(1981)
Dir - Beom-gu Kang
Overall: MEH
A rare, South Korean zombie film from the early 80s, (doubly rare since horror movies were hardly one of said country's primarily cinematic exports the way that they were in Japan, Indonesian, and Hong Kong), A Monstrous Corpse, (Goeshi), is an unofficial remake of Let Sleeping Corpse's Lie. While it is missing the latter film's hilarious dialog, over the top violence, and anti-hippy angle, the plot line is virtually identical and still revolves around experiential pest control technology unwittingly animated the dead, with the cops still targeting the main protagonists until the reality of the situation is right in front of their dumb faces. The cinematography by Yeong-kil Yang is surprisingly effective for something clearly made with no dollars and some of the undead here have a unique, silver-skinned look that makes them as creepy as intended. Unfortunately though, the pacing is horrendously sloth-like from beginning to end. This is clearly due to the minuscule production values which not only affords absolutely zero gore of any kind, (making this probably the only zombie film with no bloodshed since George Romero came on the scene), but can only muster up increasingly boring talky scenes between characters. That is when they are not staring in unhurried terror at dead people slowly trying to choke them.
(1986)
Dir - Ching Siu-tung
Overall: MEH
The second film from Hong Kong director Ching Siu-tung, (which was made only a year before he embarked on the first in the A Chinese Ghost Story series), is a slick though terribly sluggish bore up until the final showdown. Witch from Nepal, (Qi yuan), has leading many Chow Yun-Fat as an architect who for some reason is chosen by the title mystic to defeat a demon, whereby he has visions of her, has an affair with her, is granted supernatural powers, and propels himself via steam to stab the bad guy with a magical knife in mid-air. It reads as a more ridiculous affair than it comes across on screen since there is minimal to no humor present, though the aforementioned finale does have some hoot-worthy moments. Yun-Fat is not the most sympathetic of protagonists and not just because he cheats on his girlfriend; he is also terribly underwritten and largely boring. The same goes for the bulk of the film which never seems to have enough fun with its material in the way that say a wacky Shaw Brothers production would. It is well photographed by cinematographer Tom Lau even if the somber atmosphere is ill-placed, but as a horror/romance/fantasy hybrid, it is far from memorable.
(1988)
Dir - Toshio Matsumoto
Overall: MEH
The final cinematic work from experimental filmmaker Toshio Matsumoto, Dogura Magura, (Dogra Magra), is challenging if not futile to comprehend, but offers up some compelling visuals. Centered around a young man who wakes up in an isolated room in an insane asylum with no memory of how he got there, he spends the entirety of the movie trying to unlock such a mystery with two different doctors pulling him in conflicting directions. One of these doctors seems "normal" enough while the other is squarely on the eccentric side, laughing aggressively after everything that Yôji Matsuda's confused protagonist says. The plot line is impossible to follow in a conventional sense, yet as a means of exploring the frustrated madness that comes with amnesia, its construction is deliberately unorthodox. Matsuda's insanity could be hereditary in nature, led him to bizarre acts of violence, or some by-product of both and there is no official answers to such questions which lead to a raving finale that suggest the perpetual loop that such traumatic events can induce. Cinematographer Tatsuo Suzuki deserves particular praise here, constructing a number of shots and pulling off ambitious single takes that weave in flashbacks to what is currently happening. It goes too hard in the running time to be an agreeable watch, but it is still impressive in its grasp.
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