Shaolin (Hong Kong, 2011)

A meeting between two warlords trying to expand their power ends in slaughter. One of them, General Hou Jie, gets betrayed by his own men and becomes an outlaw. He is forced to take refuge at a shaolin temple, and decides to train as one of the monks.

If you love stylish martial arts-films, look no further. Shaolin delivers a ton of great fighting scenes and quickly becomes a favorite in its genre. Lots of feather-light shaolin monks sweeping across the battlefields, and impressive hand-to-hand combat. When every little punch is a joy to watch, you just know you're in for something good.

Genre: Action/Drama

Cold Fish (Japan, 2010)

Syamoto, a quiet owner of a tropical fish shop is slowly being more and more neglected by his wife and daughter. One day he agrees to cooperate with fellow fish entrepreneur Mr. Murata, and it just so happens that Murata's favorite thing to do is slaughtering people. Syamoto is drawn into a never-ending circle of murder and have no way of getting out.

Somewhat based on a story about a Tokyo serial killer, Cold Fish is a phenomenal drama dipped in blood. There's almost not a single person in Cold Fish that isn't completely out of their minds. Everyone has more or less a couple of screws loose, and that only makes you wonder even more when someone is going to do something insane.

Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller

Moby Dick (South Korea, 2011)

Moby Dick (a.k.a. Mo-bi-dik) tells the story about a small group of reporters who tries to uncover the truth behind a series of crimes. When they finds out that even the government's strings are being pulled by a more powerful group of people, they're in some serious trouble.

Starts of with a bang. Literally. This movie gets better every minute, and have a solid plot that makes up for it's running time (112 min). Suspenseful and with a lot of thrills. The cast is also fantastic.

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Naked Blood (Japan, 1996)

Naked Blood (a.k.a. Splatter: Naked Blood) tells the story about a boy who develops a new chemical that turns pain into pleasure. He decides to try it out on three patients at a clinic that his mom works at, and record the effects.

Wait right here, I'm just gonna go and vomit. Naked Blood is somewhat of a gore fest, with some scenes looking much better than others. The sound effects, though really nasty-sounding, feels out of place and you can always tell that they've been added to the scenes after filming was done. It's a great B-horror film in other words and has some truly sick content. Anyhow, it's a hidden gem for gore lovers and contains some very disturbing scenes.

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller

Epitaph (South Korea, 2007)

Epitaph, a.k.a. Gidam, is a pretty movie. Beautiful cinematography, and contains some scenes that could be taken right out of some fairy tail. With that said, it's also a movie about a morgue where strange things has happened lately.

The plot involves three separate stories that intertwine, all related to a morgue where bizarre things tend to happen. The film is set in 1942 and does a great job of depicting that specific era. There are some horror scenes (with music from the shower scene in Psycho) but that's just a bonus to a interesting story with some twists. Give it a chance. It's worth it.

Genre: Drama/Horror

Akira (Japan, 1988)

Kaneda is a bike gang leader whose close friend Tetsuo gets involved in a government secret project known as Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader. The confrontation sparks off Tetsuo's supernatural power leading to bloody death, a coup attempt and the final battle in Tokyo Olympiad where Akira's secrets were buried 30 years ago.

A landmark in animation. Akira influenced a whole generation of film-makers and would come to be one of the movies that popularized anime outside of Japan. Based on a manga, Akira is set in a dystopian Neo-Tokyo, 2019. The story focuses on the young biker Kaneda, and his friend Tetsuo who gains destructive psychic powers.

Filled to the brim with glowing neon cyberpunk and sci-fi, this movie is gorgeous every second. Fluid animation and solid sound-effects makes this a masterpiece that still outshines many anime movies made today.

Genre: Action/Animation/Sci-Fi

13 Assassins (Japan, 2010)

The shoguns younger brother, Lord Naritsugu, rapes and kills whoever he comes across. Japan is threatened by a new era of war and slaughter. A small group of samurai receives the order to kill Naritsugu and stop his reign of terror.

Dare I say, that 13 Assassin is the Seven Samurai of our time? Maybe not, mostly because it's actually based on a film from 1963 with the same title. Legendary director Takashi Miike (Audition) brings us one of the greatest samurai movies ever. Basically the whole second half of the film is a huge, bloody battle and you're on fire because there's a lot of good guys you don't want to see get chopped up. This movie is brutal. It contains some of the best sword fighting-scenes in a long time and the sadistic Lord Naritsugu seems almost in-human when he calmly butchers and mutilates those around him. Add a bunch of likable characters and cinematography to die for. 

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama

The Chaser (South Korea, 2008)

Joong-Ho is a former detective, and now devotes his time in being a pimp. Two of his girls have gone missing, leaving Joong-Ho with no other choice than sending Mi-Jin, one of his most beautiful girls, to a customer. Not before long he realizes that the customer is the one who have been kidnapping his girls, and sets out to find him no matter what it takes.

Fact: The Chaser will make your heart beat like there's no tomorrow. It will leave you out of breath. Many times. Everything with this movie is extremely well-done. From tempo to acting. The antagonist fills you with anger over his almost in-human casual appearance, while Joong-Ho is painfully desperate to save Mi-Jin from a psychopath. A must-see in every way.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller