7 Must Own Cult J-Horror Films
Ted Hentschke
|
In the modern internet age, it seems crazy that there are still localization issues. It makes sense why Final Fantasy 6 might get released in the States as Final Fantasy 3 20 years ago, but this is 2016 now for fuck’s sake! And yet, in this modern wonder age of instant streaming and limitless data plans, we are at the whims of the region coding gods to determine whether or not we get to taste the best foreign flavors.
Thankfully, the good people over at Scream Factory are doing their part to remedy this with the release of Over Your Dead Body. On January 5th, Westerners will be able to get their hands on the Blu-ray/DVD. It’s a quick turnaround, as the film only saw its original Japanese release in August of 2014. Maybe times are changing, and we’ll someday soon be able to watch our favorite J-horror films without having to buy them off of a bootlegger at a swap meet for indefensible prices. Ahhhh, the good ol’ days.
In honor of this bold vision of a future where everyone can watch everything and the angels sing from sea to sea, I present my list of “7 Must Own Cult J-Horror Films.” Hopefully you’ll find stuff here that you haven’t heard of and begin your own cinema odyssey to the Land of the Rising Sun!
7) Onibaba (1964):
This one might be a bit of a cheat, as anything that can be picked up as part of the Criterion Collection can’t exactly be considered “cult.” Onibaba has received universal critical acclaim, and yet, almost barely anyone I know has even heard of it. I think this one deserves a spot on the list because A) it is old enough that most modern viewing audiences have missed it, and B) the movie is awesome. It’s with good reason that this is considered a classic. The dark, depressing tale of poverty, sex, desire, and revenge blurs the lines between good and evil. What is human and what is demon is fuzzy, and it’s hard to pick out a single “moral” of the film. When war ravages the land, rape and sex seem the same, and murder becomes a way of life, what does your “humanity” even mean?
6) Versus (2000):
Another one on this list that might be considered cheating, Versus has already seen success in the U.S. as a cult hit. This one is also going to fall under the rule “B” exception above: because it is really fucking awesome. The movie starts with fugitives on the run, quickly turns into zombie survival, warps into trans-lifetime good vs. evil with reincarnating samurai, and ends in the sci-fi apocalypse. It’s also a slapstick comedy, kung fu movie, and love story. I’m not sure where the one-handed cop fits in the overall description, but it’s got one of those, too. The movie doesn’t exactly make perfect “sense,” but it all comes together in an insane and badass package. If you haven’t seen it, pick up the extended Ultimate Versus immediately.
5) Uzumaki (2000):
I was first exposed to the terrifying and brilliant mind of Junji Ito with The Enigma of Amigara Fault. I could go on for a whole article listing just my favorite panels from his manga. He’s a genius on par with Geiger and Templesmith visually and matches King and Barker for creativity and terror. He is a paragon of horror, and his shocking and bizarre visions will haunt you. Uzumaki is a film based on a manga of the same name and tells the tale of a town falling victim to a terrible spiral curse. Much of Ito’s brilliance comes from his imagery so don’t bother trying to look up a synopsis. Pick up the movie, and let the surreal horror overtake you.
4) Nightmare Detective (2006):
I remember this film making the rounds around 2009-10, and it was pretty popular for a while before inexplicably completely falling off the map. For years I couldn’t even find a copy online and only finally stumbled across one during the closeout sale for Reel Video. The movie can kind of be described as Inception meets A Nightmare on Elm Street. After a series of bizarre murders, “nightmare detective” Kyoichi Kagenuma (Ryuhei Matsuda) must reluctantly stop a murderer from killing people in their dreams. The landscape of the dreams is creative and dark, an uncanny reflection of the subconscious. It’s a unique take on an established concept and deserves a spot on anyone’s psychological horror watchlist.
