Eureka have scored another tremendous success with their “Strange New Worlds: Science Fiction at DEFA” boxset that brings four fascinating glimpses at a Socialist approach to the genre beyond the traditional USSR output of On the Silver Globe, Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel or Stalker. The first entry, Silent Star, was one […]
Ethan Lyon
Motern Madness: Matt Farley’s Cult Films Hit the Big Screen in the UK
I never know what I’m going to get into when my mate asks me to watch something. His taste is, usually, exceptional. My love of Indian cinema is in no small part thanks to him forcing me to watch Main Hoon Na. It’s not perfect; sometimes I find myself wincing […]
Let’s Go Karaoke! (Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025)
Last year, the man who invented the earliest prototype of the karaoke machine passed away. Shigeichi Negishi never patented his Sparko Box, content instead to feel “a lot of pride in seeing his idea evolve into a culture of having fun through song around the world.” And certainly, karaoke’s joy […]
Incubus (1966) Pure Kitsch by way of Bergman?
Incubus’s credentials seem to be pure kitsch. A forgotten independent horror film starring Captain Kirk and the guy who killed Mickey Rooney’s wife, shot in a made-up language. Job’s a good ‘un. Get Mystery Science Theater 3000 on the phone. But as Arrow’s excellent new Blu-Ray release reveals, there’s much […]
Rampo Noir (2005) A Japanese Horror Anthology of the Erotic and Grotesque Variety
For all the talk of Nosferatu bringing horny back to the cinema, it’s useful to remind ourselves of the pervertedly lush world of Edogawa Ranpo. Predominantly a mystery writer (say his name fast and you’re close to the writer of “The Purloined Letter”), it’s his unique brand of “Ero guro […]
The Invasion (2007) Derided in its Day, Terrifying in Ours
When Jack Finney published “The Body Snatchers” in serial form in late 1954, he could never have imagined the life it would have in the American imagination. Its genius lies in the basic premise- that people are slowly replaced by alien duplicates, identical in every way except their lack of […]
Daiei Gothic (1959 & 1968) Three Chillingly Beautiful Tales of the Supernatural from Japan
Long before Britain made a subgenre of its folk traditions, Japan was mining its history (with the help of Greek-Irish author Lafcadio Hearn) to create chillingly beautiful tales of the supernatural. Three tales loom large for their influence: The Ghost of Yotsuya (Yotsuya Kaidan), The Snow Woman (Yuki-Onna) and The […]
The Oblong Box (1969) A Flawed piece of Poe-ish Gothic
“Oh, pity me, miserable wretch that I am! –I dared not –I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb!” These lines from The Fall of the House of Usher could well apply to much of Poe’s output, such was his fascination with being buried alive. The […]
She is Me, I Am Her (2022) A Sincere Showcase for Fusako Urabe
It’s always a pleasure to see more Japanese cinema made readily available to UK/USA shores, especially that of a more dramatic mode. I love the Gonzo stylings of Tetsuo and Takashi Miike, as much as the next reviewer, but my heart will always be with the contemplative works of Ozu […]
The Substance (2024) One of the Finest Horrors of the Year (Review)
At first blush, Fargeat’s latest feature recalls that recent female-directed Franco-horror opus, Ducournau’s Titane. Both mix sex and horror in provocative ways that reaped laurels at Cannes, with The Substance winning Best Screenplay at this year’s festival. Both display a fascination with smooth surfaces and the ways women become pariahs […]