Nekoneko’s Movie Litterbox!!

Looks like I still have time for a few more reviews before we all turn into pumpkins…..so here we go with “Veerana”, from India, land of the horror/musical……

The general synopsis for it reads: “Thakur entraps a witch who was creating trouble for the people for long time and hangs her in front of the local people. However, her disciples manage to drag her corpse to a safer place and build a shrine for her. The high priest decides to use the body of Thakur’s daughter as a place for the spirit of witch. On a trip to old ancestral home, Thakur is entrapped and her daughter’s hair are cut. These hair are used by the priest to practice necessary rituals to put the spirit of witch into the body of Thakur’s daughter. The high priest succeeds in putting the spirit into the body of Thakur’s daughter. Then he arrives at her uncles place claiming that he rescued his niece in the middle of the jungle. Uncle is so impressed by the honesty of the man that he asks him to stay on and look after the child. The child behaves strangely just from the first day and then kills her aunt showing it as a suicide. After the trauma, uncle sends his own daughter to grow up in Bombay while niece remains with him. Time passes and daughter comes back to meet her father and cousin. Meanwhile, in the area, some brutal murders are occurring and local authorities are completely on their toes. All these are the works of spirit taking her revenge by using the body of Thakur’s daughter. How will the murderer be recognized and killings stopped?”

Hmmmm? Are you intrigued enough to “Read On”?

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It’s almost the end of the month, and I know I’ve fallen short of my goal, but here’s another review for you all, this time the Japanese horror film “Mizuchi” aka “Death Water”….straight from my new all-region Singapore edition of the film…..

The synopsis for it reads: “Something is amiss in the Kanto region. As earthquakes rock the area, journalist Togakure Kyoko (Igawa Haruka) investigates a series of mysterious suicides. In all the cases, the victims showed symptoms of delusion and unnatural thirst and bore out their own eyes before killing themselves. One of the dead, professor Morikawa (Yanagi Yurei), left a message warning of “death water”, which he had been studying prior to his death. Kyoko thinks that a problem with the water supply is somehow causing these deaths, a suggestion that her ex-husband Yuichi (Watabe Atsuro) dismisses until he too starts showing symptoms. Earthquakes, death water, a recently discovered archaeological ruin - everything seems to be connected somehow, but exactly what is behind this epidemic of suicides? The cause may be even more shocking than the consequences…..”

Sounds good eh?…. I thought so too, as the whole eye gouging thingee touches upon a decidedly personal phobia of mine. Hehehehe. But if you want to know more, you’re gonna have to “Read On”……

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Back to Korea for this one…. with a wee bit o’ deja vu. This time out it’s “Cadaver”….. but wait a minute? Didn’t your favorite Catgirl already review this one? Hmmmmmm……. seems like the Koreans reeeeaalllly liked the Thai film, as this one is a very close version of that 2006 film, but with better effects, and a slightly different approach. All in all I find the title confusing…. I wish they had used “Autopsy Room”, the original translation from the Korean… much less confusing.

The synopsis reads as follows: “In a cold dark shaded anatomy classroom, 6 student prosectors are taking part in anatomy class Sun-hwa, Ki-bum, Joong-suk, Eun-joo, Ji-young and Kyung-min are smart medical college freshmen in the same anatomy class. Sun-hwa smart and confident; Ki-bum born to be a team leader full of confidence, Joong-suk son a hospital owner; Kyung-min too weak to be a doctor; Ji-young sexy and haughty but poor at study, Eun-joo studious nerd. They are competing with each other to be the best surgeon, but are strongly tied with fellowship as a team. In the first class, they try to suppress their fear and approach the cadaver that is waiting for them…. The first meeting with a deadly beautiful cadaver, and their nightmare begins. The cadaver is assigned to them, right after the first class. They suffer from ghosts and hallucinations. After several accidents and death of some team members, they start to realize something horrible is coming for them. They do their best to survive and find one clue: these accidents all have something to do with the female cadaver.”

So, is there room for two movies with the same idea? Lets “Read On” and see….. (more…)

This time out, your favorite Catgirl movie geek is bringing you the details of “Suster Ngesot”, an Indonesian Horror film…… one of a number of them, actually all telling some version of an Urban folklore store about a ghostly crippled nurse out for revenge.

Yep…. I’m not kidding….. I’ve found reference to at least 4 different versions of this story…. but this is the most recent, (and the only one with english subtitles that I could find….) that I could snap up out of a Malaysian DVD source that I already had been using.

So…… it’s plot is fairly simple……as the synopsis explains: “Two girls, Vira (Nia Ramadhani) and Silla (Donita), go from Bandung to Jakarta in order to work as nurses at a rundown clinic. They end up having to stay at a creepy room in the clinic’s womens dormitory, closed for 20 years by a mysterious disappearance of the last occupant. Soon thereafter, strange things start to happen at the lodging. Vira talks to a woman named Mak Saroh, who tells her about another young nurse who used to live there 20 years ago named Lastri Sulistia (Lia Waode). She learns that she was the murdered girlfriend of Dr. Herman, one of the doctors at the clinic who is beleived to have killed Lastri because she found out about his affair with her best friend Mila. Her ghost is accidentally released by similar events happening between the girls and a love triangle developing with Vira’s boyfriend, Mike (Mike Lewis) and now roams the place in search of her revenge killing all those who cross her path.”

Wanna know some more? Then you are gonna want to “Read On”…..

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Today we’re back to Korea for the 2007 horror film “Muoi”….Directed by Kim Tae Kyeong (“The Ghost”), the Korean-Vietnamese co-production “Muoi: The Legend of the Portrait”, was perhaps the most ambitious of this summer’s horror offerings out of Korea. Partially shot in Vietnam, the film is beautifully filmed with unique costumes and sets, creating a horrifying, yet unique look for a Korean film in this genre.

The synopsis is as follows: “In 1896, during the French colonial period in Vietnam, a portrait of a woman was discovered in the village of Da Lat.The Villagers were both mesmerized and disturbed by the great beauty of the portrait, and whispers of a curse began when calamity befell those connected with it. Over a century later, Korean novelist Yoon Hee (Jo An) stumbles upon the legend of Muoi’s portrait. At her estranged friend’s urging, she travels to Vietnam to reconnect with another friend (Cha Ye Ryeon), whom she had previously written a scandalous novel about, and find inspiration for her next work. Yoon Hee is extremely interested in writing about Muoi’s portrait, but fascination turns to fright when the portrait’s terrifying secret is awakened.”

Mmmmmm!! Creepy! Let’s find out some more!!

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We’re back to Thailand today for a peek at “Cadaver”, Thailand’s look at they creepyness to be had in the whole world of medical student research….. The original Thai title for the film was “Ajaan Yai”, which is the Thai term for used for cadavers donated for medical school training. It means “the principal” and is meant to be a term of respect for those who donate their bodies for research, but this was seen as too controversial and offensive so it was later changed to “Sope”, which means simply “corpse”. Either way…. it’s a horror movie…. trust this lil’ Catgirl.

Our synopsis for it is:” Mai is a medical student who encounters a scary experience during an experimental cadaver during her anatomy subject. After that, she’s haunted by a woman ghost that keeps following her everywhere. While Mai is frightened of the fearsome ghost, her teacher Prakit is the only hope who can help her. However, when she deeply discovers the truth behind this unknown cadaver, once she realises that it is somehow linked to her own past and a crime that she had committed and then tried to hide, it leads her to find a horrible story of a girl called Dawan who is linked to the cadaver.”

Creepy, huh? Well then, let’s “Read On” shall we?

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Today it’s off to Japan, land of the rising sun for our next lil’ fright fest, “Kowai Onna” aka “Unholy Woman”. However, Neko-chan had to get this one out of Taiwan… as the Japanese release was without the ever so important english subs I need and love…….

Are the Japanese ready to scare the beejeebits outta this girl?

Let’s find out!

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Whew…….well I’ve fallen a wee bit behind in my attempts to do a review a day, but worry not…here we go again. This time it’s a truly nifty lil’ chiller from Indonesia, one of a number of excellent discs I’ve managed to score from overseas in the last week or so…and “Oh boy!!”

“Kuntilanak” was a big surprise….a truly wonderful film that I liked a whole lot. I had expected a simple genre exercise in more “Long Haired Ghosts”…..with only a modest plot and effects, but this one was a big, big scary surprise….and something truly different and uniquely Indonesian.

Firstly…the disc itself was completely subtitled into english….film, trailer, and even the half hour long “Making Of” feature. That’s something I don’t often get even from Korean or Japanese discs…..big thumbs up from this lil’ kitten!

The film itself was letterboxed, and the subs were actually understandably written, not the usual weird translations I’m used to seeing. A great thing considering this was a $9.95 US disc…….I don’t get THAT lucky with $27-$45 US discs from Korea or Japan….or anywhere for that matter.

So…..what’s this one about? Why has your favorite Catgirl Princess gone all nutty for a practically unknown Indonesian horror film? (At least in North America, anyway……and I’m guessing it’s a well kept secret most anywhere outside of Indonesia itself…)

To find out, you’ll just have to read on……silly people!

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This review brings us to exotic and mysterious Turkey…… and the slice of movie horror that is“Gen”….

The plot for this one is easy…… “Young, idealistic Dr. Deniz has just started working at an old mental institution waaaaay out in the mountains in the proverbial middle of nowhere which is being closed down shortly. Why? Because her mother suffers from a mental illness so she wants to help others who are in the same state of condition. Unfortunately, there might not be many patients left to treat when a serial killer shows up and starts offing the patients one by one. The police manage to show up in the form of an overweight Police inspector and his young assistant, but then the roads are cut by an landslide, trapping them without phone or assistance while the masked killer prowls the hospital grounds killing patients and staff at will. Is it one of the weird, creepy staff….. or is it the mysterious, and admittedly homicidal patient in supposedly in secure confinement in the padded cell in a wing of the hospital isolated from the rest of the patients?”

Ooooh!! Sounds like we might just have a winner here! Let’s “Read On” shall we?

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Today’s movie review finds us in Ancient Korea, where Long Haired Ghosts are on the prowl in another one Neko-chan’s favorite film genres, the Ghost Romance….

This time it’s in the film “The Evil Twin” aka “전설의 고향”….. one of 2007’s crop of new Korean chillers finally reaching DVD release.

Our synopsis for this one is as follows: “Set in the Jhosun Dynasty, Seo-rae village is enshrouded by a thick fog coming from the lake. While running away from a group of village kids, Hyo-jin and her sister So-yeon fall into the lake. The mother of the twins tries hard to save them, both but manages only to save So-yeon, her favorite, who remains alive but comatose. Ten years later, Choi is murdered mysteriously as he was heading home from a friends gathering. And at that precise moment, So-yeon wakes up from her coma, without any memories of her childhood or even of her sister Hyo-jin. . Not long after the So-yeon’s recovery, more former friends and enemies are killed and people suspect So-yeon.. Her lover Hyun-sik, in truth misses the dead sister, Hyo-jin, for whom he mourns. As So-yeon is driven into a corner, her jealousy of Hyo-jin returns. But has her dead sister returned as well?”

Ooooooh……. scary!! Just the way Neko likes them. But will “The Evil Twin” live up to my expectations? Or will it just be twice the disappointment? “Read On” and find out!

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