RIGOR MORTIS opens today!

Well Go USA

Entertainment

Presents

Rigor Mortis / Geung si

Directed by Juno Mak

Produced by Takashi Shimizu and Juno Mak

Hong Kong, 2013, 105 minutes

Hong Kong hopping vampire flick Rigor Mortis opens today in North America. Theatrical markets include New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Bay Are, San Diego, Seattle, and Honolulu. The roll-out will continue this month in Austin, Houston and Lubbock, Texas and in Toronto. (Check local listings or the Rigor Mortis page at wellgousa.com.)

Chin Siu Ho moves in

Chin Siu-Ho stars as Chin Siu Ho, a has-been actor who moves into a decrepit tenement building complex. He had left his village when he was 13 and become a leading actor by 16, but has fallen on hard times. Divorced, or at least separated (it's not clear which and doesn't really matter), he dearly misses his son. Not helping his depression is the fact that his room, number 2442, is inhabited by the ghosts of twin sisters who died there under horrific circumstances.

Yau, the vampire hunter

The tenement's denizens are a strange bunch. Yau (Anthony "Friend" Chan, Twin Dragons, in his first film in nearly 20 years) is the last in a line of vampire hunters. He saves Chin when he hangs himself from the ceiling fan in his room. Yeung Feng (Kara Wai, My Young Auntie) used to live in #2442 with her husband and son Pak. Now she wander the halls and lives with Pak in an area provided by Uncle Yin (Lo Hoi Pang, Blind Detective, Drug War), the building's 72-year-old security guard.

Auntie Mui

Auntie Mui (Nina Paw, a.k.a. Hee Ching Paw, Bullet in the Head, Special ID) has diabetes; she does sewing and takes care of children. Her "Old Man" is Tung (Richard Ng, Once Upon a Time in China and America), who has a series fall in one of the building's stairwwells.) Finally there's Gau, who dabbles in the black arts.

Yeung Feng and son Pak

The film genre of Chinese hopping vampires is known as Geung Si. Although termed "vampires," to me they're more like zombies. But unlike their Western counterparts, these creatures are extremely rigid (hence the title Rigor Mortis) and can only ambulate by hopping around. One of the most popular Geung Si films was Mr. Vampire (1985), in which Chin Siu-Ho was one of the stars.The film's success led to a number of sequels.

The sisters from Room 2442

Rigor Mortis is an homage to these classic movies, but one with a modern day visual sensibility. It's dark and eerie, and it'll keep you enthralled.

AsianCineFest rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; highly recommended.

For those interested in reading more about Chinese hopping vampire films, I strongly urge you to check out Grady Hendrix's  Film Comment article Kaiju Shakedown: Hopping Vampires Edition. Grady was one of the founders of Subway Cinema, the organization that began the annual New York Asian Film Festival.

RIGOR MORTIS to open theatrically in North America on June 6th

Wel Go USA Entertainment

and

Kudo Films Limited

Present

Rigor Mortis / Geung si

Directed by Juno Mak

Hong Kong, 2013, 105 minutes

Cantonese with English Subtitles

Rigor Mortis, an eerie, chilling homage to the classic Chinese vampire movies of the 1980s, is set to open in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Honolulu, and Toronto on June 6th. Co-produced by J-Horror icon Takashi Shimizu, the film marks the directorial debut of Hong Kong film maverick Juno Mak and reunites some of the original cast members of the classic Mr. Vampire series.

Synopsis: A washed-up actor, desperate and suicidal, moves into a haunted Hong Kong apartment housing tower where supernatural creatures, ghost hunters, taoist exorcists, and the souls of the undead walk among his neighbors.

I'm planning to attend a press screening in New York at the end of may and expect to have a review up on or before the release date, so be sure to check back at AsianCineFest.

ACF 2021: Japanese vampire film SANGUIVOROUS available now

Tidepoint Pictures

Presents

© Tidepoint Pictures, LLC  2013

Sanguivorous / Kyuketsu

Written and Directed by Naoki Yoshimoto

Produced by Sachi Nagamatsu

Starring Ayumi Kakizawa, Masaya Adachi, Mutsuko Yoshinaga, and Ko Murobushi

Cinematography by Katsuya Shinzato and Noaki Yoshimoto

Lighting by Mitsuyo Watanabe and Katsuya Shinzato

Production design by Takashi Yagi

Music by Naoki Yoshimoto

Japan, 2011, 56 minutes

Sanguivorous (the word means "feeding on blood, as a bat or insect") is a unique vampire horror movie from Japan that's available now on DVD from Tidepoint Pictures. It's an idiosyncratic work, highly experimental. Twilight fans need not apply.

The basic story, such as it is, concerns a young woman who discovers that she’s descended from generations of vampires. She first learns of this from her boyfriend, who reads to her about a Romanian vampire coffin that arrived on Japan's shores hundreds of years earlier. The film features the renowned avant-garde butoh dancer Ko Murobushi as the elderly vampire.The fourth character is a female vampire who introduces the girl to her heritage.

But the film is not about story, it's about imagery and sound, the myriad things that can be done in film when talented people use their imaginations. It's for that reason that I've included a fairly complete list of the main creative contributors to the film. Normally I just list the  director, sometimes also including the writer and lead cast-members.

There is a very small amount of dialogue film, some music and sound effects, but Sanguivorous largely comes across as a silent movie, complete with title cards. There are short periods of high-frequency camera shake, as if there was a lesser earthquake when those scenes were being shot. Sometimes the film has color, sometimes it's tinted, and sometimes it's simply black and white. These latter shots are often very high in contrast. There is also a fairly broad range of grain in the print.

Writer-director Naoki Yoshimoto has produced an intriguing and fascinating mood picture. It's certainly not going to be to everyone's taste. But if you have even the slightest interest in a remarkable exploration of the possibilities of film, watching Sanguivorous will prove to be an immensely satisfying experience.

Purely as a service to interested readers, those interested can order Sanguivorous at Amazon.com by clicking here.

About Tidepoint Pictures
Tidepoint Pictures may be a smaller distributor of Asian films, but it's been offering North American audiences many great films including A2, DEAD OR ALIVE, NORIKO'S DINNER TABLE, and UZUMAKI.

ACF 1906: NOBLE V: GREYLANCER now available from Haikasoru Imprint

NOBLE V: GREYLANCER cover art (C) 2013 Vincent Chong

 VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT DELIVERS

THE LATEST NOVEL IN THE VAMPIRE HUNTER D SAGA

WITH THE RELEASE OF NOBLE V: GREYLANCER

Witness The Beginning of The Three Thousand Year War Of Vampire Hunter D

In This Exciting Novel By Famed Horror/Sci-fi Author Hideyuki Kikuchi

VIZ Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint delivers a bloodthirsty new chapter of the legendary Vampire Hunter D saga with the North American release of NOBLE V: GREYLANCER, now available in stores. The new fantasy novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi, carries an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. The release also includes a bonus novelette titled, "An Irreplaceable Existence.” An eBook edition is also available for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, and the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

Internationally acclaimed writer, Hideyuki Kikuchi, author and creator of the famed novel series, Vampire Hunter D, delves into the past with his latest addition, NOBLE V: GREYLANCER, It is the year 7000 by Noble reckoning, and the vampire rulers of the world have grown complacent. When the Outer Space Beings (OSBs) invade, the Noble warrior Greylancer must pit his skills and magic against the technology of the OSBs, quash an anti-Noble rebellion, and, when he is critically injured, turn to mere humans for help. The Three Thousand Year War of Vampire Hunter D begins here!

“Hideyuki Kikuchi is one of Japan's top horror and science fiction authors in the proud tradition of Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber, H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King. His Vampire Hunter D setting has been attracting fans in the U.S. for more than twenty years,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru’s editor. “NOBLE V: GREYLANCER reveals the mysterious history of the Nobility and follows the exploits of the powerful Noble warrior Greylancer as pushes his own immortality to the limit. Kikuchi is an ardent fan of many classic horror tropes, and his new novel exquisitely combines the danger and violence of traditional literary vampires with the nobility and dark attraction of modern vampire iconography.”

Hideyuki Kikuchi was born in 1949 in Chiba, Japan and, inspired by the work of writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, began writing supernatural fiction in the early 1980s. His first novel, Demon City Shinjuku, debuted in 1982. Horror films, most notably 1958’s The Horror of Dracula, had a tremendous impact on Kikuchi and inspired him to create the legendary Vampire Hunter D series, which has spawned more than 17 novels and a host of novellas and related short stories. One of the world’s most prolific authors, Kikuchi has published over three hundred books and still produces multiple novels per year. He has enjoyed tremendous international success as a novelist and much of his work has been also been adapted into manga and anime, including Vampire Hunter D. Wicked City, A Wind Named Amnesia, and Dark Wars: The Tale of Meiji Dracula.

For more information on NOBLE V: GREYLANCER and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com.

ACF 1267: Debut screening of award-winning vampire short Bloodtraffick in Hong Kong this weekend

International Award-Winning Vampire Short Bloodtraffick announces its

Debut Asian Screening at Music & Arts Festival Clockenflap 2011

Hong Kong action short starring The Man with the Iron Fists’ Grace Huang

Basking in its recent wins for Best Short, Best Editing and Best Cinematography at the 2011 Salty Horror International Film Festival, Bloodtraffick continues to rule the film festival circuit. After garnering multiple awards abroad, the highly anticipated short Bloodtraffick will be screened on Asian soil for the first time at Hong Kong’s Music & Arts Festival Clockenflap 2011. The festival is taking place December 10h and 11th in West Kowloon from 12 PM to 10 Pm.

Shot in Hong Kong and starring rising Asia artiste Grace Huang – who won Best Actress for Bloodtraffick at the HollyShorts 2011 Film Festival in August – and directed by award-nominated American director Jennifer Thym, the short is currently being produced into a full length feature film with the same title.

Set in a war torn world with vampires pitted against angels, a human vigilante (Ava, played by Grace Huang) – on the hunt for her missing sisters – is lured into the den of a vampire where she faces both a formidable opponent and her darkest fears.

“Bloodtraffick is a kick-ass short that flawlessly combines an intense storyline of good versus evil with brutal action, breath-taking cinematography and an epic original soundtrack. Bloodtraffick gives audiences a unique taste of the dark, gritty side of Hong Kong cinema,” said Grace Huang, Bloodtraffick's lead actress. Director Jennifer Thym goes on to say, “This film represents the Hong Kong film industry’s untapped potential and further enhances the city’s reputation as a hotbed for original movie ideas and talent. We felt that Clockenflap was a perfect venue to offer the diverse grassroots creative community in Hong Kong a taste of the work that is being produced right here and is currently receiving International accolades.”
  

Bloodtraffick premiered at the world renowned Gen Con Indy 2011, followed by screenings at the HollyShorts 2011 Film Festival, the 12th San Diego Asian Film Festival and The 2011 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. Clockenflap 2011 marks its debut screening on the same soil it was shot on.

For more information on Bloodtraffick, visit bloodtraffick.com.

ACF 391: The Vampire's Assistant coming to theaters on October 23rd, 2009

Vampires here, vampires there. Them damn vampires seem to be everywhere. Asian film fans had a couple of our own recently with the live-action version of Blood: The Last Vampire and with Thirst.

The Vampire's Assistant - which will be opening October 23rd - ain't Asian but it sure does look promising. (Actually there is one Asian connection: the terrific Japanese actor Ken Watanbe has a major role as Mr. Tall, the circus's barker.)

I'm excited about it for several reasons. Among them is the fact that it stars John C. Reilly as the vampire. I find him a very personable actor to watch. Also, Selma Hayek stars as Madame Truska, a character who sprouts a beard when she gets passionate!

Don't miss the link to the film's sweepstakes at the end of this post.

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That’s the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty.

Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what’s left of his humanity.

Cast: John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia, Ray Stevenson, Patrick Fugit, Orlando Jones, with Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek

Directed by: Paul Weitz

Screenplay by: Paul Weitz and Brian Helgeland

Based on the Cirque du Freak Series of Books by: Darren Shan

Website: www.thevampiresassistant.net.

NEW film clips are now available on http://www.epk.tv!

New iPhone/iTouch App for Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant now available at http://www.itunes.com/apps/iFreak.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant Sweepstakes: Enter now at http://www.thevampiresassistant.net/sweeps for a chance to win a sneak preview screening for you and your school (or 200 of your closest friends), including a special appearance by one of the stars of the film! Visit the sweeps website to enter to win and see what other great prizes are being given away.