Japanese | Varied Celluloid

Sadako 3D

Posted by Josh Samford On June - 2 - 2013

	Sadako 3D (2012)

Director:	Tsutomu Hanabusa
Writers:	Satomi Ishihara, Koji Suzuki, and Tsutomu Takahashi
Starring:	Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto, Yusuke Yamamoto, and Ai Hashimoto

The Plot: Sadako 3D is a continuation of the original Ringu series and takes place thirteen years after the events of the first film. Our story begins with two mysterious suicides, one involving a man at a bus station and another involving a schoolgirl. Although neither seems to have any evidence of foul play, Detective Koiso (Ryosei Tayama) and his partner both suspect something strange is afoot. It appears that both victims do have a link between their deaths, they each watched a video online that ended with an eerie voice saying “you’re not the one.” It seems that this video is gaining notoriety as a cursed video, and everyone who seems to watch it ends up dead shortly after viewing it. In the video, it is said that online video artist Kashiwada Seiji (Yusuke Yamamoto) can be seen being murdered/committing suicide, but the only people who have actually seen the video have all met a grizzly demise at this point. Soon the audience is introduced to Akane Ayukawa (Satomi Ishihara), a very young school teacher who taught the young girl who died from the video. As Akane begins her own investigation into this savage online video, she finds that it may very well be tied to Sadako, the ghostly apparition from the original Ringu. Will she find a way to stop this viral catastrophe, or will it continue to take the lives of all her students?

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Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight

Posted by Josh Samford On May - 15 - 2013

	Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1973)

Director:	Teruo Ishii
Writers:	San Kaji (screenplay), Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima (manga)
Starring:	Tetsuro Tanba, Yuriko Hishimi, Goro Ibuki, and Kyoichi Sato.

The Plot: Bohachi Bushido tells a heartwarming story about forced prostitution, extreme violence, and cult activities. It begins in the Edo period where we find The Bohachi, a group that lives by a very distasteful code. They regularly track down women and then molest them until they no longer have regular desires or emotions. The group uses these brainwashed women for both financial and political gain, and when they save the wandering assassin Shino (Tetsuro Tanba), they assume that they now have the muscle needed in order to bring their group to a higher level. However, Shino is a man who takes orders from no one. When this group presses him to join their ranks, they quickly develop an enemy that they are unprepared for.

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Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confession

Posted by Josh Samford On January - 18 - 2013

	Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confessions (1976)

Director:	Masaru Konuma
Writers:	Toshiro Ashizawa
Starring:	Runa Takamura, Kumi Taguchi, Roger Prince, and Aoi Nakajima

The Plot: Young Runa (Runa Takamura) is a nun who felt pushed into the monastery after her sister Kumi (Kumi Taguchi) stole her boyfriend. While Runa begins her new life as a nun, Kumi and the previously mentioned boyfriend immediately break off their relationship. For poor Runa, the life of peaceful worship that one expects of a nun turns out to be a nightmarish world of torture. The abbot at the monastery also happens to be a rather sadistic man who likes to get his jollies off with all of the fresh nuns, and poor Runa seems to be his main target. After being far away from home for a long period of time, Runa returns and approaches her sister with a large financial opportunity. However, this opportunity will only work for Kumi if she can team back up with Runa’s former lover. As the story begins to unfold, it becomes more apparent that Runa may be hiding a few tricks up her sleeve.

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Raping!

Posted by Josh Samford On September - 8 - 2012

	Raping (1978)

Director:	Yasuharu Hasebe
Starring:	Kyôko Aizome, Akira Hanagami and Hirotarô Honda

The Plot: The appropriately titled Raping! follows a lovely young woman who begins a roadtrip to Tokyo, but is instead taken on a nightmare trip into the deepest bowels of hell. Her travels begin with a sequence that shows her trying to be helpful to a stranger who is having automobile troubles on the side of the road. Instead of providing a “thank you” for the assistance, what follows is a very brutal assault. As our leading woman then travels from one destination to the next, we see that the rest of the world wants to take advantage of her as well. Will she be able to stand up for herself, or will these men continue to dominate her life?

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So, I heard you like giant pink octopuses…

Posted by Josh Samford On July - 25 - 2012

In news that will surely destroy your sanity, today I point you to a very bizarre short film that was sent my way. Detailing two young Japanese schoolgirls who are infatuated with a performance-art event in Tokyo, Paint Your Teeth: The Movie showcases their surreal trip into the underbelly of Nippon. Along the way they encounter a giant pink octopus, some other Kaiju creature, and even a couple of dominatrixes! Made in twelve hours, and featuring improvised dialogue, French-Canadian filmmaker Alex Paille has delivered something very… unique. Take a look for yourself!

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