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On January 26, 2024, it was revealed that Satoshi Kirishima, a fugitive wanted in connection with a series of corporate bombings and a member of the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, had been hospitalized in Kanagawa Prefecture. He had been living under an alias but came forward, saying, “I want to face the end with my real name.” Kirishima passed away three days after the news broke, and due to his death, he was not prosecuted for his suspected involvement in the bombing of the Korea Industrial and Economic Research Institute building, for which he had been on the national wanted list under charges of violating explosives control regulations. Banmei Takahashi has come up with a biopic on this contradictory figure, focusing on both of his capacities.

I Am Kirishima is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

As such, the movie begins in the 70s, when Japan’s rapid economic growth was...

There’s a reason that home invasion horror films like The Strangers, Them, The Purge, Hush, Don’t Breathe, Funny Games, and more rank highly among horror fans. The very concept of your private sanctuary getting corrupted and invaded by an unhinged intruder who means you grave harm is inherently terrifying. The realistic thrills of home invasion films can offer some of the most intense horror, and some of the biggest surprises when the formula is subverted.

This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to home invasion horror movies that unleash suspense, chills, violence, and stalker thrills. Here’s where you can stream them this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

Angst – Kanopy, Midnight Pulp, Mubi, Tubi

An unconventional, stylized Austrian horror movie that largely influenced Gaspar Noe’s work, Angst follows a psychopath as he’s released from prison and eager to commit crime again. After a botched murder attempt,...

This month’s installment of Deep Cuts Rising features a variety of horror movies, with some selections reflecting a specific day or event in November, and others chosen at random.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

This month’s offerings feature Dracula, a giant zombie poodle, a golem, and more.

The Tomb of Dracula (1980)

Image: The Tomb of Dracula

Directed by Minoru Okazaki.

For World Television Day (November 21), Dracula followers as well as Marvel fans might get a kick out of the 1980 animated TV-movie based on the serialized comic series The Tomb of Dracula. Between 1972 and 1979, the iconic Count Dracula was reworked into a master antagonist who was routinely opposed by a team of vampire slayers. The same series also contains the introduction of popular Marvel character Blade.

Marvel and Toei Animation...

“Tattoo” is based on the story of Akiyoshi Umekawa, a Japanese mass murderer who killed a woman on December 16, 1963, and shot dead four people on January 26, 1979 during the notorious Mitsubishi Bank hostage incident. The film also signalled a change of direction for Banmei Takahashi, who was a veteran of pinku cinema up to that point, as the movie was a critical and box-office success and earned him an award for Best Director from the Yokohama Film Festival, along with a netting of 3rd best film of the year and a Best Actor for protagonist Ryudo Ozaki.

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The film begins with Akio Takeda (an alternative name was used for Umekawa) being carried in Osaka morgue after being shot by the police, with an officer informing his mother next, who believes that her son got in trouble once more. After the intro,...

A nervous housewife gets a frightful visit in Banmei Takahashi's little-seen psycho-sexual J-horror gem Door. With flashes of giallo inspiration and memorable sound design, this marvellously entertaining 1988 production debuted internationally with a new 4K remaster at BiFan this year. Yasuko (played by Takahashi's real life wife Keiko Takahashi) lives with her young son and workaholic husband in a modern apartment. Since her husband is seldom at home and she is constantly accosted by male salesmen on the phone or the intercom aggressively trying to push their wares on her, she doublelocks her door with almost religious intensity every time she walks through it. One day she makes the crucial mistake of not flipping the door lock, only the chain. When a salesman (Daijiro Tsutsumi)...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

On the occasion of their film “Door” screening at Bifan, Banmei and Keiko Takahashi talk about watching the movie after all these years, the reasons he casted her in the movie, exploring the limits of Eirin, directors' rights in Japan, the violence in the movie, capitalism and the impact of the absent father, the movie industry today, playing the roles of older women as time passes, the recent MeToo outcry in Japan and other topics.

You can check the review of the movie here: “Door”...

I have to admit that one of the pleasures I have been lately experiencing in my dealings with Asian cinema is the restoration/remastering of a number of movies from the past, particularly the ones that were quite hard to find nowadays. Banmei Takahashi's “Door”, which actually stars his wife, Keiko Takahashi, is definitely one of those movies, particularly because it uses tension and violence in order to make a number of sociopolitical comments.

“Door” is screening at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival

Yasuko, a housewife, lives in an urban high-rise apartment with her husband Satoru and her little son, Takuto. Their lives go on in harmony, with the only issues being that Satoru is overworked and he does not have that much time for his family, and the annoying plethora of spam calls the couple receive on the phone, through the mail and by door-to-door salesmen. During a three day absence of Satoru,...

The movie: "Uzumaki"

Where you can stream it: Prime Video

The pitch: Imagine if there was something like a deadly virus that made people become obsessed with spirals, to the point that they will do anything to either become part of a spiral or get as far removed from them as possible. "Uzumaki" is the directorial debut of Ukrainian-born director Higuchinsky, based on the acclaimed manga by master of horror Junji Ito, and it is a film unlike any other. It's low-budget, it's grainy, and it's absolutely bizarre, but it's also a fascinating take on the work of one of the greatest visual minds in all of horror. 

"Uzumaki," which translates to "spiral," follows Kirie (Eriko Hatsune) and Shuichi (Fhi Fan), a pair of teens in a small town in Japan who start noticing strange happenings around them. Shuichi's father, Toshio (Ren Ôsugi) becomes obsessed with snails and anything that...