Tags: takashi miike

As we head into our fourth celebration of international horror, we head to the Pacific coast of Asia. To be honest, it's probably unfair of us to lump Asian horror together into one big pot. Each country involved has its own unique identity and its own approach to horror. Japan has a long tradition of ghost stories that, in recent years, have melded with their increased dependence on technology to create such horrors as Ring and Pulse. Meanwhile, South Korea -- a deeply Christian country -- draws on religious themes of guilt and redemption for its cinematic tales of terror. Thailand's supernatural cinema is informed by a culturally-held belief that spirits are everywhere -- they even have a "ghost festival" every year.

Still, time in October is limited, so we are only able to present a very limited selection of the wide range of horror movies produced by Southeast Asian countries.(read more...)

Audition is genius director Takashi Miike's most popular film (and really, the film that made his name known in America). Lion's Gate apparently has the rights to the film (as opposed to Ventura Distribution, who previously released the film on DVD in America), and as a result are going to release an all-new DVD full of…yep, you guessed it: special features! Lion's Gate's Audition will include the following:

· Theatrical trailers
· Director Interview
· Select scene Director commentary
· Director introduction
· Director Biography/filmography
· Photo gallery
· Liner notes
· Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments segment
· Ryu Murakama Interview
· Widescreen (1.85:1)
· New transfer with removable English subtitles
· Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital surround

Mmm…DVD bonus material…(read more...)