TThe 1980s was an odd era for Japanese cinema, caught between the end of one golden generation and the rise of another. That’s not to say nothing of note was produced—directors like Shōhei Imamura and Akira Kurosawa were still working, albeit sporadically, and a new generation was on the rise. […]
Rob Simpson
Chief Editor
Host of the Uncut Network. With a love of movies kicked off by Hong Kong Action and Claymation Monsters, Rob has forever been cradled in the bosom of Cinema. Rob has his hands in many a pie, including no budget film making.
Self Revolutionary Cinematic Struggle (London International Fantastic Film Festival 2024)
Gakuryu Ishii’s second movie of the year is half a dozen things at once, with so much going on that it has taken me a week—after its premiere at the inaugural London International Fantastic Film Festival —to begin processing everything it offers. This menagerie exemplifies the ethos I yearn for […]
The Gesouidoz (London International Fantastic Film Festival 2024)
From its influence on pop culture to the music scenes popping up in every corner of the world, it’s frustrating as a signed-up fan of punk rock to be forever told that it is dead. For one, no music scene can truly die, and two, where is the rebellious spirit […]
The Sword (1980) A King Hu-like Martial Arts Rarity
Sound, particularly music, is such a key component of movies. It is pivotal in creating an era, atmosphere, tension, and emotions to the extent that a great deal of the work in a horror movie comes from effective scoring and sound design. Key word there: effective. See, anachronistic music and […]
Japan Organised Crime Boss (1969) The Yakuza Movie Before Yakuza Movies
It’s curious the idea that there was a time when the modern yakuza movie wasn’t a thing, but as yakuza film historian Akihiko Ito says, in the extras of Radiance Films lush new release of Kinji Fukasaku’s Japan Organised Crime Boss, that was once the case. They used to be […]
The Black Hole (Fantastic Fest 2024)
The Black Hole, recently played at Fantastic Fest, is a comedy/sci-fi anthology from Estonian director Moonika Siimets. My only experience with Estonian cinema is November (Rainer Sarnet, 2017), a historical, mythic, folkloric fantasy that tells of modern Estonia. However, its cues are primarily identifiable to those familiar with its context, […]
Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives (2023) Transgenerational Guilt Haunts this House (Review)
Out now from Blue Finch Films is the rarest of rarities for the modern horror fan, a German genre title – Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives. Aside from the halcyon days of Expressionism and the Euro Horror boom there are only a handful of titles from Germany and Austria […]
Respati (Fantastic Fest 2024)
Respati recently played at Fantastic Fest 2024, Sidharta Tata’s movie is the latest in a growing trend of Indonesian horror and thrillers making it to Western screens large and small. Named after the lead character (Devano Danendra), Tata tells the story of a teenage boy who struggles to sleep with […]
Sunset Superman (Fantastic Fest 2024)
Fantastic Fest isn’t just a horror film festival – it covers all the genre staples (action, sci-fi, & horror) and the spaces that intersect those divides. Lately, however, the heaviest load falls on horror, relegating sci-fi and action to supporting roles, which is true of both the microcosm of Fantastic […]
The Box Man (2024) Gakuryu Ishii’s Boxing Clever (Review)
Gakuryu Ishii may not be well-known in the West, but his aesthetics and work ethic have seen him become regarded as one of the most pre-eminent punk rock directors in the world (not that this is a long list). The former Sogo Ishii (he changed his name), launched into the […]