Rampo Noir (Japanese) 2005, Poster, Plot, Synopsis and Trailer

aka: Rampo Jigoku
Year: 2005
Directed: Akio Jissoji, Atsushi Kaneko, Hisayasu Sato, Suguru Takeuchi
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Runtime: 02:14
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English
Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Ryuhei Matsuda, Hiroki Narimiya, Yuuko Daike, Hanae Kan
Imdb: Rampo Jigoku

Synopsis / Plot
Four different directors adapt the work of Edogawa Rampo - with varying results - in this engaging, sometimes repulsive foray into the world of horror, mystery, and dark eroticism.

Edogawa Rampo (real name: Taro Hirai) is widely considered to be the father of the Japanese detective story. In crafting his own horrific tales, he is said to have been inspired by the famous mystery stories written by Sherlock Holmes’ creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and also those by the originator of the detective genre itself, Edgar Allan Poe (the penname “Edogawa” is a play on Poe’s name). Read more …

Bangkok Haunted (Thai) 2001, Poster, and Synopsis/Plot

Directed : Oxide Pang,Pisut Praesangeam
Cast: Pimsiree Pimsee, Pramote Seangsorn, Dawan Singha-Wee, Kalyanut Sriboonrueng, Pete Thong-Jeur
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 2:10:01
Country: Thailand
Language: Thai
Subtitles: English (External)
IMDB: Bangkok Haunted

Plot:

Part One: Legend of the Drum
Youthful antiques dealer Jieb is intrigued when she mysteriously receives a decades-old drum.

Soon afterward, Jieb is plagued by disturbing dreams and the haunting murmurs of a disembodied female voice.

Convinced that the drum is the catalyst for these strange occurrences, Jieb sets out to discover the origin of the instrument - only to be confronted by horrific realizations about herself

Muoi (Korean) 2007, Poster, Plot, Synopsis and Trailer

Year: 2007
Directed: Kim Tae-kyeong
Genre: Horror,
Runtime: 01:33
Country: Korea
Language: Korean
Subtitles: English
Cast: Ahn Thu, Cha Ye-ryeon, An Jo
Imdb: Muoi

Synopsis / Plot

Folklore centered around a girl named “Muoi” and her haunted Yun-hee is under pressure by her editor to produce something of interest for her next book.

She hasn’t had a book published in three years and is all too cognizant of this fact.

Things look up when her old friend Seo-yeon calls from Vietnam. Seo-Yeon informs Yun-hee about a local Vietnameseportrait.

It just so happens that in Yun-hee’s prior novel, she wrote a semi-autobiographical tale concerning her friends title “Secrets & Lies”. Read more …

Gemini (Japanese) 1999, Poster, Plot, Synopsis and Trailer

Shinya Tsukamoto\’s Gemini is a movie about a celebrated doctor named Yukio, who has a successful practice and wonderful relationship with his amnesiac girlfriend, Rin. Yukio\’s peaceful life is suddenly disrupted when a mysterious stranger with an uncanny resemblance to Yukio suddenly appears. This stranger kills Yukio\’s parents and throws Yukio in an abandoned well, then assumes his identity. This mysterious stranger soon tells Yukio that he is Sutekichi, Yukio\’s long-lost twin brother. He has come for Rin, so they can continue the relationship they started in the slums before Rin lost her memory.

Early on, Tsukamoto establishes an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Tsukamoto had the entire cast shave off their eyebrows before appearing on camera. Also he used minimal lighting and plenty of handheld and tracking shots. These stylistic traits and the early 1900s setting help to establish the kind of nightmare logic that sets this movie apart from most entries into the horror genre.

The music by Chu Ishikawa is nothing short of fantastic. The score is an essential part of the atmospherics of Gemini. During the more intense scenes, the music swells and during the more subtle, creepier moments, the music fades out almost entirely, both instances giving this movie an added level of depth. Read more …

In Love with the Dead (Chinese) 2007, Plot, Synopsis and Trailer

aka: Chung Oi
Year: 2007
Directed: Danny Pang
Genre: Horror, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Runtime: 01:38
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Subtitles: English & Chinese
Cast: Shawn Yue, Stephy Tang, Yoka Yue
Imdb: Chung Oi

Synopsis / Plot

Box-office princess Stephy Tang stars as Wai, a sweet young thing afflicted with pancreatic cancer. The prognosis is not good, with only a 20% chance of recovery, but at least she has insanely loving boyfriend Ming (Shawn Yue), who lives with Wai and her little sister Ping (Zeng Qi Qi). While Wai stays at home in their poorly lit, borderline creepy flat, he’s out there trying to make ends meet, but his insistence on knocking off early to race home to Wai results in his unemployment. His new job promises to be slightly more understanding because he’s working for childhood friend Fong (Yoka Yue), but Fong is pretty damn attractive and apparently not so stable with her fiancé. She also had a thing for Ming back in grade school, and Wai is well aware of it, also having attended school with the two of them. Since she’s dying, plus her condition makes intimacy difficult, and Ming may have a chance with a hot ingénue, perhaps Wai should consider some sort of noble sacrifice in order to ease her beloved’s heartbreak. That is, before Ming is tempted into two-timing anyway. Read more …

Dek Hor / The Dorm (Thai) 2006, Plot/Synopsis, Dorm Won Award at Cannes and Trailer

Director : Songyos Sugmakanan
Starring : Chalee Trairat, Jintara Sukkapat, Siranath Jianthavorn…
Detail: Horror / Mystery
Source: DVD
Year: 2006
Playtime: 111 mins
Sound : Thai
Subtitle: English
Imdb : Dek Hor

Plot/Synopsis

A gentle horror movie about a shy boy at a strict boarding school, \”Dorm\” is a top-tier Thai fantasy with export stamped all over it. Aside from minor inconsistencies in its mid-section, this elegant mood piece forges a meaningful relationship between the supernatural and its central characters\’ guilt and loneliness. Making his solo bow after co-directing 2003 local smash \”My Girl,\” helmer Songyos Sugmakanan is a talent to watch.
Dek Hor a.k.a. Dorm Won Award at Cannes
I have just got a good news minutes ago from P’Yong (Songyos Sugmakanan) - the young and talented director of Dek Hor, internationally known as Dorm. Congratulations to this critically acclaimed coming-of-age-in-disguise-of-horror Thai film for winning Cannes Junior Award at Cannes Film Festival 2007. (Read the news here in French.) The award, which is officially known as Prix Cannes Junior, is given annually to the best international films for children and young adults. Read more …

Acacia (Korean) 2003, Poster, Plot and Synopsis, Trailer

Aka: Acacia
Year: 2003
Directed: Ki-hyeong Park
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Runtime: 103 mins
Country: south Korea
Language: Korean
Subtitles: English (Hard Coded)
Cast: Hye-jin Shim, Jin-geun Kim, Oh-bin Mun, Na-yoon Jeong
Imdb: Acacia

Synopsis / Plot

After unsuccessfully trying to have a baby of their own, Dr. Kim Do-il and his father convince his wife Choi Mi-sook to adopt a child in an orphanage. Mi-sook is connected to arts and chooses the six years Kim Jin-sung that loves to draw trees. The boy becomes close to the eight years old next door neighbor Min-jee and is attracted to an old Acacia tree in their lawn. When Mi-sook unexpectedly gets pregnant, her mother asks her to return Jin-sung to the orphanage, beginning the rejection process of the boy. When the baby is born, Mi-sook does not treat Jin-sung well, who believes the acacia tree is his mother, and in a rainy night he vanishes. Along the next days, the family becomes insane, disclosing a dark secret about Jin-sung.