Weirdest asian movies I've ever seen
Weird cinema is amazing and the asian market seems to do it far better (and more frequently) than the north american one... here is a list of the strangest most twisted films I have seen and could think of. List by release year (except for sequels I kept them together). I also tried to keep spoilers out of it... but sorry if I wrecked something as odd as these for you.
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- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsTeruo YoshidaYukie KagawaTeruko YumiAfter escaping from an insane asylum, a medical student assumes the identity of a mysterious dead man, who appeared to be his doppelganger, and gets lured to a sinister island ruled by a mad scientist and his malformed men.Japanese Isle of Dr. Moreau... with butoh dancers... confused yet?
- DirectorHark TsuiStarsNorman ChuEddy KoMelvin WongA secret agent investigates a village that is populated by crazed, inbred cannibals.On this list for a completely different reason than every other film on here save kung fu zombie... never before have I seen a movie about an island of cannibals that has a massive martial arts fight.. on rollerskates...
- DirectorShan HuaStarsBilly ChongLau ChanChung-You ChangA martial artist must defend his family when a vengeful criminal hires a dark wizard to unleash zombies. After a deadly backfire, the criminal's spirit returns seeking revenge, leading to an epic showdown with supernatural forces.I admit I bought this for the title (kung fu zombie) and was expecting the worst movie ever... I was half right. Nothing about this looks like it had any production value but it is top quality grade d for comedy and sheer ridiculousness. Also the dubbed version has a character named Hamster.
- DirectorRicky LauStarsChing-Ying LamSiu-Ho ChinRicky HuiThe planned reburial of a town elder goes awry as the corpse resurrects into a hopping, bloodthirsty vampire, targeting everyone responsible for digging the grave. A Taoist Priest and his two disciples attempt to stop the terror.This is the representative for all hopping vampire movies. This whole sub genre boggles my mind, but entertains me to no end. And yes there are many many more hopping vampire movies. Many are hard to track down because they all seem to have 100 possible titles.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsTomorô TaguchiKei FujiwaraNobu KanaokaA businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.All together weirdest movie I've ever seen, from story to the film making style. Completely worth watching to see the actual people take part in the stop motion chase scene on jet boots...
- DirectorNgai Choi LamStarsLouis FanFan Mei-ShengKa-Kui HoRiki-Oh, a young man who has superhuman strength, is incarcerated in a private prison, where inmates are treated like slaves. He is forced to use his unstoppable form of martial arts to destroy the corrupt officials and their lackeys.Cantonese prison film based on one of the most ridiculous mangas I've ever read. Full of guts, gore, and punching right through people...
- DirectorSatoshi DezakiStarsBin ShimadaNobuyuki FurutaShûichi IkedaRiki must enter into a fighting tournament to save his brother, Nachi from a madman general called Washizaki who has the magical sword power. The two fighters are reunited after many years. The story starts soon after the original movie.see above... except that it's the sequel...
- DirectorShugo FujiiStarsHirohito HondaYoshiko ShiraishiRumiYasu is a teenage wheelchair user. His grandmother and her granddaughter are truly cruel sadists, intent on subjecting trapped Yasu to the most violent treatment imaginable while the rest of his family is not around.aka. harass the handicapped kid, toss a plate of worms in his lap and send his wheelchair rolling down the hill... i kinda feel like a bad person for writing that... which is why i suppose it made this list...
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsTak SakaguchiHideo SakakiChieko MisakaThere are 666 portals that connect this world to the other side. These are concealed from all human beings. Somewhere in Japan exists the 444th portal.... The forest of resurrection.One of my favorite films despite its "difficult" story line. Reading a little more about Japan's forest of death and how the immortal soul is thought to work in their culture makes it much easier to understand, but even if you don't want to do any extra research you'll still be smiling from the visuals and oddities of the story.
- DirectorTetsuro TakeuchiStarsGuitar WolfDrum WolfBass WolfOnly legendary Japanese garage rock band Guitar Wolf can stand between a race of aliens from destroying earth with an army of zombies.A Rock'n'roll zombie film at it's weirdest. Did you know your favortie rocker will randomly show up on a motorcycle and give you inspiration when you're down and out and fighting hordes of the undead?
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.Dark twisted and bloody to the max. That being said, possibly one of my all time favorite movies, Asano Tadenobu rocks his pimp suits like no other!
- DirectorSion SonoStarsRyo IshibashiMasatoshi NagaseMai HôshôA detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.I find it odd that such a serious social commentary about following along with others to fit in is nuts has a musical interlude of the weirdest rock band I've ever seen courtesy of Rolly. I suppose it's them proving they don't follow along either...
- DirectorSion SonoStarsKazue FukiishiTsugumiYuriko YoshitakaTeenager Noriko Shimabara abandons her family, seeking Kumiko, an online group's leader. She joins Kumiko's circle, which spirals after 54 students commit mass suicide.The followup to suicide club, still dealing with real life issues... in massively exaggerated terms.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsAsuka KurosawaYûji KôtariShin'ya TsukamotoA woman is being stalked by a stranger. His stalking turns to blackmail when he sends her copies of photos of her in an embarrassing position. Now he controls her and she has to do anything he says. Anything.A tale of sexual reawakening... and breast cancer. I'm still unsure if i like this or not. It left me going hmmm... what exactly did i just watch... also why?
- DirectorTetsuo ShinoharaStarsRyûhei MatsudaKayoko KishimotoHiroyuki IkeuchiOne of a gang of karaoke loving middle aged women is murdered by a young man. Her friends track him down and kill him. His friends track them down and kill the killer ..... and it escalates!(Karaoke Terror) on my dvd case. Middle aged women vs. college age boys, a tale of escalating revenge... and karaoke.
- DirectorKazuaki KiriyaStarsYûsuke IseyaKumiko AsôAkira TeraoLive-action sci-fi movie based on a 1973 Japanese animé of the same name (Shinzo Ningen Casshân). Theme song by Utada Hikaru.Based on 1973 anime of the same title. the plot is weird yet interesting, could have been better. Reminds me of a made for tv version of Bladerunner mixed with Howl's Moving Castle.
- DirectorsFruit ChanPark Chan-wookTakashi MiikeStarsBai LingLee Byung-hunKyôko HasegawaAn Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished indie directors.3 mini movies, 3 countries, 3 directors, showing differences in cultural ideas of horror, all 3 segments are superbly strange in completely different ways. Be sure to watch Fruit Chan's dumplings the long cut (full 90 minute run time). Watch 3 extremes 2 for even more weirdness in the same format.
- DirectorTomoo HaraguchiStarsRyûji HaradaMiki TanakaMubu NakayamaA werewolf samurai walks the countryside, finding himself in the middle of a village of monsters who feed on human flesh.Starts out normally enough, a lone samurai, then we get to the yokai (demon) village and there are... spider geishas? Also this films perspective on monsters is interesting, watch it and you'll see...
- DirectorsPasith BuranajanKome Kongkiat KomesiriIsara NadeeStarsNapakpapha NakprasitteHataiwan NgamsukonpusitAkarin SiwapornpitakA group of high school friends reunite after two years when one of their fathers' committed suicide. They all spend the night at their friend's place. When darkness falls, strange things begin to happen to them one by one. It is as if someone is using the black arts on them in revenge for an act this group of friends committed together back at high schoolThai film dealing with cambodian curses, crazy women and carving spells into your own skin... I think the sequel is way weirder than the original.
- DirectorsYûdai YamaguchiJun'ichi YamamotoStarsIssei TakahashiAoba KawaiKenichi KawasakiFull-throttle splatter-ific Japanese cyberpunk science fiction/horror at its most aggressive, this mind-blower about alien parasites that turn their human hosts into slave "Necroborgs" will leave you dizzy and drained - in a good way.Carries on the age old weird tradition of monsters/aliens/metal that attach to people to make an Akira type monster. My dvd also has an introduction in the Mystery Science Theatre style...
- DirectorOsamu FukutaniStarsMasaya KatôHitomi MiwaAyaka MaedaYuji Kotorida has become plastic surgeon to the rich and famous - almost over night transforming himself from nebbish to charismatic icon. His secret? He eats women. In a flashback, we watch the flowering of his proclivity - from an initial taste, and a search that takes him to Hong Kong, to murder. After the flashback, he promises a colleague he will prepare meat for her wedding banquet. At about the same time, the police express suspicion. Can Dr. Kotorida carve out an escape?I think an equation could sum this one up.
Plastic surgeon+ cannibalism= film oddity. - DirectorYûdai YamaguchiStarsTakamasa SugaRyûji AkiyamaRuben ArvizuA satire comedy of a misfit high school with punks, robots, gorillas and much more.Live action movie based on the Seinfeld of manga/ anime. A group of highschool students from cromartie high do very little and it's 100 percent amazing... Freddy mercury rides a horse and attends a japanese highschool and its also full of gorilla aliens and robots with little brothers....
- DirectorSakichi SatoStarsTadanobu AsanoShô AikawaErika OkudaA horror-comedy about two blue-collar factory workers (who happen to be jiu-jitsu experts) dealing with a ravenous, flesh-eating zombie uprising in Tokyo.A movie about the emotional side of becoming a zombie... with an afro...
- DirectorMan-dae BongStarsShin Sae-KyeongDo Ji-WonAh-yung AhnYoon-Hee, a plastic surgeon, is satisfied with her life as she has a lovely daughter, Hyun-Soo, who perfectly obeys her mother. However, her happiness comes to end as her patients commit mysterious suicides in front of her daughter.Plastic surgery+ dark haired ghost+ cinderella= this korean version... weird eh?
- DirectorNaoyuki TomomatsuStarsKenji AraiDai AsakiNorman EnglandTraining mission turns to terror. A blood soaked battle against the living dead begins.There is just about nothing in this movie that makes any sense... at all... but I enjoy it every time I find someone who hasn't seen it and make them watch it.