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Winter
- April 2006 The Newest Asian Horror Info is on Kyonsi Dot
Com |
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The
Heirloom: New Asian horror DVD upcoming from Tartan
USA. Twenty years ago, an inexplicable mass suicide occurred
in the millionaire Yang household, where the entire family hanged
themselves at the exact same time. Only one member survived.
To this day, the case remains unsolved. Now, a distant relative
inherits the house and moves in with his new fiance. Mysterious
events begin to disturb their lives. One of the coolest Asian
Horror DVD covers in some time it looks creepy. |
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Kokkuri:
More new Asian Horror DVD's from USA based Urban Vision
Ent. Story: Beginning with a late night radio show, Mio, Hiroko,
and Masami get the idea to conjure up Kokkuri-san, a spirit
who can answer any question. What appears to be a harmless pastime
soon reveals dangerous secrets?secrets even good friends don't
know about each other. Kokkuri DVD Available 5/2/06 from Urban
Vision Ent. Also from UV this month is "Kill Devil"
Available 4/4/06. More infos to come stay tuned. |
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Pray:
Tartan US is releasing many great Asian Horror film
DVD's currently, we will be doing contests for the 3 new releases,
see the contests page for updates. One of the films is Pray
- Down on their luck and desperate for money to buy drugs, Mitsuru
and Maki have the perfect plan. They decide to kidnap a young
girl and hide out in an abandoned school, until their demands
are met. Everything is going according to plan, until they realize
their hostage died a year ago today and now it's their turn. |
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Otoshimono
(Ghost Train): A new upcoming Japanese horror outing
now in Post Production from From Shochiku Films and Directed
by Furusawa Takeshi. On her way to school, high school girl
Nana sees a train accident. But this is just the beginning of
the nightmare that awaits her. Nana and her friend Kanae come
across various bizarre phenomena, including red fingerprints
and a female spirit who "lives" on the station platform.
I will post more information and images as available. |
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Kwaidan
(Extended): This classic is a must have for Asian Horror
fans and will now be released in a longer version. For the first
time in the West, The UK's Masters of Cinema Series will present
the 183 min. original cut of Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan. One
of the most meticulously crafted supernatural fantasy films
ever made. New progressive transfer of the complete Japanese
version with a ton of extras like a 72 page illustrated book
with reprints of the original ghost stories. A must Have item! |
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Natural
City: Tartan Films US makes the Kyonsi news again this
month with the much awaited release of Natural City on US Region
1 DVD. Rebuilt after a devastating war, the world of 2080 has
given rise to advanced technologies including the creation of
cyborgs. When the cyborgs revolt, Noma and R lead an elite military
squad ordered to eliminate the rebellion. Get ready for superb
special effects and Science Fiction thrills and chills as we
get another amazing DVD from TARTAN. |
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The
Neighbor No. 13: This J-flick played the big screen
here in NYC recently. They say it's a J-horror film about a
man with a seriously split personality with full on horror film
gore, something sorely missing from the genre for years. The
film has a cameo by Takashi Miike I read as an angry neighbor.
I am going to try to get ahold of this release for a feature
as its created quite an email buzz here at Kyonsi on on some
message boards as well. I had in the past posted the Japanese
Info awhile back. |
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Ultraman:
Awesome news in the Japanese Old School arena. BCI, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, and publisher of DVDs
and CDs, announced that it will begin releasing, this July 2006,
all 39 original episodes of the classic, Japanese live-action
television series “Ultraman". Starting with “Season
One, Volume One” that will be available in July 2006.
BCI has recently been releasing some great product into the
DVD market. I watched this as a kid on TV and loved it, Cheers
to BCI! |
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Pontianak
HSM 2: Shes back again and coming soon the Pontianak
of your dreams (nightmares). I just watched the trailer and
it looks better than the first installment. Seems they added
some better makeup and wirework effects this time around.
The first film was never fully viewable due to various incompatability
issues with several of our machines. It is good to see the
folks at Pesona are bringing the Pontianak back into the film
world after a long gap in the Pontianak film genre. Trailer:
Here |
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Three...Extremes
(US Theatrical): Thanks Lions Gate Three will get its
DVD release very soon. This film is a must see for those of
you that have yet to see the horror trilogy. Exploring the outer
limits of the macabre, Lions’ Gate Films’ Three...Extremes
is a bracing triptych of horror stories uniting three of East
Asia’s most compelling directors – Japanese cult
figure Takashi Miike, Hong Kong’s Fruit Chan, and Korea’s
award-winning PARK Chan-Wook. |
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Possessed
/ Possessed II : Joy Sales (HK) releases both the once
extremely rare films Possessed & Possessed II on DVD. Expected
Release Dates are Oct. 31, 2005. Possessed and Possessed II
are Directed by David Lai and produced by Johnny Mak. Pauline
Wong and Kwong Mei-Bo are the stars. These films have some weird
evil stuff happening and it will be great to see them on import
DVD finally. Time to chuck those old collectors tapes and upgrade
to DVD on these two 80's films. |
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Cello:
DVD Region 3 release mid October 2005. Just when you thought
you were safe from inanimate yet terrifyingly murderous objects,
comes Cello. In a summer that has brought a wave of screams
and frights from Korea, in the shape of "The Wig"
and "Red Shoes", we now discover that even musical
instruments have the power to scare and kill...Hell I grew up
in a household with a violin and a french horn player, boy can
I relate to this upcoming shocker. Will have full review upon
release. |
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Tokyo
Zombie: The website for Tokyo Zombie now has a trailer
up and you should check it out. We did report a bit about
this some time ago before the trailer was available. With
a screenplay by Sakichi Sato (GOZU)
and based on a Manga by Yûsaku Hanakuma (Tôkyô
Zonbi) looks like fun. Not to mention the great stars Sho
Aikawa (Zebraman, Gozu) and Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer,
Ranpo Jigoku) this films a must see for fans of insane action
and horror-comedy..Web
Link: Trailer |
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Bunshinsaba:
This great horror film dvances to main competition of horror
film festival in Los Angeles, CA. The movie “Bunshinsaba”
directed by Ahn Byeong-ki has advanced to the main competition
of the 5th Screamfest Los Angeles Horror Film Festival. The
festival’s organizing committee said on Sept. 21 2005
that the movie will vie for the festival’s major awards
from Oct. 14 through 23 at the Universal Studio Cinema in Los
Angeles. This is great and well deserved news an awesome flick. |
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ICHI
THE KILLER: Takashi Miike's awesome splatterfest is
playing a double feature with a US B-movie in October at Two
Boots in NYC. ICHI THE KILLER by Takashi Miike, 129 mins, (uncut),
2001 35mm print plays as part of the Halloween horror films
they are showing in October. Ichi plays on Sun Oct 30 7:00pm
along with the Ray Dennis Steckler flick The Thrill Killers
and the double feature is entitled Killer Double Bill. This
is a great chance to see Ichi the Killer in the theater. |
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The
Loft: More on The Loft. Prize writer, Leiko (Nakatani
Miki), moves to a quiet suburban house to finish up her new
novel with a help from the editor. That night while sleeping,
she sees a man in a storage room transporting an object wrapped
in cloth. She soon finds out that he is a renowned archaeologist,
Professor Yoshioka, researching ancient mummies, and the object
was a recently discovered mummy. Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
this is a must see Trailer: Mirovision |
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Reincarnation
(Rinne): The production of "Reincarnation",
the third film in the J-Horror Theater series has been completed
this summer. The film is scheduled for release in Japan on January
7, 2006. Looks like more fun from Director Takashi Shimizu and
Producer Taka Ichise both of Ju-on and The Grudge US fame.The
first two films in the J-Horror Theater Series are great and
we are looking forward to this 3rd Installment next year. Cool
Japanese Teaser Trailer at: Trailers |
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The
Great Yokai War (Yokai Daisenso): Directed by Takashi
Miike seems to be showing in Theaters in Canada this week September
2005. The No. American Premiere info was sent to me via email
by Ultra8. Yokai, the ghosts and goblins of Japanese folklore,
are descending on Tokyo to wreak havoc under a diabolical priest.
The film will be shown a few times (Today the 15th and Sat.
the 17th) and The fest is in Toronto. Late news but I just got
the news myself. (Past Event Now Passed) |
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Forbidden
Warrior: Long before written history, a secret clan
of sorcerers protected a book of the world's most powerful spells,
the Gaia Za. They waited for the Chosen One to arrive who would
be able to translate the book and use its power for peace and
harmony. Perhaps more a magical than horror outing this upcoming
MTI release is a US take on an Asian magic story. Asian American
actors like James Hong ("The Jitters" & Lo Pan
in "Big Trouble in Little China") Hong & Al Leong
in this one. |
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Ugetsu:
Director Kenji Mizoguchi draws on sources from both East &
West for this 1953 movie. An ambitious potter haunted by a beautiful
ghost and a farmer who dreams of becoming a samurai, Ugetsu
offers a commentary on the delusions of lust, power and the
folly of war. Renowned cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa helps
Mizoguchi seamlessly interweave the supernatural with reality,
creating one of the most beautiful films of all time. Nov. 2005
release in on DVD. From Criterion... |
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The
Locker: I just watched the trailer for "The Locker"
a J-Horror DVD coming out this month from Geneon in the US.
The film looks like an entertaining and spooky Ringu-ish horror
film. The film is live action and will be released on DVD mid
September. Legend has it that if you use a certain coin locker
in Shibuya, you will find love. Six teens use the locker with
dreams of romance?but find a curse worse than death instead.
Ghostly crying, mysterious handprints and more. |
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One
Missed Call: Directed by Takashi Miike One Missed Call
will get a special edition release from Media Blasters. Special
Edition 2-Disc Set with Special Features like Widescreen, Director
Interview, DD 5.1 Surround, Interviews, Making Of, Previews,
Television Spots, Trailer and more. The release will be Rated
R and has a runtime of 113 min's. This version will have an
English dub as well as the original Japanese audio. Watch it
in Japanese w/subs...Get it now...Ring! Ring! |
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Ghost
of Mae Nak: A forthcoming film "Ghost of Mae Nak"
produced by Tom Waller and directed by Mark Duffield looks very
interesting. Of course it is a re-telling of a famous Thai ghost
tale that has seen around 20+ previous cinematic takes over
the years. Mak and Nak, a newlywed couple in Bangkok, acquire
an antique brooch and an old abandoned house that soon bring
them into contact with Mae Nak, a figure of horror and despair
from one of Thailand's most enduring ghost legends. |
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The
Great Goblin War (Yokai Daisenso): Directed by Takashi
Miike and mentioned before in Kyonsi news the Japanese film
is done. A young boy becomes an unlikely hero when he is chosen
as the "Kirin Rider" and must lead Japan's ancient
Yokai spirits in their war against the evil monsters. A remake
of the 1968 film "Yokai Daisenso" that the Kyonsi
staff really enjoys. Originally there were 3 films made, all
available in US versions for awhile now from the anime label
ADV films. |
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Potret
Mistik: 2005 Horror - A university student, interested
in writing an article about a haunted bungalow for his university
bulletin. He found himself unavoidably drown to the bungalow
that had many mysterious happenings surrounding it. When investigating
strange lights at the bungalow, he found a portrait of a beautiful
woman at the bungalow. Strange things began to happen when Jeff
kept the portrait. Sounds hauntingly similar to the recent Thai
"House of Haunted" I just saw on DVD. |
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Pulse:
Will see a US theatrical release from Magnolia Pictures. Often
referred to as one of the scariest films ever made, Pulse tells
the story of a group of young friends rocked by the sudden suicide
of one of their own, and his subsequent, ghostly reappearance
in grainy computer and video images. Is he trying to contact
them from beyond the grave or is there something more sinister
afoot? This creepy horror film by Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
(Seance) is a MUST SEE film on the big screen. |
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Red
Shoes: Korean Horror Sept. '05 release. Sun Jae (Kim
Hye Su) is an eye doctor in her late 30's who has recently moved
out with her daughter, upon discovering that her husband has
been involved in an illicit affair. One day, she finds a pair
of red shoes on the subway. Having a great love for shoes of
all kind, she decides to keep her newfound shoes. However, the
shoes appear to be possessed. I will keep you posted when this
comes to DVD. If the Red Shoe fits, wear it!! |
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The
Ghost Inside: This Asian horror movie recently out
in Asian theaters has a very basic type story. Lin Xiao Yueh
is a single parent on the run with her young daughter Nini from
her estranged husband. Their exodus leads them to a cheap apartment,
which nobody seems to want. Xiao Yueh figures out something
is wrong when neighbours shun them and their apartment, and
the she starts hearing noises in the night. Sounds a bit close
to Dark Water and several other films, We'll see... |
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Koma
2: Starring Shu Qui comes out in Asia in Oct.
2005. Directed by Cheng Po-Soi. May and her family move into
their new home but are unaware that something is watching them
closely. May's son, Zee Lu, begins to see a strange woman following
him. One tragic day, as the fire alarm rings, May hears her
son's cries for help as a strong force pulls him away. But she
is too late to save him as he disappears into thin air. May,
now grieving for her lost son, begins to hear things herself.
Spooky? |
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Face:
Korean horror film "Face" seems to be getting a US
release from Tartan Video US. A decent film thats part crime
drama and part horror/ghost tale. Yes you do get the long black
haired ghost in this one like most recent post Ringu films.
Still a good story and well worth a watch. Looks like lots of
extras on this one with Special Features like Anamorphic Widescreen,
Behind the Scenes Footage, Cast & Crew Interviews, Director
Interview and a few more items as well. Don't look in the box!!! |
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Tales
of Voodoo: This upcoming series of DVDs from Ventura
has some older bizarre, bad and hard to find titles on the DVD's.
Stuff like "Ghost Ninja" Deadly shadow warriors mix
forces with the undead to torture the living, that one starring
Indonesian star Barry Prima. Also they're releasing another
set called "Terror Tales" with classics like Ninja
Vampire Busters. They list 2 films per disc. Looks like budget
oddities for the masses. Collectors beware of changed titles.
Check em out! |
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MPD
Psycho III: More Japanese TV from Miike this October
will be the date for the 3rd DVD in the MPD Psycho series of
DVD's put out by Adness in the US. Episodes: "Coronation
of the Cursed King" Cult members spontaneously combust
when the barcoder network is infected. The burn victims are
taken to the local hospital where a lonely employee's cyber
girlfriend tells him to kill people. Also include's "Soaring
Souls and Human Bondage". More Barcode Mayhem from Miike!! |
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Shadow
Dead Riot: Directed by Derek Wan,
award-winning HK film editor Ki-Hop Chan , and with Tony Leung
the highly accomplished HK stunt man, action choreographer and
director on board this film sounds like fun. Horror, Martials
Art Zombies, and Women in Prison genres This upcoming Fever
Dreams/Media Blasters movie has supernatural, zombie horror
and martials arts action combined so it is listed here in news.
Starring the "Candyman" himself Tony Todd as SHADOW. |
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Centipede
Horror: From Director Keith Li (Vampire Kids) comes
this HK bug barf fest. In getting back to our original HK Horror
focus we are currently working on a feature of this Asian video
gross out flick. This is a rare film and a bit hard to find.
Along the lines of HK films like the "Black Magic"
Shaw Brother films but even beyond them. Also upcoming will
be a look at Devil Fetus, Ghost Nursing, Seeding of a Ghost
& more freaky hard to find fun films. Not for those with
weak stomachs. |
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Ab-Normal
Beauty: Good news the Oxide Pang (The Eye, Bangkok
Haunted) film will be released on US DVD from Tartan Video US
December 27th, 2005 with an R rating. After taking photos of
a horrible accident, a young woman begins a psychotic obsession
with photographing death. When she decides to fight her abnormal
urges, she receives a disturbing videotape from a killer who
knows her secret and threatens to ruin her life. I am also hoping
some one picks up the Pang Re-cycle film. |
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The
Sisters (Thai Horror): Based on a chilling true story
that rocked and rattled Thailand. A band of teenage musicians
are drawn to an unmentionable fate inside a cursed motel. Within
room 409, hanging down from the air conditioning vent, a mysterious
strip of white cloth lures each of the band members to investigate.
After having visions of a woman with long hair and demonic eyes
they visit a monk who reveals what horrors await them. Media
Blasters Region 1 DVD recently released. |
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Marebito:
Director Takashi Shimizu's (Ju-On, The Grudge) will be getting
an US theatrical release December 9th, 2005 in NYC and LA. I
will keep you posted on the news and theaters as it gets closer
to the release date and that information is submitted to Kyonsi.
Read On ! Synopsis: A cameraman intrigued by a gruesome suicide
is drawn onto a journey beneath Tokyo in search of the spirits
reportedly haunting the subways. Lovecraftian horror Japanese
Style. Say..Pickmans Model? |
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The
Ring Virus (Special Edition): Tai Seng seems to have
some new version of this DVD out now and available. This eerie
Korean homage to the Japanese film THE RING has journalist Sun-joo
investigating the sudden death of her cousin. She finds a videotape
filled with strange images and an ominous warning that whomever
watches it will only have 7 days to live. To make an old story
short the DVD has Menus, Dolby, Subs in English and Chinese,
Trailers, Image Gallery, Cast/Crew Info... |
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