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Spoopy Season is upon us, dear readers, and any cineaste worth their weight in bone matter is likely scouring the world's many streaming services looking for the best fright flicks available. Most casual horror fans may be content to idly re-watch well-trodden classics like "Halloween," while more enterprising gorehounds will be studiously studying the carefully curated films on Shudder. The jaded, more experienced fright fans, however, will require stronger coffee to get their fear fix, and those brave souls may dive face-first into the overstuffed trough of Night Flight or Eternal Family, looking for oddities that the average soul cannot stand. Are you going to watch a gentle film like "Hocus Pocus" this October, or are you the type to try out "Bloody Muscle Bodybuilder in Hell?"

We can say for sure that actor Kevin Bacon, a great actor with impeccable taste, is an aficionado of the genre and likes...

Considered to be highly influential, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981) has been copied many times over. Acting as a highlight of innovation in the horror genre, using camera techniques and practical effects that can be done on a budget, spoke to many budding horror filmmakers. On top of that, The Evil Dead has become integrated into pop culture and is considered a quintessential horror comedy. It introduced most moviegoers to the 'Necronomicon' which is now a horror staple, and through its 'deadites' set the precedent for how to show chaotic evil on screen.

A lot have tried to capture the same chaotic energy and low-budget ingenuity that made The Evil Dead so infamous and beloved, and while none have really been able to deliver on the same level, there is one movie that comes close to capturing the same formula. With the wonderfully absurd title of Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell,...

Long before either Evil Dead Rise or Evil Dead (2013), Sam Raimi's seminal The Evil Dead already had its best remake, but from an unlikely (and wholly unofficial) source. First released in 1981, The Evil Dead became a cultural phenomenon, earning praise from publications like NME and Fangoria, as well as a rave review from Stephen King (which saw New Line Cinema secure distribution rights to the film). However, the graphic content in The Evil Dead was met with significant controversy. It was one of the highest-profile films to be labeled as a "video nasty" in the United Kingdom and received an X rating from the MPAA in the US.

Nevertheless, The Evil Dead's combination of controversy and critical acclaim led to it becoming one of the most influential horror movies since the 1980s. A number of filmmakers across the world made remakes/sequels of The Evil Dead, dubbed "requels...

Despite lacking a cool older relative or friend to show me the ropes, my early exposure to the horror genre was fairly conventional. I started with the big slasher franchises then worked my way through other genre classics before seeking out increasingly obscure titles — a journey that continues to this day. After binging through Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, I soon discovered Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy.

Well before the remake or Ash vs. Evil Dead, I distinctly recall reading about unofficial Evil Dead installments on web forums to sate my appetite while waiting for the franchise’s long-gestating fourth entry. There’s the La Casa series in Italy, wherein unrelated movies were marketed as Evil Dead sequels, and Japan’s Evil Dead Trap, whose similarities to Raimi’s work begin and end with the title. But the one movie that always eluded me was The Japanese Evil Dead.

Stars: Shinichi Fukazawa, Masaaki Kai, Asako Nosaka | Written and Directed by Shinichi Fukazawa

When a film has a name like Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell, it comes with certain expectations. Described as the Japanese Evil Dead, that is a lofty claim. So, can the crazy-titled film also live up to the name of Evil Dead?

When a bodybuilder, his ex-girlfriend and a professional psychic enter a haunted house, they soon find themselves trapped within it. With the spirit of a murdered woman obsessed with keeping the bodybuilder within the house, it seems that the ghost’s secret may be connected with the bodybuilder’s father. It may seem strange just calling the main character the “bodybuilder” but this is how simplistic the characters are. This isn’t a bad thing, as really these characters don’t have to be too deep. We are given a “grudge” style haunting, an...

UK-based Asian film distributor Terracotta Distribution has announced their June refreshers. Cult-classic hit “Bloody Muscle Body Builder In Hell” is back in stock here. In addition, this month’s acquisitions are now available on DVD, exclusively through Terracotta’s store:

Takeshi Miike’s psychotic thriller, Ichi The KillerDonnie Yen as the eponymous, Ip Man 1 & 2Dante Lam’s war epic, Operation Red SeaAndy Lau’s dramatic Shaolin

Moreover, sister company Sharp Teeth Films releases Luz, the debut feature from director Tilman Singer. Shot entirely on 16mm as a film school graduation project, the film is a throwback to 80’s horror, and nowhere is this more evident than in sound composer Simon Waskow’s incredibly tense and atmospheric synth soundtrack.

Luz can be found on digital platforms in the UK from this month and can be seen on Sky store, Virgin Media and Amazon.

"Gory, insane, and fun." "Splatter masterpiece." Wild Eye Releasing has debuted a new trailer for the long lost Japanese horror knockoff film titled officially Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (or Jigoku No Chimidoro Muscle Builder). The unofficial title is, of course, The Japanese Evil Dead because this is a Japanese remake of Sam Raimi's original Evil Dead. Never heard of this? Time to get caught up! Writer / director Shinichi Fukazawa started filming this back in 1995, but "it wasn’t until over 10 years later that the low-budget 8mm splatter film was actually finished." And even then, it still has never shown in the Us or been available to watch at all. Until now! Wild Eye will be releasing it in the Us this year, finally, after all this time. Shinichi Fukazawa also stars as Shinji, the Japanese "Bruce Campbell", who goes to an abandoned home with his girlfriend but...