Hush (2016)

Director: Mike Flanagan

Notable Cast: Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, Emilia Graves

When it comes to modern horror, Mike Flanagan might be one of the best and freshest voices in the industry. His first two films were the atmospheric suffocation of Absentia and the shockingly effective time blending of Oculus, films that rocked their concepts and effectively executed what could have been questionable ideas into modern classics. This is the reason why I was initially stoked to dive into his spin on the home invasion film Hush. Now, the fact that it was seemingly kicked straight to Netflix did give me hesitation, but don’t be afraid because Hush continues the trend of Flanagan nailing the horror genre down to a science even if the basic foundation is nothing all that original.

Magic Blade, The (1976)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Ching Li, Tanny Tien Nim, Lily Li, Ku Feng

When it comes to the Chor Yuen wuxia films of the 70s for the Shaw Brothers, The Magic Blade usually comes highly recommended from those in the martial arts community. My first viewing of the film a few years ago left me a bit cold actually, as the film (like many other Chor Yuen wuxia films) tends to throw the viewer down into the middle of a fully developed world and expect them to keep up with its sprint like pacing. However, after seeing the film again just a few days ago in theaters, I felt like I was able to enjoy it much more for what it is versus what I wanted it to be. Instead of an epic and emotional tale of a man’s plight to dethrone a martial world super villain, I was able to enjoy it for its rather campy approach and off the cuff style. The film is rarely as good as the claims (or even as some of Chor Yuen’s other films), but the combination of its sprinting pace, eclectic narrative, and outrageous action set pieces it’s easy to love it for how entertaining it really is.

Outlaw: Goro the Assassin (1968)

Director: Keiichi Ozawa

Notable Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara

With the speed that Nikkatsu was pumping out these Outlaw films, it’s not terribly out of realm of possibility that they would continue to adhere to the basic concepts and formulas that made the series so popular to begin with. I touched base on this idea with the third film Heartless and its more episodic approach to the foundation, but with the fourth film Goro the Assassin it’s pretty much a solidified truth in what structure and emotional beats the audience is going to see. However, it’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s probably for the best for a film like Goro. The yakuza thriller further strips itself of a lot of the artistic moments and thematic material that the series used (both in successful and detrimental ways depending on the film) and instead throttles down on tight writing and more naturalistic character arcs. It might be predictable if you’ve seen the first few films, but that doesn’t mean it’s ineffective.

Sentimental Swordsman, The (1977)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Derek Yee, Ching Li, Yueh Hua, Candice Yu, Ku Feng, Fan Mei-sheng, Norman Chu, Ngai Fei, Yuen Wah

While Chor Yuen has never really been my favorite director when it comes to Shaw Brothers films, I seem to find myself coming back again and again to a lot of his material. His ability to craft some dynamic (and ultimately insane) wuxia films makes his films a lot of fun to watch, even when they are of a lesser quality. The Sentimental Swordsman falls exactly into this category. The film is powered on some very silly concepts and made entertaining by its own outrageous moments, but it’s hard to overlook a lot of the deeper flaws of the narrative and the immense world building present. With a stacked cast of iconic Shaw Brothers regulars, The Sentimental Swordsman is going to have its following just on a fan level, but it’s a hard film to swallow for those unprepared for the ridiculous aspects that are presented.

Outlaw: Heartless (1968)

Director: Mio Ezaki

Notable Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Koji Wada, Miroshi Nawa, Isao Tamagawa, Eiji Go, Ryoji Hayama, Fumio Watanabe, Kaku Takashina, Asao Uchida

The initial worries that plagued my expectations for the third Outlaw film, Heartless, is that it the franchise would have already found and adhered to a very specific formula established by the first one. The second film already suffered a bit from trying to recreate the formula which undermined a lot of its greater elements and it wasn’t a huge leap of imagination to see this six film series already hitting a rut of expressive style. Fortunately, Heartless does not necessary stick to the blue print pointers of the franchise like the previous entry did. You will certainly see some familiar themes and even structures, a smart move overall that comes with formulating a franchise. However, it’s also a film that can be weirdly confusing because it’s supposed to be a prequel (I think) to the original film with no reference to the previous two films. Without this knowledge prior to going into the film (information about the film seems relatively sparse on the internet even in 2016) Heartless is a bit rocky at first, but the film is ultimately an entertaining and effective little action thriller.

Cabin Fever (2016)

Director: Travis Z

Notable Cast: Samuel Davis, Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Nadine Crocker, Dustin Ingram

I’ve always tried to make it quite clear that remakes are not inherently evil/bad/dumb/awful. With the proper execution and a fresh voice behind it, remakes can actually be effective new movies that bring classics or overlooked stories to a whole new generation. With that approach in mind, even I had a hard time swallowing the announcement that Cabin Fever was receiving the ol’ remake treatment. The original is only a decade old, the style of horror comedy on display is still a relevant approach (if not more relevant now with the massive amount of successful horror comedies released just last year), and it’s essentially the same generation of people that will be the prime audience for it. There have been a lot of unnecessary remakes released in the last handful of years, like the new Carrie or Let Me In, but this latest Cabin Fever makes them look like glorified, shining gold. Cabin Fever ’16 is simply uninspired and irrelevant for most any horror cinephile. Perhaps if you are part of the 3% of horror fans that didn’t see the original, you might find a fun movie…but that’s really the only way I can see being impressed by this film on almost any level.

Bride of Re-Animator (1989)

Director: Brian Yuzna

Notable Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Claude Earl Jones, Fabiana Udenio, David Gale, Kathleen Kinmont, Mel Stewart

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it – Re-Animator is a sure fire classic. The film is simply a phenomenal piece of horror cinema from its perfect casting, its pitch black humor, and its weirdly strong criticism of the medical field with its competitive approach. It’s a magical blend of all things awesome from 80s horror and it has a lasting effect even 30 years down the road. So it’s no wonder that the first sequel to such an iconic film would try to recapture the same blend and push it further down the rabbit’s hole of outrageousness. Bride of Re-Animator attempts to do just that, with more mixed results than success, and it comes off as an even loonier cocktail of humor, horror, and insanity. While the film is not nearly as good at pulling it off as the original, it is still an electric ball of energy and one that has fairly earned its own cult following in the years after its release. Enough so that Arrow Video has graciously put together this latest re-release of the film packed with extras and two newly restored high definition versions of both the R-rated and unrated cuts of the film.

Outlaw Gangster VIP 2 (1968)

Director: Keiichi Ozawa

Notable Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Izumi Ashikawa, Eimei Esumi, Jukei Fujioka, Shoki Fukae, Joji Hidehara, Seishiro Iwate, Meiko Kaji, Hatsuko Kawahara, Ichiro Kijima

To say that I was impressed with Outlaw Gangster VIP is to be putting it mildly. In essence, it’s one of the best yakuza films from that era that I’ve seen and it rises above its own formulaic moments to a sense of artfulness that genre films often sacrifice for the sake of entertainment. Outlaw Gangster VIP 2 looks to really run with the success of the original film by following a lot of the same blueprints. However, the film does suffer a bit from ‘carbon copy syndrome’ and things aren’t quite as effectively slick as they were the first time around. It’s still an entertaining (and hauntingly heartfelt) romp of yakuza action and drama worthy of a look from fans, but it’s not quite the one-two punch that knocked the wind out of me like the first one did. It’s a good movie that just misses out on being great.

Forest, The (2016)

Director: Jason Zada

Notable Cast: Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, Eoin Macken, Yukiyoshi Ozawa

With a generic title like The Forest and some underwhelming trailers, I just went ahead and decided to skip seeing this little haunted forest flick in theaters. Even when it dropped on VOD, I was hesitant to use my credits to watch the film. However, impulsive renting certainly got the better of me and I decided to give The Forest a chance. Like its underwhelming title, the film is also quite underwhelming. The Forest is one of those films that has a rather intriguing basis and it’s far from being bad in many regards as it passes by with enough atmosphere, scares, and ideas to keep one watching at least. However, it succumbs to one of horror’s worst enemies. It plays it safe. Ultimately, it’s a move that undercuts what might have been a fun and creepy flick.

Outlaw Gangster VIP (1968)

Director: Toshio Masuda

Notable Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Mitsuo Hamada, Tamio Kawachi, Kyosuke Machida, Kayo Matsuo, Yasuko Sanjo, Sanae Kitabayashi, Michitaro Mizushima, Hiroshisa Toda

“You’re not really yakuza. You are yakuza, but in your heart you’re not yakuza.”

When Arrow Video announced the Outlaw: Gangster VIP series to be released in a box set, I was stoked. Firstly, the deal that Arrow Video has made with Nikkatsu films is a godsend for fans of cult Japanese film making. The films that they have released together for us in the US and UK have been pretty consistently awesome. Secondly, most of the writers here at Blood Brothers are franchise whores and we are always up for a new series to explore. Seeing as this series has six films, it only exponentially lifted the expectations for us. However, considering that this series seems to be far more underground than expected, there was also some hesitation about just how good it would be considering it remained a bit more obscure. If the rest of the series is nearly as good as the first entry though, every one of the films is going to be in for a fantastic cinematic treat. Outlaw: Gangster VIP, the first of the six films in this set, is a remarkably fun, heartfelt, and absorbing film that runs on charismatic performances and director Masuda’s knack for dynamic pacing. While the combination of Arrow Video and Nikkatsu have already shown us some overlooked gems, this one might be one of the best releases that they have dropped thus far and Japanese cinephiles are going to want this set if only for this film.