Kim Ki-Duk's THE BOW (2005) (Korea)
director: Kim Ki-Duk
starring: Jeon Seong-Hwan
& Han Yeo-Reum
The 12th film from Kim Ki-Duk will immediately remind the viewer of his masterpiece, The Isle. Here, on a ship that floats unanchored off the Korean coast, a man in his sixties has been raising a young girl since childhood. Even though her entire world is limited to the deck of the ship, she seems happy and the old man plans to marry her the day she reaches maturity. This tranquil life is suddenly challenged when a young sailor starts sniffing around and becomes enamored with the girl.  Click to see more photos!

RAHTREE: FLOWER OF THE NIGHT (2005) [Thailand]
director: Yuthlert Sippapah
starring: Cherm Poonyaasak
& Kris Srepoomseth
A student is obsessed with Rahtree, a young woman in his class, but she’s definitely "out-of-his-class." However, persistence pays off. The two become friends and – then – lovers. Soon, Rahtree finds herself pregnant, but when she tells her boyfriend, he decides to slip off to school in the UK. A few days later, police find Rahtree's body in the bathtub after she bleeds to death from a botched abortion. The cops try to remove the body, but... she’s alive! Sorta. Rahtree is a ghost-zombie bent on revenge. From director of Killer Tattoo.   Click to see more photos!

R-POINT (2005) (Korean) {Tartan Video}
director: Kong Su-Chang (Gong Su-Chang)
starring: Kam Woo-Sung & Sohn Byung-Ho
Total Film Quarterly described it: “Apocalypse Now as a ghost story!" The setting is 1972 Vietnam, America’s bloody war is out of control. As sole survivor of a brutal battle, Lt Choi suffers guilt feelings over the loss of his entire unit. His commanding officer orders him back on the horse [back into action, anyway] as the head of scouting party assigned to investigate a transmission from soldiers long presumed dead. Lt Choi and a new platoon head into the jungles where they come face-to-face with true, grotesque horror... at the R-Point (the point of no return).  Click to see more photos!

Toshiharu Ikeda's SCISSORS MAN (2005) [Japan] {Tokyo Shock}
HASAMI OTOKO aka MAN BEHIND THE SCISSORS
director: Toshiharu Ikeda
starring: Etsushi Toyokawa & Kumiko Aso
Be prepared for one of the very best thrillers of this year... perhaps the past decade! A pair of sadistic killers finds their bloody game of carnage turned against them in this adaptation of Masayuki Shuno's novel. Methodical madman Yasunaga and his self-destructive sidekick have been carving up schoolgirls across Tokyo, but when a mysterious stranger beats them to their next victim, they unexpectedly become key witnesses for the police. From the director of EVIL DEAD TRAP.  Click to see more photos!

YELLOW FLOWER (1998/2003) [Korean]
director: Lee J-Sang
starring: Kim Jung-gi & Shu Jung
This highly controversial film was originally completed in 1998, but it became entangled in red tape from the Korean Ratings Board. At the time – officially – it was denied release as being “too obscene for general viewing." After numerous lawsuits and petitions, the movie was finally granted an "18+" rating in 2003. While Yellow Flower is unique in its abstract narrative (erotica in the truest sense), the power of this film is undeniable. Director Lee describes it: "the way different people incorporate sex and sexuality into their lives by means of extremes." He’s right.  Click to see more photos!

THE HOUSE (2005) [HK]
director: Ng Man-Ching
starring: Maggie Siu & Cheung Siu-Fai
Atmospheric, “spooky-child” horror, recently a staple of Asian horror. Jane is forced to support herself and daughter after her marriage gets destroyed by her husband's drug addiction. Mom and kid move into a house which turns out to be haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman who had undergone some serious marital problems of her own. After discovering that her husband had been catting around, she drowned her son and killed herself. Now, she’s bent on causing even more havoc.
  Click to see more photos!
or for fans of Ring, Dark Water and other "Long Hair Horror."

KILL (THE) DEVIL (2004) (Japan)
[Urban Vision]
director: Yuichi Onuma
starring: Yoshika Kata & Masahiro Kuranuki
Excessive gore, good acting, poignant story de-railed by a miniscule budget. Obviously inspired by Kenji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale, this futuristic B-movie deals with juveniles sent to an island where they become unwilling participants in a killing spree. It seems scientists have isolated a “murder gene” which causes violent behavior in humans; in turn, the government rounds up problematic teens for a rehabilitation program on a deserted island. As you might expect, the bad government officials are more interested in “proving” their theories than helping kids.  Click to see more photos!

TOKYO SUBWAY PANIC (2005) [Japan]
director: Katsuyuki
starring: Yusuke Santamaria & Terashima Susumu
If you've seen any of the previous Negotiator Mashita Masayoshi films, then you have an idea of what to expect here. But familiarity is not a prerequisite for this movie. Most Japanese critics (and audiences) agree that this one is the best of the batch... and a great starting place in the series. Masayoshi (played by deadpan comedian Santamaria) is a police negotiator – the first of his kind – working with the Tokyo special division unit. His job is taken seriously by virtually no one; he's treated with the respect of an in-house psychic. For this story, on Xmas eve a subway train seems to have taken on a life of its own, zooming around, no longer making stops and putting other trains in harm's way. Soon a cryptic message reaches Masayoshi; he is invited to join "the Phantom" on a subway ride.  Click to see more photos!

SHINOBI (2003) [Japan]
director: Ten Shimoyama
starring: Yukie Nakama & Joe Odagiri
Oboro, a granddaughter of the Iga clan, meets and falls in love with Gen-nosuke, the son of rival Koga. These two clans are the “Hatfield-n-McCoys” of ancestral Japan, each with their own brand of ninja techniques (perfected far beyond the grasps of mere mortals). The Shakespearean relationship between the two star-crossed lovers sparks a war that threatens to destroy both families as well as the political structure of the country. The sweeping romance punctuates the extraordinary action segments. This is must-see for fans of the genre. Click to see more photos!