Rampo Noir (Japan, 2005)

This four-part anthology takes its cue from the short fiction of legendary horror writer Edogawa Rampo. It begins with Mars Canal, which sees a naked man collapse at the edge of a lake that descends, seemingly into the bowels of hell itself. Mirror Hell follows a detective following a trail of beautiful female corpses back to a mad mirror maker. The Caterpillar sees a limbless war veteran return home only to be systematically abused by his wife. And in Crawling Bugs, a chauffeur becomes obsessed with his actress employer.

I don't know how many viewers who are gonna be familiar with Edogawa, but solely hearing his pseudonym makes it clear from whom he takes inspiration from; Edgar Allan Poe. But their similarities basically stops there, for this film is steeped in Japanese weirdness and Lars von Trier-esque imagery. I saw this film years ago and it was fighting for my attention, but if you see it for what it isn't half bad actually, plus I'm a big fan of Tadanobu Asano who appears throughout the segments. Rampo Noir is a surreal experience with the stories ranging from straightforward murder mystery to  strange, dreamlike body horror. Very far from what westerners usually call horror, but definitely not without its own sense of artistic dread.

Genre: Fantasy/Horror

One Cut of the Dead (Japan, 2017)

Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility, when they are attacked by real zombies.

This has to be one of the best surprises in a while. I've heard of how this film tried to break some new ground in a genre that's so stale it's practically a walking corpse itself, and at the beginning I couldn't help but feel really sceptical, but then director Shin'ichiro Ueda makes a sharp turn with the narrative and makes you feel stupid for thinking this was just another run-of-the-mill comedy. Characters you thought you hated are redeemed and everything just clicks. An original and very funny film that gives you a great lasting feeling. Now we can say that Japan has its own Shaun of the Dead (2004), and for the moment I rate this movie higher than most other zombie films I've seen. 

Genre:  Comedy/Horror

The Night Comes for Us (Indonesia, 2018)

Ito, a gangland enforcer, caught amidst a treacherous and violent insurrection within his Triad crime family upon his return home from a stint abroad.

To call The Night Comes for Us an action flick would be a huge understatement. Halfway through, the film starts to feel like the longest fight sequence you've ever seen. Arms are breaking like nobody's business, necks are snapping and blood is gushing almost constantly. Due to the main focus on the action I would strongly recommend it to martial art film aficionados, and every one else, well, let's just say that it's not only thugs that gets a severe beating but the plot as well. Yes there's talk of betrayal and our hero suddenly comes across a child he needs to protect, but this all really just amounts to padding between one spectacular brawl to another. 

An adrenaline rush no doubt, and superbly choreographed, but can be exhausting if you're not in the mood for this kind of film. 

Genre: Action/Thriller