Re-cycle - China

          Director:  Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang
          Year:  2006
          Plot:  "After writing three best-sellers about love story based on her own experiences, the successful writer Tsui Ting-Yin is without inspiration and having difficulties to write her new novel in the horror genre entitled "Re-cycle".  While drafting the text, spooky events happen at her apartment and her former boy-friend of eight years ago visits her, after his divorce.  When Tsui sees a supernatural long-haired character of her book, she is trapped in his world of terror."

          I found this movie to be quite great.  The beginning of it starts off as a pretty typical horror movie with strange things happening in her house.  The things is that the 'scary' stuff rather drops off after she enters the other world.  There is scares still placed in this world, but it didn't even really seem eerie to me.  I guess I was more intrigued by this other world than anything else.
          I loved the idea about the forgotten, or abandoned.  It was all really very interesting and really rather cool.  This idea has been done in another way (can't remember where I seen it before), but I have rather liked the ideas.
          The idea of the aborted babies is a little bit off for me.  I understand it, but it just leads to a lot of arguments.  It makes people argue about whether it is for or against abortion.  I would have rather not opened up a forum post about this movie and seen nothing but 'abortion is bad' or 'I'm pro-choice'.  It is just rather irritating when I am trying to find out more about the movie.  That is pretty much the only issue I had, and it wasn't even really about the movie.  I didn't see this movie as being 'Pro-Life'.  I just seen it as someone going through a rather real situation and feelings.
          I absolutely loved the ending to this.  I know it was a bit confusing for some, but for me, it wasn't that hard to figure out.  I loved that it really tied into the rest of the movie.  It is one that if you really paid attention you will be able to understand the ending, even if you need a little help.  I would be happy to help with that if anyone needs it.

          I highly suggest this movie, though it wasn't scary.  It is an entertaining movie with a really well done plot and idea.  So if you want a straight horror movie, this one probably won't do.  This movie will though be entertaining despite this so definitely watch it sometime.

Who are You? - Thailand

          Director:  Pakphum Wonjinda
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "Nida is a single mother who takes care of her anti-social son who has locked himself in his room for five years.  The only way to communicate with her son is to write on a piece of paper and slip it under the door.  But, when outsiders start to get curious about what is going on behind the door of her son’s room, a series of terrible events starts to happen."


          I am really not sure what to say about this movie.  I didn't really completely enjoy this movie, but it wasn't the worst I have seen.  I think I might have turned this movie off, if it wasn't for curiosity.  I really did want to know what was going on with Ton and why he never came out of his room.  From the beginning, I had a feeling that something was going on.  Which of course I was quite right about.  I just hadn't figured out that sort of ending.  I guess I kind of seen that ending coming, but not the extent that it was.  I mean did we really need Gollum from Lord of the Rings thrown in there.  Okay, I want say anymore about that.
          If I am right about what happened with the girl's story, I feel kind of sorry for her.  For starters, having allergies like she did had to be quite hard.  Especially when her mother had her so secluded she wasn't even supposed to stand by the window.  I understand it could be dangerous for her, but what kind of life could she have like that.
          I was kind of interested in the whole idea of the power of the mind.  It is rather interesting to think about how much our minds can really do.  I have always been interested in psychology and all.  It just fascinates me the things that our mind can actually cause us to really believe.  By this I mean such delusions or even dreams that seem so real, it is hard to believe that they're not.

          I wouldn't really suggest this movie, but I do think that it isn't a complete waste of time.  This movie is just one for the curious, and like I have said before, for those with nothing else to do.  If you have the opportunity, I would suggest many other movies before this one.

Alone - Thailand

          Director:  Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom
          Year:  2007
          Plot:  "Pim moved from Thailand to Korea to escape the guilt of being the surviving half of a conjoined twin.  After she returns to visit her dying mother, the spirit of her dead sister angrily thrusts herself into Pim's life."

          So I first have to say that this movie got me.  It isn't too often that a horror movie startles me to the point that I end up closing my eyes.  This one happened to do that though.  I even went back to the scene and it got me again.  I am not sure why.  I didn't even go through the build up the second time, and I was still startled by the scene.  The only thing is, that was the only thing that startled me.  The other 'scares' didn't get me, but for some reason the scene with Pim and the flashlight did.
          I had the ending a bit spoiled for me.   Yes, I knew the outcome before it happened thanks to some unnamed people.  The thing is though, this never really bothers me.  I end up just looking for the clues that hint to the end.  This fact sometimes makes a movie rather bad.  That is if they fail to show me subtle clues.  I have to say that this one did a rather good job.  There were many little hints, and if you paid attention, you might have been able to pick up on it yourself.
          This movie isn't as high up on other sites as I feel it should be.  I feel that this kind of came from being done by the same people who did Shutter.  It seems that many felt that this didn't live up to Shutter.  I don't feel that is a fair way to judge a movie.  A movie should not have to live up to the creators other works.  It should simply have to be a good movie in itself.  On this term is how I judge this movie and ended up finding it to be quite good, but of course it wasn't perfect.

          I do suggest this movie.  The story is well done and has many little hints throughout it.  It is definitely one that will let you think before they just spell everything out for you.  I can't see disliking a movie where they try to let you discover the fact for yourself before the reveal where they tell you if you are right or wrong.

Help (Qiu Wo) - China

          Director:  Qi Zhang
          Year:  2008
          Plot:  "Jiang Yan, is a psychology student preparing her thesis in hopes to go to the United States.  While having a hard time with the topic she was given, she also struggles with her boyfriend who doesn't want her to go.  After an incident that leaves her boyfriend dead, Jiang Yan begins to see and hear things that frighten her.  Her stress and horror escalates when she begins to suspect that her friend and Professor are plotting against her."

          So as I always do, I went and checked on IMDb to get the plot for this movie and was quite surprised.  This movie only has a 5.0 rating on the site.  This surprised me as I really enjoyed it, but maybe it just had to do with the fact that only 17 people voted so far.  This movie had a 4/5 stars on LetMeWatchThis.ch (my referral address is under the Asian Movie Sites tab, just in case you decide to get a free account).
          Okay, so onto the actual movie.  As I said, I found this movie to be really enjoyable.  I especially loved the fact that this movie got me with the ending.  The only problem was that this movie was not scary.  It didn't scare me at all, but that didn't seem to matter much while I was watching it.
          Like I said, this movie did get me with the ending.  During the movie, I was quite convinced with what was being shown.  The reason I think I was easily convinced was that as it was a horror movie, I had no reason to suspect there would be a twist in the story.  The ending really was one that I did not expect, but looking back, it does fit well with the story line.

          This is a movie that I would easily suggest to someone, but I would definitely add a warning.  This is not the movie to be watching if you are looking to be scared.  This is however a really good movie that I feel will be worth your time.

My Ex - Thailand

          Director:  Piyapan Choopetch
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "Ken is a superstar and the dream date of every girl.  He can attract any woman he wants, but every detail of his life ends up in gossip columns and tabloid magazines. When news leaks that Ken will marry actress Ploy, the media goes into a frenzy and their dream life turns into a nightmare.  Someone is stalking them, day and night.  Nimit, Ken's agent, encourages his client to take a break at a beach house, but the problem only escalates when people around Ken start to disappear one by one."


          I watched this movie a while ago, but appearently forgot to post my review.  I found this movie to be quite good.  I hated Ken, but then again, I didn't completely.  While watching a horror movie, you need to be able to feel bad for the characters, otherwise you aren't connected to their horror.  With this movie, though I kind of hated the main character, before things really get to the climax, the story starts to show that he isn't completely bad.  He had done some not so great things to girls, but it seems like maybe he actually did care.
          Like I said though, the main character of this show was a major jerk to women.  He is always in the tabloids for his antics, and it seems rightfully so.  There really is no reason to treat women the way he did, and especially Meen, you will understand why her especially if you see the movie.
          The movie wasn't really all that scary.  Sure the ghost looked creepy, but it didn't scare me.  That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy this movie.  The story line is what keeps this movie entertaining and enjoyable.  The scares are just there, though they aren't done poorly.  I have to say that this is one that my sister would probably find scary, but for me it didn't reach that level.

          I would suggest this movie.  The story line is well done, and rather decently acted out.  The only thing that wasn't up to par for me was the scares, but that is partly because of my obsession with horror movies.

Rule Number One - Singapore

          Director:  Kelvin Tong
          Year:  2008
          Plot:  "Follows the events that occur after a man calls the police to let them know of the mysterious presence in his house."


          I have some mixed feelings about this movie.  I watched it a few nights ago, but I am still not sure how I really feel about it.
          I so have to say that this kind of lacks the horror aspect.  Sure, it might get a few jumps out of you, but not because it was actually scary.  The whole aspect of the ghosts seems a little wrong by the end of the movie.  I say this because if you pay attention to certain details, it kind of seems like this movie is not what it seems.
          The ending leads you to think that ghosts ruin this guys life, but the fact is that it might actually simply have been his own doing.  I know I usually don't share this much info, but I am not sure what else to say about this movie if I don't.  It is really one of those movies where you think the character has been lying to you the whole time.  If you watch it and pick up on key things, I am sure you would feel the same.
          I do have to say that the story line of this movie did keep me watching to the end.  I didn't even think about turning it off, because at least the story line was decent.  The fact is though that it wasn't extraordinary, and that is what leads me to be a little unhappy with this movie.


          This is not a movie I would suggest if you want anything really exciting or scary.  This movie though is not a complete waste of time.  It does have some points that are fairly good.  If you need something to watch to waste some time, then give this one a shot.

Yoga Institute - Korea

          Director:  Jae-yeon Yun
          Year: 2009
          Plot:  “After the co-host of a shopping channel TV show loses her job to a younger rival, she enrolls in an intensive yoga course.  The very strict trainer informs her students that there will be serious consequences if they do not follow her rules.”


          This is a strange movie to me.  Not that the movie itself was necessarily strange, but my feelings about it are strange.  I am kind of neutral about this movie.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that good either.  While watching it though, I was interested in finding out the ending.  That is the one good point about this movie.  Once you start, you really do want to know what happens in the end.
           I felt kind of unsatisfied with the ending.  I wasn’t sure what was going on exactly, and that is not something normal for me.  I understood that this movie kind of runs on a form of witchcraft that is never fully stated, but that still doesn’t rationalize the complete ending sequence.  Even with some of what is stated, the ending still makes no sense and really did nothing for me.  I really felt that there was no real resolution to this movie.
          This movie wasn’t completely bad though like I said.  It had some good points.  I did enjoy some of the death sequences like the one who breaks the “no showering one hour after training rule.”  For the most part, I think that this movie could have been rather good.  All it really needed was a great ending.  Without it, it just leaves this movie as a decent time waster.


          I would suggest to definitely skip this movie if you are in the mood for a great one.  This is a movie that though not completely bad, lacks some much needed points.  This movie is more for a boring day when there isn’t anything better to watch.

Art of the Devil - Thailand

          Director:  Tanit Jitnukul
          Year:  2004
          Plot:  “Boom, pregnant from an affair, is told by her lover to leave him and his family alone.  Enraged, she goes to a witch doctor and has him use black magic against her ex-lover and his family.  They all die in suspicious manners.  Just when Boom thinks everything is over, a woman claims her ex-lover’s inheritance and moves in to his house with her family.  Not long after that, unexplainable things begin to happen to them.”


          I put this one off for awhile, as I had seen it mentioned many times.  I never seemed to have the urge to watch it, and now I understand why.  I am not saying that this was a bad movie, but it wasn’t very great either.  This one definitely didn’t really leave any lasting impression on me.  It was decent for the time I was watching it, but not really to see again.
          I have to say I didn’t like the way that this movie was told.  Some movies it is okay to see out of order and actually enjoy it.  This one was just irritating.  It begins by showing the beginning of the end, then goes back and tells bit by bit with adding some bits of the end in as well.  I might not have found anything wrong with this, if the rest of the movie was more entertaining.
          I also didn’t like the fact that the end parts were black an white, they just looked kind of cheap.  I don’t usually like to say stuff like that because many actually cheaply done movies look great.  The black and white scenes though looked very cheap to me while I was watching the movie.
          I do have to say that the scene with Neng in the hospital was rather gross.  It was about the only scene that stuck with me.  All of the other deaths were rather lackluster to me.  The characters were also a little lackluster.  Boom was the worst to me.  The character just seemed a little flat.  Nothing but the Neng scene shocked, surprised, or astounded me.


          I would suggest to skip this movie if you are expecting something thrilling.  It isn’t going to be much to watch, but it might be good if you have nothing else to do.  Though I wouldn’t necessarily suggest watching this movie, it really isn’t horrible, just not good.  Also the relatively poor quality of this movie isn't going to deter me from giving Art of the Devil 2 a shot sometime.  n.n

Rumah Darah (Macabre) - Indonesia

          Director:  Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto
          Year:  2009
          Plot:  “Two newly weds Adjie and Astrid, along with 3 of their best friends decided to have an interstate road trip as a last attempt to reconcile Adjie with his estranged little sister Ladya. Their trip is however abruptly interrupted when they run into Maya, a strange girl out of nowhere, who wanders aimlessly into their path. "I've been robbed" is all she has to say.”


          This happened to be another movie that I have seen mentioned in a few recommendations that I had been putting off.  It also didn’t help that I have had a lot of homework from college and haven’t had much movie time.  When I did get a slight break from my homework, I decided to give this movie a shot.
          As far as the storyline goes, I was rather happy with this movie.  It kept me pretty interested throughout the whole movie.  I absolutely loved the portrayal of Darah.  I have to say she is rather creepy just in herself.  The rest of the movie wasn’t creepy or scary to me.  I am usually not a big fan of slasher type movies, but this one was still rather good.
          As far as the gore in this movie went, it was all pretty good.  There were points where the stuff looked as fake as it really was, but because I was really interested in finding out what was up with Darah, it didn’t matter much.  
          The characters really do hold this movie together well.  Beyond wanting to know about Darah, the best character was Ladya.  Usually I have problems with the standard horror movie theme that also plays in this one, but this one did it very well.  It is always fun to see a girl fighting back especially when it is effective.  


          I definitely suggest giving this movie a shot.  Despite some of the fake looking gory scenes, the storyline is rather good.  Its ending is a lot like a typical American slasher movie, but this one pulls it off better than most in my opinion.

Evil Twin - Korea

          Director:  Kin Ji-Hwan

          Year:  2007

          Plot:  “A peaceful Joseon village is disturbed by the sudden awakening of So-yeon, a young lady who has been in a coma after surviving a drowning accident 10 years before.  But So-yeon's identical twin sister Hyo-jin, who also fell into the lake, was not so fortunate.  Unable to rest in peace, Hyo-jin returns as a phantom and a series of unnatural deaths ensues.  Eerie weeping sounds presage the appearance of the "han" or grudge-ridden ghost, who takes one victim after another.”

          More than once, I had thoughts about turning off the movie.  The problem was that this movie was so confusing, I wanted to know what was going on.  That really was the only reason I watched this movie till the end.

          The deaths in this movie were really pointless.  That’s not something I usually say during a horror movie.  They really didn’t add any edge for me whatsoever.  It also didn’t help that our grudge style ghost was in no way scary.  Most of the time it just stood in one spot.  It’s not the grudge like ghost that bothers me, as I love that style, but it didn’t do very much.

          I also have to say that the big secret reveal was a complete flop in my opinion.  I love movies where I can have some idea about the truth before it is revealed.  I love the “Ah!  I was right!” moments, but this one didn’t really give me that.  The fact was so obvious to me that I really didn’t have any doubt as to the characters true identity.

          I must admit that there was one truly good part of this movie, and that was the ending.  No, not because it was finally over, but because I really enjoyed how it was done.  After the big reveal, mother and daughter end up on the dock and daughter ends up in the water.  Things turn into the same situation as 10 years prior and the mother has to choose again.  I love the choice that she makes, as it would be the only right way to deal with a ghost like that.

          I would suggest skipping this movie.  The only way I would suggest this movie to someone is if they were extremely bored and had no access to anything better.

Gin Gwai 2 (The Eye 2) - China

          Director:  Oxide Pang Chun, and Danny Pang
          Year:  2004
          Plot:  “After a failed suicide attempt, a pregnant woman gains the ability to see ghosts.”


          I finally decided to watch this one.  I really enjoyed the first one and thought this one had to be good.  I am happy to find that this one was in fact good.  It wasn’t scary at all, but the storyline kept me very interested.  The idea was different from the first one which is definitely refreshing.  Some movies that change it up for the sequel fail with the quality.  This one though seemed to do really well, but did lack scares.  Still even if it wasn’t scary, it was worth the time to watch it.  I also enjoyed the ending, they really wrapped it up in and good way.
          It took me all day to watch this movie, not because there was anything that actually made me take that long besides a little boy.  I had to keep putting it off to occupy my nephew, so I don’t have too much to talk about.  The longer I put off my reviews, well the shorter they get.
          I have to say that this woman was really bad at killing herself.  I mean really, it shouldn’t be that hard.  She tries quite a few time and fails.  Also this turned out to be one of those karma type movies.  You do wrong and your life gets flipped upside down.  Our main character isn’t the only one though, but that’s something that you need to see.


          I would suggest this movie, especially if you liked the first one.  Though, you might want to put this one off when you are looking for a scare.  This won’t waste your time entirely.

Dark Water - Japan

          Director:  Hideo Nakata
          Year:  2002
          Plot:  “A mother and her 6 year old daughter move into a creepy apartment whose every surface is permeated by water.”


          I have been wanting to watch this movie since I read The Ring by Koji Suzuki.  This is of course based off Dark Water, one of his other books.  I was finally able to see it, and I am happy that I got to.  It turns out that you can really tell that it was written by Koji Suzuki.
          This movie wasn’t scary in anyway.  The thing is though that it really didn’t have to be for me.  I had already expected not to be scared.  Many people had already told me it wasn’t going to be, so I wasn’t too surprised. I was also told though that it was also a very slow movie.  This one though didn’t really come into play.  Sure it takes awhile to get to the resolution, but it certainly has a lot of things to keep you interested in what is going on.  At no point did I consider turning off the movie because it was slow.
          The ending to this was kind of sad actually.  This isn’t something that is unheard of in Asian horror though.  I wasn't as surprised to find a sad ending rather than those I am used to in many American horror movies.

          I do suggest this movie to many.  If you want something scary though, I suggest you save this for another time.  It is a really good movie, but it lacks any real scary parts.  This is one that you should watch when you just need something to occupy you, not something really scary.

Phobia (4bia) - Thailand

          Directors:  Banjong Pisanthanakun, Paween Purikitpanya, Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, and Parkpoom Wongpoom

          Year:  2008

          Plot:  “4BIA is a Horror Anthology. The first segment, "Happiness (Lonely)" is about a lonely girl who corresponded with a stranger over hand phone text messaging and soon discovered something strange about this new stranger that she is attracted to.”

          Seen as this is an Anthology, I think it is just fitting to talk about this movie as each of the parts rather than talk about the movie in general.  So, First off is what was subtitled as Happiness, but used the same characters as Lonely.

          As far as this section goes, I really enjoyed it.  I have mentioned before that I really enjoy subtle hints that allow the viewer to guess what is going on before it happens.  I’m sure some people might not like this, but it is one of my favorite things.  This one definitely had a few hints that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I especially loved the “cramped” comment.  I won’t say more than that.

          I have to say that I would be really scared in the girls situation.  I definitely wouldn’t take it calmly, and neither did she.  Though I knew something was going to happen near the end, it still made me jump.  One of the reasons I love Asian horror.

          Now for Tit for Tat.  This one was good as well.  The only thing that I had an issue with was the CGI.  Now normally, bad CGI doesn’t get to me in Asian horror movies.  This is due to the fact that I know that there CGI isn’t very refined because they do not usually use it as much as in American movies.  With this one though, I couldn’t get over it.

          The CGI just took me out of the movie because it was a really big part of the last half of this section.  With bad CGI, it is better too show as little as possible, and not to have it as the focus point of too many shots.  That is another reason I can over look bad CGI in most Asian movies, it isn’t usually on screen for long.

          I did like the rest of this section though.  The deaths were pretty interesting though because I watched it on YouTube, it was fuzzy for much of it.  Still, it was pretty good.  I really wasn’t expecting the ending though.  I thought it was going to turn out differently, but was rather happy with how it unfolded.

          In The Middle, was rather entertaining to me.  It took many things from other movies, but it didn’t just copy them, they actually mentioned where they were from.  Usually I don’t think I would like a movie to do this, but because they did give credit, I actually kind of liked it.  I will say that if you haven’t seen The Sixth Sense, The Others, or Shutter (either Thai or American) don’t watch this as it will bring up some major spoilers.

          There were some pretty humorous parts to this one.  I couldn’t help but laugh when they started to freak out in the tent.  It comes at a point that is pretty tense, and I just felt it looked way too funny.  I don’t know why, but I really didn’t see the ending coming.  Looking back, I know I should have seen it with all the movie mentions and all, but sadly I didn’t.  I mean I didn’t even see it coming until they turn it over.  

          I guess I actually liked this section without even really knowing why.  It wasn’t really scary, but neither were the movies The Sixth Sense or The Others, which this movie mentions.  All three however were rather good movies.

          Finally, Last Fright.  I have to say that this one got to me.  It isn’t too often that a short can get me to jump more than once, and that’s for a good short too.  This one though got me at two different points, and was just pretty well done for me.

          I do have to say that the ghost was pretty disgusting.  I have no problem with blood, decapitation, amputation, sticking things in eyes, and so on, but I couldn’t look at this ghost for more than a few quick glances.  I think if I would have looked for long I would have felt sick to my stomach.

          I have too say that I didn’t really feel completely sorry for the woman.  Sure the Princess was a rather cruel but to actually ignore such a warning is just wrong.  I mean yeah, she was being horrible, but that is only because the attendant did something wrong first.  Maybe this should be shown as a warning to some people.  n.n

          Anyway, I actually liked this section.  It did start off a bit slow, but in the end it turned out rather good.

          I would definitely suggest giving this anthology a shot.  It definitely surprised me that this movie turned out to be as good as it did as a whole.  Now I am going to have to watch Phobia 2.