Never Kneel to Hardship: Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend (2026)

Director: Li Liming

Notable Cast: Dennis To, Yoko Wang Wan-Zhong, Zhang Tingfei, Zhao Jingzhuyu, Pan Yuanjia, Steven Dasz, Yan Yanlong, Lee Yiu-King, Zhou Xiaofei, Wu Xinzun, Tong Xiaohu, Philip Condron

 

“We in the martial arts community kneel to heaven, to earth, and to our ancestors, but never to hardship.” 

 

Say what you will, but that quote from Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend exemplifies the Ipsploitation genre to a ‘T.’ No matter what, the resilience of how the industry will continue to craft a cinematic myth around Ip Man will defy all hardships - including poor reception or budgetary restraints. This is a genre that absolutely, positively will not kneel to hardship. 

 

To be fair, while Li Liming’s Ipsploitation flick, Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, was low-key fairly fun (you are welcome to read my article on the film over at the 36 Styles website HERE), I’m not sure I expected that one to start a new Ip Man franchise outside of the Donnie Yen series. It was entertaining enough; Dennis To returned to the main role after playing him in the prequel Ipsploitation flick, The Legend is Born: Ip Man, and it had some fun fight sequences, but it’s not like it was reigniting the fires in my soul. 

Still, when it was announced that the director and star of Kung Fu Master would be returning for its sequel, Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend (try not to get too confused with those similar titles), I was pleasantly surprised. Kung Fu Master was fun, so a sequel would just naturally keep that going, right? Right?

 

Yet, Kung Fu Legend represents the overall laziness that exploitation genres can unfortunately fall victim to. It feels like it wants to touch on the story elements of the far superior - and undervalued - Donnie Yen flick, Ip Man 2, but it lacks some of the brashness and stylistic elements that made that film feel like an old-school kung fu flick modernized. Instead, Kung Fu Legend runs the blueprint hard and rarely digs deeper than the surface to reach its themes, and it certainly doesn't want to dig into any real character arc for Ip Man. This is a film where people in strife, fending off some mustache-twirling Western bad guys, need a hero, and Ip Man is going to Wing Chun them to victory. For some, that might be enough, but when some of the other Ipsploitation flicks have found a voice or reason for existence, this one struggles to do so.

 

Life for a Life: Eye for an Eye (2022) Review

Director: Yang Bingjia

Notable Cast: Xie Miao, Gao Weiman, Xiang Hao, Liu Ben, Zhang Di, Gao Yi, Zhang Haosen

 

“It’s a life for a life. You don’t need to take 10,000 lives. Don’t you understand that?”

 

In a sequence prior to the final showdown with the film’s nemesis in Eye for an Eye, our hero Cheng is informed that one of his cohorts has fallen. The manner in which Yang Bingjia shoots it is caked in deep black shadow, Cheng’s back to the woman telling the story through her tears, as he sits on his knees. The moment is intercut with the villain, Yuwen Ying, preparing his team for the eventual showdown with a ritual in falling snow as drums beat heavily and dancers in all-white costumes move swiftly around. 

 

The juxtaposition between the deep black of Cheng’s pre-war ritual and the bright whites of the Yuwen’s personal guard in the snow, partnered with the stillness of our hero and the scattered movement of the enemy, makes for a fascinating contrast of ideology, invoking a yin-yang style of interconnectedness with its color scheme, and how each character is treating how their roads will intersect. Cheng, a blind swordsman and bounty hunter, pulls his sword from his cane while still kneeling in the darkness and opens his eyes for the first time in the film; the paleness of his eyes pops like the metal of his sword in the blackness. He only closes them as he sheathes the sword once again. He might be blind, but his sword sees the truth of this moment, opening his eyes in this split second, before being closed again. The moment ends as it cuts to black, then cuts to Yuwen, his eyes closed, only to open upon Cheng's arrival at his front door. No words are exchanged, and the final bloody conflict commences. 

 

Brawl Out Warfare: The Furious (2026) Review

Director: Kenji Tanigaki

Notable Cast: Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Yayan Ruhian, Jeeja Yanin, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga

 

I love martial arts films. Down to the point that I might call it a core part of my personality. When there’s a new martial arts action film coming down the pipeline, you can guarantee that I’ll be there in my best suit, waiting in line to partake. When there’s a new one that starts to garner a lot of buzz in the film community, I almost feel surprised. It’s not often that a martial arts movie makes waves, and too often I feel like some of the best in the genre are tossed off by the greater film community as just low-brow entertainment at best. Yet, here we are in 2026, and critics and audiences seem to be, surprisingly, in love with a new martial arts film. 

 

Of course, the film I’m referring to is The Furious, the latest international martial arts stunner that has found some success theatrically even in the US. Directed by action choreographer and stuntman extraordinaire Kenji Tanigaki, The Furious blends classic Hong Kong action cinema characters and plotting with an international mix of star power and martial arts stunt powerhouses, and the results are as violent and driven as one might expect. Its success overall with audiences, particularly in the West, is because most audiences understand the language it's using - good guys beating the ever-living shit out of bad guys, and it does it with immense style and a raucous amount of diversity in its endless fights. 

 

All About Perspective: Mortal Kombat II (2026) Review

Director: Simon McQuoid

Notable Cast: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Ludi Lin, Jessica McNamee, Lewis Tan, Josh Lawson, Martyn Ford, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Max Huang, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Joe Taslim, CJ Bloomfield, Ana Thu Nguyen 

 

I think it's fair, for a film that essentially starts immediately where the last one left off, that I, also, start my review of Mortal Kombat II by quoting the last line of my review for Mortal Kombat (2021).

“With its open ending and intention for more films in its writing and development, let’s hope that the next installment doesn’t hesitate to just lean into the absurdity. I’d give my heart (and spine) to that.”

 

So, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, here is what (rips out heart) I owe (rips out spine) to you, Simon McQuoid, and his team of truly insane filmmakers that crafted this sequel. You absolutely knew what your homework was, did the due diligence, and made the best Mortal Kombat film yet. Mortal Kombat II manages to be more of EVERYTHING than its predecessor. More plot, more characters, more fights, more catchphrases, more - more - more, and most importantly - it's more FUN. It’s a film that leans further into the absurdity - and lore - of the decades-spanning video game franchise, and it’s all the better for it. For some, maybe it’s too much. For me, it’s the kind of insane blockbuster entertainment that I wanted - and then some. 

 

Great Dragons Conceal Their Power: Blades of the Guardians (2026) Review

Director: Yuen Woo-Ping

Notable Cast: Wu Jing, Yu Shi, Chen Lijun, Nicholas Tse, Sun Yizhou, Ci Sha, Li Yunxiao, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Max Zhang, Jet Li, Zhang Yi, Kara Wei, Liu Yaowen, Xioung Jinyi

 

Considering the substantial cast and having an icon like Yuen Woo-Ping sitting in the director’s chair for this one, I could start this review out by stating things how Blades of the Guardians is an action fan’s dream come true or that Yuen Woo-Ping has delivered his best film in decades - both of which are true - but I think I want to start this off with a bit more heat. 

 

Thank you, Chinese streaming movies. 

 

Sure, Blades of the Guardians is the big title being released for Lunar New Year, and it’s probably going to slaughter in the international box office. It’s the kind of grandiose combination of spectacle, A-list names, and entertaining action cinema that will appease fans and newbies alike. And yet, as the film played out, using its dusty setting, well-choreographed action set pieces, and broad-stroke classic wuxia characters was not a reaction to the success of low-budget wuxia films on streaming sites like iQIYI. 

 

While the Chinese box office has been dominated by big CGI-focused fantasy-driven wuxia films over the last 10 to 20 years (which is fine for films like Creation of the Gods, but feels unwieldy and bloated for films like Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants), there was something of a counter movement in the streaming sector that pulled away from that. Smaller stories, big characters played by charismatic actors (often names from action films versus fantasy ones), and a focus on strong intimate action featuring plenty of stylish wire-work sword play. Films like Eye for an Eye, Blade of Fury, or Butcher’s Blade have reignited my own love of the gritty wuxia film. 

 

And, dare I say, Blades of the Guardians has far more in common with those films than it does with the fantasy-driven wuxia, and it’s better for it. Yuen Woo-Ping and his team pull away from the bloat that weighed down some of his previous wuxia efforts (particularly The Thousand Faces of Dunjia) and instead drive home a film about heroes, villains, justice, and a whole lot of sword-slashin'. The monsters here are people driven by power lust, not creatures from folklore, and the plotting has far more in common with Mad Max: Fury Road than with the Shakespearean politics of a film like Creation of the Gods. Blades of the Guardians is old-fashioned, brilliant action, slathered in modern spectacle and driven by heartfelt characters. And yes, I will argue that it’s one of Yuen Woo-Ping’s best films. Period. 

 

Bullet Break Dancing: Baby Assassins 3 (2025)

Director: Yugo Sakamoto

Notable Cast: Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Atomu Mizuishi, Tomo Nakai, Mondo Otani, Sosuke Ikematsu, Atsuko Maeda, Kaibashira, Karuma, Mr. Bunny, Satoshi Kibe

 

If there was ever an action franchise that I would watch for eternity, quality be damned, it’s definitely the Baby Assassins series. While I thoroughly enjoyed both of the first two entries into this strange mixture of slacker comedy and highly choreographed assassin action, this latest entry, Baby Assassins 3 (or Baby Assassins: Nice Days, as it was released in some markets), is perhaps the best of the lot. Not only does it continue to thread the needle with its two off-kilter genres mashed together, but there’s an extra layer of nuance and emotional payoff that lifts this above its predecessors. 

 

In preparation for this film, I rewatched the previous two entries over the course of a couple of weeks prior. It’s strange that for a series that has primarily been made by the same creatives, including writer/director Yugo Sakamoto (who also delivered the highly entertaining horror action hybrid Yellow Dragon’s Village), this one just feels so much more cinematic. Not only in its visual stylings, which grow more refined as the series goes on, but also in the writing. It’s a prime example of a case where the team behind this series is simply getting better at making these movies, despite never having had a misstep. 

Hell to Pay: Diablo (2025) Review

Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Notable Cast: Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Alanna de la Rosa, Diana Hoyos, Lucho Velasco

At this point, if you wanted to add Scott Adkins or Marko Zaror to any film, I’m there. Put both of them in? Well, shake me down and steal my lunch money, cause you can have it. Watching these two duke it out cinematically on screen since Undisputed III might be one of the best things in action cinema in the last 15 years (even when they don’t fight but share the same film like in John Wick 4). For their latest film, Diablo, Zaror is bringing along long-time director and collaborator Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (notable for Redeemer and Fist of the Condor), and the results are as smashingly high-octane as one would hope. 

Soul of an Assassin: Ghost Killer (2025) Review

Director: Kensuke Sonomura

Notable Cast: Akari Takaishi, Mario Kuroba, Masanori Mimoto, Ayaka Higashino, Hidenobu Abera, Naoto Kuratomi

 

When the opening sequence unveils itself to have Masanori Mimoto fighting off assassins armed with knives in an alley, humming along to a synthwave score, punctuated by hyper-grounded and lightning-fast choreography, you know that you’re in good hands with Ghost Killer. The latest low-budget, highly executed martial arts actioner from director and choreographer Kensuke Sonomura, his third as a director, follows suit with his previous films. 

 

Both Hydra and Bad City were gems to be discovered, and while Ghost Killer does play slightly into some new realms, it’s another raucous slice of martial arts film that will have both his fans and newcomers hooked into his style. It’s quirky and offbeat in its concept and performances, but never hesitates to deliver those brutal beat-downs and jaw-dropping kung fu choreography that people have come to expect from his material.         

Simply put, it’s another borderline masterpiece to add to his already impressive resume. 

 

A Bandit's Heart: 11 Rebels (2025) Review

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi

Notable Cast: Takayuki Yamada, Taiga Nakano, Ukon Onoe, Riho Sayashi, Takara Sakumoto, Seiji Chihara, Amane Okayama, Yuya Matsuura, Hayate Ichinose, Ryota Oyanagi, Chikara Motoyama, Shuhei Nomura, Shunsuke Tanaka, Satoru Matsuo, Fuga Shibazaki

 

It’s a cinematic samurai tradition by now. The story of a rogue’s gallery of anti-heroes, overcoming their differences, their pasts, and their fears to stand together for one last good thing. Although Seven Samurai has been remade and/or influenced thousands upon thousands of films in all genres, there is certainly a case to be made that this kind of samurai story still stands as one of the best kinds of stories to watch, even in 2025.

 

In the vein of classics such as the previously mentioned Akira Kurosawa picture, 47 Ronin, or 13 Assassins, the latest film from director Kazuya Shiraishi, 11 Rebels, will easily become a modern favorite of the genre. It’s brash in some of its narrative choices, particularly in its third act, and it features some incredible performances and action set pieces that set it apart from other action flicks this year. 11 Rebels is brutal in more ways than one, but hits its mark with remarkable efficiency even when it's treading on well-worn paths. 

 

Objection Sustained: The Prosecutor (2025) Review

Director: Donnie Yen

Notable Cast: Donnie Yen, Julian Cheung Chi Lam, Michael Hui, Francis Ng Chun Yu, Cheung Tin Fu

 

Although Donnie Yen has been the face of Hong Kong cinema since his career went astronomical with the Ip Man franchise, his return to the director’s chair with 2023’s Sakra elevated him to the next level. While the wuxia film was met with many mixed reactions from fans (I felt the film was a massively underrated modern classic, but I digress), it created many new avenues for the action icon to follow for the next part of his career.

The Prosecutor, his directorial follow-up and a wholly different action film than its predecessor, proves that not only does Donnie Yen have the goods as an action star at 60 years old, but his directorial career is very, very bright. Sporting a mixture of dramatic legal thrills and vicious action beatdowns, The Prosecutor balances Yen’s penchant for punching someone as hard as a shotgun blast with a more mature dramatic angle. The modern sensibilities will appeal to a larger demographic than Sakra, particularly those who love Yen’s cops n’ robbers flicks like Raging Fire, Flashpoint, or SPL. Yeah, that’s absolutely a great thing. Case dismissed. 

 

The Action We Knee-d: Striking Rescue (2024) Review

Director: Cheng Siyi

Notable Cast: Tony Jaa, Chen Duo-Yi, Eason Hung, Xing Yu, Philip Keung Ho-Man, Yu Bolin, Mao Fan

 

Although Tony Jaa has seen his fair share of little cameos or more minor secondary roles throughout the years, lately, he’s taken chiefly roles as part of an ensemble or as a second lead to someone else. Were the days of a Tony Jaa lead film already over?

Well, if there’s any industry that can revitalize a career in action with minimal risk and maximum reward, it’s the damn Chinese streaming industry. So, in a strange twist of fate, it’s not flirting with Hollywood that would reignite Jaa’s leading man career, but it’s a straight-to-streaming action flick like Striking Rescue. Not that this one is going to find a ton of new fans, but it’s definitely going to light the fire for a lot of action fans with its blend of baseline action drama, brutal action beatdowns, and a very shouty, darkened performance by our leading hero, the hero of elbows and knees. Striking Rescue is the kind of film his fan base has been asking for - light on plot, heavy on beatdowns.

Brick by Brick: Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) Review

Director: Soi Cheang

Notable Cast: Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Terrance Lau, Tony Wu, German Cheung, Philip Ng, Richie Jen, Sammo Hung, Kenny Wong Tak-Ban, Aaron Kwok, Fish Liew

 

Director Soi Cheang is on a roll.

After he dropped the long-awaited sequel SPL2: A Time for Consequences almost 10 years ago, renamed Killzone 2 for its US release, Soi Cheang took a wild detour to film two Monkey King movies. Although those films are entertaining, one must wonder if Soi Cheang’s career would be completely derailed by massive blockbuster fantasy.

Yet, he pulled a 180 from that for two films in a row by dropping the award-winning thrillers Limbo and Mad Fate over the last couple of years. It’s a shift that truly indicates just how talented he is as a director. Not only did he direct one of the best modern Hong Kong action films with SPL2, but Limbo was one of the best neo-noirs of recent memory. 

 

Godsmacked: Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) Review

Director: Wuershan

Notable Cast: Kris Phillips, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo, Yosh Yu, Luke Chen, Naran, Xia Yu, Yang Le, Chen Kun, Yuan Quan, Ci Sha, Yafan Wu, Luoyong Wang, Hou Wenyuan, Tim Huang

 

Now that the Chinese film industry has punted many of its lower-budget films to streaming services, it’s not shocking to see a massive CGI-heavy multi-film adaptation of a classic fantasy story look and feel so much like modern Hollywood blockbusters. The initial trailers for Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms were brimming with massive superhero-like action set pieces, while the promise of this being a “part one” of a trilogy indicated that this would be E.P.I.C. Truly, this looked like the Chinese fantasy blockbuster to end all blockbusters. 

 

Director Wuershan’s adaption of the Investiture of the Gods story is undoubtedly just that. Nothing in Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms is subtle or straightforward. This is a big scale to the blockbuster nth degree, and it shows for better or worse. As the first part of this trilogy, it’s still a highly entertaining film; for that, it does get credit. It’s just par for the course that its stunning visual feasts and entertaining action sequences come with a script that is scattered in trying to jam in dozens stacked upon dozens of characters, plots that never feel fleshed out, and a narrative that feels elongated and still rushed. 

 

But it also features two massive stone monsters possessed by an occasionally headless evil wizard chasing a god stripped of his powers on horseback. So, you know, give a little, take a little. 

 

Howling into the Void: Wolf Pack (2023) Review

Director: Michael Chiang

Notable Cast: Max Zhang, Aarif Rahman, Jiang Luxia, Mark Luu, Zhang Yi, Xue Jianing, Ye Liu

 

Honestly, I’ll watch any film with Max Zhang in it. His rise to leading A-list stardom in China has been a blast to follow and he quickly becomes a highlight of any film he’s in. When it was announced he would be in a new military action flick, Wolf Pack, along with Aarif Rahman and Jiang Luxia - two very underrated stars in their own right - I was doubly in. A military group led by Zhang kicking ass, taking names, and setting their sites on out-America-ing Hollywood in military actioners with weirdly patriotic themes? Hell yeah, I’m in. 

 

For all of its bullet blasting, secret character heroics, and a handful of exciting action set pieces, Wolf Pack is a movie that throws many punches and only lands a few of them. A charm is inherent in many of its ideas and a few of its executions. Still, its narrative could be more straightforward, and its characters - despite some fantastic casting - are bland blends of various tropes and unfinished arcs. Wolf Pack does a lot of loud howling, but it's howling its loudest into a void that swallows any sound and kills any lingering echo after the credits roll. 

 

The Ultimate Sakra-fice: Sakra (2023) Review

Directors: Donnie Yen, Kam Ka-Wai

Notable Cast: Donnie Yen, Yukee Chen, Liu Yase, Kara Hui, Wu Yue, Eddie Cheung, Grace Wong, Do Yuming, Ray Lui, Tsui Siu-Ming, Cai Xiangyu, Michelle Hu, Zhao Huawei, Yu Kang, Xu Xiangdong, Yuen Cheung-Yan, Cheung Siu Fai, Cya Liu, Kara Wai, Kenji Tanigaki, Hua Yan

 

Donnie Yen has solidified himself as one of the biggest action stars in the work in the last 15 years. For those who follow Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, we’ve known that for much, much longer than that - but the international success of the Ip Man films along with stints in Hollywood blockbusters like John Wick: Chapter 4 have made sure that his name was synonymous with action godhood for the entire world. 

 

How does he decide to cash his blank check of this fame for his first directorial effort in almost 20 years? He decided to do an adaption of the wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. It’s not the most obvious choice, mainly since his brand of action has been reasonably modern, gritty, and grounded even when doing classic kung fu flicks like the Ip Man series. Yet, as a star and director, Yen tackles big-scale wire-fu, chi powers, and classic heroic tropes for Sakra. 

 

Birds Don't Have Fists: Fist of the Condor (2023) Review [Hi-Yah!]

Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Notable Cast: Marko Zaror, Marko Zaror, Eyal Meyer, Gina Aguad, Fernanda Urrejola, Man Soo Yoon, Jose Manuel, Cristian Garin, Francisco Castro

 

When I told my wife that I had a new movie to watch the other night, she asked the question that most people ask. “Which one?” I replied, “Fist of the Condor. The new kung fu movie starring Marko Zaror.” She paused for a moment. “Well, that doesn’t make sense. Birds don’t have fists.”

She’s a funny one, that gal. 

 

On the one hand, she’s absolutely right. Condors are big badass birds, but they certainly don’t have fists. In true, classic kung fu fashion, it doesn’t really matter though when the animal is just an inspiration for the martial arts. Condors don’t need fists... because you know who does have fists? Marko fuckin’ Zaror. And he’s bringing his own martial arts style to the screen in that classic kung fu manner. It just so happens that he has the perfect physique that he looks like a condor when he extends his arms into a full wingspan. Just before he starts handing people their asses. 

 

A Man with a Cause: John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Review

Director: Chad Stahelski

Notable Cast: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, Clancy Brown, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror

 

At one point leading into the final portion of John Wick: Chapter 4, Clancy Brown’s Harbinger warns the big bad of the film, The Marquis - played with a seething and conniving performance by Bill Skarsgard, that a man’s ambition should never exceed his worth. The moment is one to indicate that, despite the villain’s endless amount of resources and skilled killers, The Marquis is still over his head in trying to kill John Wick. Yet it’s also the same warning that echoed my worries for this fourth entry.

 

Would the ambitions of the John Wick franchise eventually exceed its worth?

 

With John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, one could see the ambitions for building the globe trotting world start to stretch to the point of excess. Not that the film is inherently bad, nay, but it is one where some of the choices for plot and narrative felt the strain.

 

With John Wick: Chapter 4, the series addresses those (including an opening sequence that neatly ties an open thread with a bullet point of finality) and then proceeds to grow the series in scope while going back to the thematic and narrative points about the character that made this franchise explode with audiences. It’s a cinematic magic trick of epic proportions. It balances its emotional parallels for the character while simultaneously giving the viewer the biggest and most ambitious entry yet. If the ambitions were exceeding the worth, Chapter 4 grows the worth to match those ambitions. The results are glorious and punctuated with the viciousness of a napalm loaded shotgun blast.

 

Burn It to the Ground: Burning Paradise (1994) Review

Director: Ringo Lam

Notable Cast: Willie Chi, Carman Lee, Wong Kam-Kong, Yamson Domingo, Maggie Lam Chuen, John Ching Tung, Kam-Fai Yuen, Ng Hey-Sin, Lee Chi, Chris Lee King-Sang

 

Wuxia films from the 90s, particularly the early 90s, are their own breed. After the genre lost some favor with audiences throughout the 80s as urban and modern action films started to dominate the box offices, Tsui Hark rekindled the genre with his epic Once Upon a Time in China series, and a new age of wuxia was born. In the wake of the success of that franchise, a lot of studios and filmmakers took their own stab (swing? slice?) at the genre but with slightly updated tones and style for the 90s. 

 

One of the most intriguing gaps in my own experience of working through the bigger titles from this decade was Burning Paradise. Directed by the iconic Ringo Lam, only two years before he would exit the Hong Kong industry to make his attempt at breaking into Hollywood, Burning Paradise was the only time he would dabble in the wuxia genre. 

 

And while the film had its own cult reputation through bootlegs, it’s only just recently did the film find a fantastic home video release via Vinegar Syndrome for fans, like me, to finally experience. 

 

Putting the Cult in Cult Cinema: Yellow Dragon's Village (2023) [Screambox Original]

Director: Yugo Sakamoto

Notable Cast: Atomu Mizuishi, Mayu Suzuki, Takuya Matsumoto, Yuni Akino, Zingi Umemoto, Rikiya Kaidou, Yu Yasuda, Wataru Ichinose, Itsuki Fuji, Masayuki Ino, Kenta Osaka

 

Never underestimate the DIY indie film industry either. Sure, the big leagues and studio films have the money and time to make some impressive feats of cinema, but sometimes the most interesting slices of celluloid are the ones found in the cracks of the system. Take Yellow Dragon’s Village for instance. The film looks to be made by its on and off-screen creative teams for roughly $100 and the promise of shots at the local bar at the end of each day, but there is such a freedom to its playfulness that immediately strikes. 

 

While the film might be listed as a horror, sometimes a drama, on various platforms, it is far more than that. Yellow Dragon’s Village is premiere-low budget filmmaking at its finest, delivering a coy sense of humor along with its genre-bending play on expectations in a way that sets up its audience for one thing and then batters them with another. It uses its serious filmmaking concepts and then promptly, more than once, throws them out the window for the sake of toying with its audience.

 

Debuting on the streaming service Screambox, it’s that horror tag that represents the initial expectations that Yellow Dragon’s Village is playing with. Director Yugo Sakamoto, the one-man do-it-yourself filmmaker who delivered two (!) fantastic action films last year with A Janitor and Baby Assassins, tackles the horror genre with a story that starts off like any classic horror film. A group of college-aged youths find themselves stranded in the forest. It’s only when they stumble upon the titular village, where the locals offer to help them out, that they uncover a cult looking for their next sacrifice. 

 

Space Jeeps, Wuxia Leaps, and Alien Creeps: Alienoid (2022) Review

Director: Choi Dong-hoon

Notable Cast: Ryu Jun-yeol, Kim Woo-bin, Kim Tae-ri, Choi Yu-ri, So Ji-sub, Yum Jung-ah, Jo Woo-jin, Kim Eui-sung, Lee Ha-nee, Shin Jung-geun, Lee Si-hoon, Kim Dae-myung

 

After the opening voice-over narrative tells the audience that aliens are being imprisoned inside people’s brains, I started to question where Alienoid was heading as a story. 

 

Scratch that. When the film jumped 600 years into the past, I really started to question what this film had in store for me. 

 

Wait. Hold on. It was when the space SUV pummels through a sky portal to reveal a cyborg and his shape-changing Apple-style Wall-E knock-off sidekick who steal a baby from said past, rewire her brain, and raise her as a contributing member of the society in current times that I started to wonder… where in the fiery CGI-green-screen hell was this film going to go?

 

The answer is that Alienoid goes. It just goes. And it goes. And it goes. And it goes.