News

As far as underground horror goes, few series have quite the same reputation as Guinea Pig. From 1985 to 1988, the Japanese series unleashed all sorts of hell across six films, each capturing their own little slice of atrocity. While they were disconnected in plot, and often in theme, they all had one thing in common: they were incredibly transgressive.

Unfortunately, a lot of them were just schlock, too. The first Guinea Pig film, Satoru Ogura’s The Devil’s Experiment (1985), was a wreck. Despite its bizarro premise of trying to replicate a "found" snuff tape, the film is little more than a misogynist demo reel for some rubbery gore effects, quickly abandoning its premise for overly flowering editing and shots that make you wonder why the killers seem to care so much for impossible camera setups. It was a rough start to the series, and to make matters worse, the sequels...

Seoul -- "The Shock Labyrinth," the latest film from "The Grudge" director Takashi Shimizu, is to be a 3D live-action movie represented in international markets by Fortissimo Films.

The story takes place in a theme park near Mount Fuji and follows a group of teens dealing with the shock return of a friend they had assumed to be dead.

Produced by Japan's Asmik Ace, the film also marks Shimizu's return to genre filmmaking after a hiatus of several years.

"The production represented a great challenge in creating a brand new way of expressing fear and telling a dramatic story via the medium of 3-D film. I hope as many of you as possible will find yourselves trapped in my labyrinth and enjoy the experience," he said.

The film is in postproduction, having begun principal photography in early July.

Produced by Ogura Jimusyo's Satoru Ogura, Asmik Ace's Masayuki Tanishima and Dai Miyazaki,...

Wonder why Takashi Shimizu isn’t directing the tenth anniversary installments of his Ju-On franchise himself? The answer is simple enough: because he’s making Japan’s first 3-D horror film instead!

Horror Master Takashi Shimizu Commences The Production Of Japan’S First Live Action Digital 3D Feature In The World’S Longest Horror House Walk-through

Tokyo, June 3rd 2009

Japanese production and distribution company Asmik Ace Entertainement today announced the commencement of the principal photography of “The Shock Labyrinth,” a live action digital 3D film directed by Takashi Shimizu (“Juon,” “Juon 2,” “The Grudge,” “The Grudge 2”). The horror project is aiming at an October 2009 release in Japan. Asmik Ace handles both local and international distribution of the Ogura Jimusyho production. The project marks Japan’s first ever live action digital 3D feature film as well as Shimizu’s long-awaited return to the horror feature after 3 years. Produced by Ogura Jimusyo...

In what is probably the most shocking bit of news today: Japan is actually taking a page from a recent American movie trend. They’re going 3D!

According to Screen Daily, Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On and the American remake The Grudge) has begun filming The Shock Labyrinth about a group of teenagers dealing with the sudden return of a friend who went missing a decade ago. When the friend falls ill, they take her to a hospital but end up trapped in a labyrinthine haunted house.

For the titular labyrinth the filmmakers drew inspiration from a Japanese amusement park, Fuji Q High Land, to create their spook house. They’re even shooting much of the film there during the park’s off hours.

The Shock Labyrinth is produced by Satoru Ogura of production house Ogura Jimusyho and Asmik Ace’s Masayuki Tanishima and Dai Miyazak. No word on an expected release date yet,...

PUSAN, South Korea -- Inter-Asian co-productions took center stage in the opening of the Asian Film Market, with the announcement of the Asian Producers Network on Saturday. "We thought it would be good to pool our efforts, to fight the Hollywood domination of the world film market," said Jonathan Kim, president of the Korean Film Producers Association, the group managing the Asian Producers Network. "With the establishment of the APN, we will have more opportunities to collaborate around Asia." The goal of the APN is to create a more regular and institutional "dialogue channel" for Asian producers to meet regularly ? perhaps at three film festivals a year ? and exchange information about issues around the region. "It's all about communication", said Satoru Ogura, a producer from Japan. "I totally agree with uniting us to raise Asian films' global competitiveness and ultimately vitalize Asia's film industries."...

PUSAN, South Korea -- Inter-Asian co-productions took center stage in the opening of the Asian Film Market, with the announcement of the Asian Producers Network on Saturday. "We thought it would be good to pool our efforts, to fight the Hollywood domination of the world film market," said Jonathan Kim, president of the Korean Film Producers Association, the group managing the Asian Producers Network. "With the establishment of the APN, we will have more opportunities to collaborate around Asia." The goal of the APN is to create a more regular and institutional "dialogue channel" for Asian producers to meet regularly ? perhaps at three film festivals a year ? and exchange information about issues around the region. "It's all about communication", said Satoru Ogura, a producer from Japan. "I totally agree with uniting us to raise Asian films' global competitiveness and ultimately vitalize Asia's film industries."...

PUSAN, South Korea -- Inter-Asian co-productions took center stage in the opening of the Asian Film Market, with the announcement of the Asian Producers Network on Saturday. "We thought it would be good to pool our efforts, to fight the Hollywood domination of the world film market," said Jonathan Kim, president of the Korean Film Producers Association, the group managing the Asian Producers Network. "With the establishment of the APN, we will have more opportunities to collaborate around Asia." The goal of the APN is to create a more regular and institutional "dialogue channel" for Asian producers to meet regularly ? perhaps at three film festivals a year ? and exchange information about issues around the region. "It's all about communication", said Satoru Ogura, a producer from Japan. "I totally agree with uniting us to raise Asian films' global competitiveness and ultimately vitalize Asia's film industries."...