe Plot Young Eiji manufactures a serum to “turn pain into pleasure”, with which he intends to “save humanity”. He calls this drug “My Son”. …
Three outlaw samurai (V.O. Sanbiki no samurai) Japan, 1964 Director: Hideo Gosha Screenplay: Keiichi Abe, Eizaburo Shiba, Hideo Gosha Cast: Tetsuro Tamba, Isamu Nagato, Mikijirō Hira, Yoshiko Kayama Genre: Chambara Plot The wandering ronin Shiba (Tetsuro Tanba) arrives at an old mill (attracted by a hair clip he finds nearby, …
Yesterday’s Guys Used No Arsenic – José A. Martínez Suárez, 1976 Argentina, 1976 Director: José A. Martínez Suárez Screenplay: Augusto Giustozzi Cast: Mecha Ortiz (Mara Ordaz), Arturo García Buhr (Pedro), Narciso Ibáñez Menta (Norberto) Genre: Black comedy Plot Mara Ordaz, a sixty-something retired actress, lives in a large country house …
Black Mirror: Be right back United Kingdom, 2013 Director: Owen Harris Script: Charlie Brooker Cast: Hayley Atwell (Martha), Domhnall Gleeson (Ash), Indira Ainger (Daughter) Music: Vince Pope Genre: Science fiction Plot Martha and Ash are a young couple who have moved into a country house. He is a fan of …
On the other side of the mirror (V.O. Le miroir obscéne) France, 1973 Director: Jesús Franco Screenplay: Jesús Franco Cast: Emma Cohen (Anette), Robert Woods (Bill) Plot The young pianist Anette (Emma Cohen) is about to marry her fiancé. Shortly before the wedding, her sister commits suicide. The wedding is …
Rampo Noir (O.V. Ranpo Jigoku) Japan, 2005 Directors: Akio Jissoji, Atsushi Kaneko, Hisayasu Sato, Suguru Takeuchi Genre: Horror, ero-guro Plot The film is divided into four unrelated segments. “The Mars Canal” – Very brief, these are dreamlike sequences of a tormented individual escaping naked through a rocky landscape while recalling …
The wolves (O.V. Shussho Iwai) Japan, 1971 Director: Hideo Gosha Screenplay: Hideo Gosha, Kei Tasaka Cast: Rumi Aiki, Hideyo Amamoto, Noboru Andô Plot Japan, December 1926. After the death of Emperor Taisho and the entry into the Showa period with his successor Hirohito, the government granted a prison amnesty from …
Arcana Italy, 1972 Director: Giulio Questi Screenplay: Giulio Questi, Franco Arcalli Cast: Lucia Bosè (Mamma), Maurizio Degli Esposti (Son), Tina Aumont (Brenda) Genre: Horror/Drama Plot A Sicilian widow living in Milan (Mrs. Tarantino) and her disturbing twenty-year-old son with mediumistic powers have set up a business of spiritualistic and fortune-telling …
Harakiri (O.V. Seppuku) Japan, 1962 Director: Masaki Kobayashi Screenplay: Shinobu Hashimoto Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai (Hanshiro Tsugumo), Akira Ishihama (Motome Chijiiwa), Shima Iwashita (Miho Tsugumo), Tetsurô Tanba (Hikokuro Omodaka), Masao Mishima (Tango Inaba) Plot Japan, beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate (17th century). The abolition of various feudal clans has driven many …
