Genre: Horror

Borrowing heavily from Nakata’s ‘Dark Water’ and Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’, Laranas’ ‘The Echo’ brings nothing new to the overcrowded Asian horror market.

‘The Era Of Vampires’ fails to capitalise on a concept that could have turned out to be a solid film given enough care. It does raise interest from time to time but is unable to sustain that interest.

If you are a fan of slasher films and gory splatter fests, then this is not for you. However, if you like your horror with a more subtle edge and a strong narrative then this comes highly recommended.

Kim Tae-Kyung’s ‘The Ghost’ rises well above the attempts of its contemporaries to cut an individualistic path through legions of countless ‘Ring’ imitators.

‘The Guard Post’ is a much more successful film than ‘R-Point’, in style, pacing, tension and acting, and a very satisfying and creepy slice of Korean ghostly horror.

There are no true “scares” to be had in Chen’s film, at least not in the traditional horror genre sense, but there are some bona fide moments of dread that will dig in and crawl under one’s skin.

However smartly presented this big budget hit is, it is the dry Korean eccentricity, Bong Joon-Ho’s confident orchestration and the actors at the forefront who make this so captivating.

Director Derek Nguyen orchestrates some nifty scares and some lush visuals with his Eastern ‘The Woman in Black’ vibe and leading lady Kate Nhung also keeps everything on track with her committed performance.

‘The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires’ doesn’t exactly set the world alight in either of its attempted genres, but it does remain a fun curio for fans of both studios that certainly still sports some old-school charm.

Slick, sick exploitation ‘Machine Girl’ is absurd Japanese cinema at its best. About as subtle as a kick in the balls it is nevertheless well designed, gore soaked, action packed and surprisingly funny entertainment.

It is an elegant, richly designed and photographed tale of love from beyond the grave that rarely bothers itself with the imagery or shock-tactic clichés of the genre.

While the faux documentary/found footage angle threatens to buckle proceedings on occasion, ‘The Medium’ is nevertheless an impressive and brutally nihilistic delve into the dark side of spirituality.