I must admit though that going back to “The Exorcist”, the young Linda Blair with her spinning head is one the most bizarre scene I have seen so far in American films. However my love for the genre grew when I discovered Asian films. They are unique in a sense with a lot of scary content. The excitement is always there when I see one and it seems that will not go away for a long time. What I like about these films are the casts that are often very interesting especially the females. There have been a surge in the genre with female lead cast over the past years, thanks to the introduction of films such as Ringu and Ju-On, I have never stop admiring their work of art.

As a result I decided to put down my own top 12 deadliest female characters in Asian films. Whether it a long haired ghost with a white face, psycho ladies, or Girls with guns, they are always fun to watch and sometimes more gorier than male characters. If Freddy Krueger, Jason, Michael Myers, Leather face, Hannibal, Jigsaw, Chucky and all the Monster from every Warner Bros and Paramount still gives you the chill have a look into their Eastern counterpart. Lets start.

12. Alisha (Fiksi)
Alisha is an innocent but disengage young woman from a family of rich people. When a young handsome writer named Barry and his girlfriend moved in to an apartment nearby, she falls in love with him. Unfortunately Barry’s book, based on the neighborhood is put on hold due to very cliché plot. Determined to find a happy ending for the person she is obsessed with, Alicia starts going to great length by taking matters into her own hands. See it for yourself.

11. Quing (Blood Ties)
You can call her demented or a pretender but who would have thought a 13 year old girl commit a bloody acts in Blood Ties? Not if you believe in superstition, Chinese believes that the deceased soul return on the 7th day after their initial passing. When police detectivee Shun (David Leong) was killed, he return bypossessingg the body of his sister Quing. Not only did he inhabit the poor girl, he use her to replicate the exact retribution he suffered at the hands of the people who done him wrong.

10. So-yeon (The Evil Twin)
After falling into a coma due to an accident that killed her twin sister, So-yeon finally awakes after ten years with no recollection of what happened. What makes her a very interesting character is due to the fact that a series of murders in the village she resides in starts occurring while she recovers. Not only that, she also holds the key to the mysterious past that involves her twin sister Hyo Jin (Park Shin Hye).

9. Tomie ( Tomie)
Created by horror manga artist Junji Ito that spawned into eight part movie. The girl who never dies posses an unknown power that drives a man under her spell. Her devious nature will turn a man into an uncontrollable rage. What makes her deadly is that she can also make women goes into frenzy.

8. Kayako (Ju-On)
Kayako Saeki is the famous ghost which can only be describe by her very long hair, blood covered face and croaked voice She moves slow but the crunch and the twisting sound she makes still scare a lot of people to this day

7. Sadako (Ringu)
Like the Kayako from Ju-On, this horror movie character is one of the typical in Japanese ghost movies. She is also describe as a lady in white with long black hair. Once she comes out of the television screen, you can count she is on her way for a very gory vengeance.

6. The Seven Nurses (Sick Nurses)
These group of nurses works in a Thai Hospital. Aided by a twisted doctor ,their sideline includes scalping for human organs to be sold at the black market for the right price. You might as well think they are not because you know what? They are the sexiest characters compared to the other ones you have seen so far.

5. Yoon Hee (Cinderella)
She is describe as Hyeon-su’s loving mother, and a renown plastic surgeon. She has done hundreds of successful operations, many are her daughter friends. However, behind those great hands and her great skills lies a secret that will make you think twice about surgery.

4. Asami (Audition)
Speaking of surgery, here is another female character from the movie that developed a cult following. Asami Yamasaki is a very enchanting 24-year-old woman that is very reserved, has a mellifluous voice, and live in an empty apartment with only a phone. Watch out though, she is very good with wire saw. There is also a sack in her place that contains a horrifying history unknown to the person who falls in love with her.

3. Buppha (Buppah Rahtree)
A very vengeful soul who was once a talented medical university student but isolated, self contain girl. This ghost runs wild in an apartment she used to occupy while she is still alive. Any one who comes inside with a bad intention or who she thinks is up to no good will feel the wrath of her weapon of choice – a straight razor.

2. Buss (Meat Grinder)
Buss grew in a very chaotic family, she also owns a noodle stand which she inherited from her mother, but be aware she is not what she seems to be. Despite her simple look and creativity, she is one of the most visceral female character on the list. Thanks to her newly found recipe that includes ingredients made from human flesh, she is now considered the best cook in town.

1. Panor (Art of the Devil)
Panor is the teacher in Art of the Devil 2 and 3. She is one pretty school teacher who can conceal her deceptive purpose with ease (she can also cook a mean chicken, meaning with human flesh soup). Very imaginative and what make her the most horrifying character is her method of presenting the most innate gore Asian movie fan have seen in years. Using a combination of ritual, black magic, and appealing but dark personality, this cold hearted killer can execute plans with perfect brutality.

There are also some notable characters that I would like to add, so to sum them up they are also as scary but I could not weigh them in my top 12. So what do you think?, are any of these in your top 12?, is there any one I missed? If you have any thoughts or comment let me know

In the movie, he stars as Kyo, a Chinese boxing disciple who is pitted against other ruthless fighters with superhuman fighting skills into the Arena, whoever make it to the next round will receive a device that shows their next opponent, then each of them will hunt for a face to face no hold barred combat, it also tracks every fighter’s progress. Only one will remain but before that, they must qualify every death match. Also starring Monyque Thompson Scott, Shaun Mixon, Terrance Parham, Ro Brooks, Shay Latte, Brad James, Noree Victoria, Robert Mitchel, and Kevin Lukata.

Born in Cambodia, raised and currently living in Southern California. D.Y.’s admiration for Martial Arts started way back after visiting a karate school when he was young boy . However, MA lessons is something his family could not afford, instead all techniques were drawn by his father while watching the class from afar. Growing up, D.Y. received formal training in Wushu while working three jobs to pay for it. Although he struggled, the future actor never give up. Under Wushu Sifu Chris Ho’s tutelage, the young 21 year old D.Y. finally able to master different type of technique and brought in medals and awards in several tournaments. He also represented USA at the World games in Macau, China

Beside already having a sponsor, the young artist never stop honing his skill, right now he has about eleven known fighting skills such as Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Kun Khmer, Wing Chun, and Wushu Kung Fu. His mentor Eston Diaz also assist him in his acting.

Champion Road: Arena Ultimate Collectors Edition DVD will be out on May 15, 2010. It will have loads of Special Features like “The Making of…”, D.Y. Sao’s Fight choreography, Music Video performed by Ray Lugar, cast and crew outtakes, Sneak peak at upcoming Champion road movie and more. The video is available for preorder on enterthearena.net. In the meantime check this awesome trailer after the break.

[flv:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-4Ci0KpXU 250 185]

Most importantly, it takes us time to realize that every man is blessed with a talent, which can go beyond his capacities as he makes something unique, exciting, and thrilling if given the right material though the budget is scarce. Combined altogether with creativity and the right kind of people to portray the role, the result will be a box office success. Take a peak of my TOP 20 choices and see it for yourself before it is too late. Be ready, Here they are.

Whispering Corridors 5 : A Blood Pledge ( 2009)
The idea of friendship between four girls is what really amazed me while watching the film Imagine this. Having a compact with their own fresh blood? Isn’t unique and passionate seal love and friendship? Moreover, this film continued with the tradition dealing with themes like teenage friendships Although the plot is morbid in fashion, this film did not make use of General Computer Imagery and the fantastic sound effects were due to time and effort. This movie will never disappoint you. It will let you scream till its over.

Meat Grinder 2009
Release Date March, 2009
Meat Grinder is a Thai movie of 2009 that took every viewer into a bizarre and horrible noodle recipe prepared by a woman named Bus, the owner of a noodle stall. This lady in a movie is a workaholic who was sometimes mysteriously controlled by a “voice” making her do the things that she does not normally do. The twist of the story began when she puts the flesh of a dead man as her secret ingredient of her recipe. Because of this extraordinary experiment, her loyal customers kept craving for more.

Thirst 2009
Release Date April 30,2009
This story of a priest who became a vampire after a blood transfusion. It kicks off with a vey strong element of suspense and playful camera tricks, which tends to disorient the viewers while watching. Using the vampire as a predator, it makes the audience glued to their seats.

Onechanbara Vortex
Release Date ( Japan 2009)
This is a Japanese movie about so called “zombie slayer” whose unique bikini outfit will let every man drool over her sexy physique. Actually, this film was first seen in a video game and due to its unprecedented success, it was decided by its creators to try its luck on the big screen. There were characters of the same mission that will heat up your desires while watching this horror action movie. Tejima Yuu will star as the new Aya complete with her apparel of cow girl hats, fun trimmed bikini. This movie will definitely thrill you and excite you as well as to how a lady combined with oozing sex appeal will save every human from a zombie. Exciting, isn’t it?

My Bloody Valentine
Release Date : Feb.4 2009
This film used the state of the art 3D tricks to thrill the audience, Though this is a retro work movie the blood flows freely and frequently from start till the end. Moreover, its director effectively employed the depth of field illusion making it a must see movie. This allows the audience to have long views of the horrifying scenes making our chest cavity rise.

Phobia 2
Release Date 24th September 2009
This film is a collection of 5 short horror movies compiled into one for a change in presentation of all the horror movies that we had watched in the past. These presentation of different themes were meant to explore the cinematic exploits of each director in terms of the sound effects and the gore element in a horror flick which was meant not only to thrill the audience but also to test the waters if this cinematic approach will be appealing to the audience, To me, it was really something different. Kudos

Zombie Dead
Release Date Japan,2009
This is a story of a female cop, who wakes up from a coma, but she was fully caught unaware that the hospital she is into, is filled with carnal eating zombies! What seems to be the reason behind all these? A mere bizarre scientific experiment or a holocaust, which she needs to get rid of. Watch and see if she could get a new lease of miracle.

The Fatality
Release Date December 3, 2009
This is a story of a mentally deranged man who lives in Taipei. Out from a coma, he suddenly finds himself transformed miraculously. Previously, his face was deformed but in Thailand, it became flawless and soft like a baby. Moreover, he does not have the idea of speaking the Thai language but he did it very excellently How could be possible that he was suddenly in Thailand, if he is from Taipei? Is this a case of teleportation? Or astral projection? See the movie and travel with your imagination.

Ayakayashi
Release Date 2009
This different kind of Japanese movie is one of my personal favorites because primarily it is inspired by the world of animation. A story that says something about the Japanese horror fable classic Actually, this anime made horror flick is made up of 12 episodes, directed by Jun Takeda The main character in this anime horror film is named Yu Kusaka who had lost interest in the beauty of life after his friend got killed. Years after, the main character had discovered that he has an Ayakayashi, a supernatural power which gives supernatural power to its hosts. On the contrary, the parasites takes life force from the host. In general, though the movie has a very graphical representation of violence, it is an exciting and thrilling horror film with the right combination of adventure and fantasy which made me appreciate the movie. It is really one of its kind.

Chaw (2009)
This is a horror movie with a slice and twist of comedy to lighten up the atmosphere. A big budgeted movie that raked 1.25 million dollars on its first day became a plus factor Therefore; I will let you be in suspense why this movie became a blockbuster. This is a story about a monster. However, this monster is not of the usual kind that we often see in horror films. It was something created by the “Force of Nature, who has an appetite and craving for humans. I liked this movie because it is not just an ordinary horror flick but it has a message that conveys a lot about our environment, which made the movie a top grosser of 2009.

On the action genre, I favored the following in my list. Here they are.

Prince of Tears
Release Date October 22, 2009
A story that dates back in the 1950’s in Taiwan during the White Terror era
This is a period of the anti – Communist campaign that swept away the country with fear and chaos. Meanwhile, the story centers on the two sisters whose parents were allegedly communist spies. As a result, their once tranquil and happy home was ransacked shattering all their fondest dreams But despite turbulent phase in their lives, friendship, love and camaraderie and high ideals reign in their hearts. What an inspiring story.

Rainfall (Japan )
Release Date April 25,2009
The movie is about a hitman and a pretty young girl and an evil CIA assassin This movie was released by Sony Pictures, that compliments well, the combination of a thriller genre. The most extraordinary thing about this movie is that though it is based on an American novel, This is truly a Japan produced movie in a new trend in Asian action movies to be in Hollywood in the near future.

The Treasure Hunter
Release Date 2009
This is a story of numerous and however prosperous dynasties, which have flourished and have fallen. Most importantly, it tackled about secret treasures that have been buried in their midst. In the story, guardians have been assigned to guard the locations of the treasure maps till a serious rivalry had cropped up. A notorious gang tried to hunt down the map keeper. Fear haunted him, and so, he decided to turnover the map to Ciao Fei, but this man was forced to relinquish the much-coveted map to save the life of his mentor’s daughter. Will he be able to retrieve the map? Find out.

Aadhavan
Release Date 16th October 2009
This is an action thriller movie about a professional assassin raised by his adoptive father As his job requires, a doctor wants him to kill a judge who presides over a case of child kidnapping and murder cases, wherein the notorious doctor is the primary suspect.
Luckily, the judge was not killed on his first attempt and so the assassin proceeded to his next plan. – TO THE HOUSE OF THE JUDGE. The climax of this movie was when the assassin tried to blackmail the servant to succeed with his mission. Will he do away with the righteous judge now, that he is very much close with his target? Or will he be caught?

Acid Factory
Released 2009
An action film with a bit of psychological nature, is about the characters’ viewpoint about reality For them, a person’s reality is a product of his own imagination. Moreover, the sense of right and wrong is finely tuned with self- distract and the attitude of self- righteousness. Go ahead and see the true meaning and essence of reality by watching this action movie.

Raging Phoenix
Release Date November 5 2009
The story is focused on Jija’s martial arts skills and unique personality. This is an action film with the beautiful combination of a love story. The action flick fuses martial arts and hip-hop dancing on the side making it very different from all action movies that I have watched.

The Sniper
Release Date April 9, 2009
A tale about a police officer who is famous of his legendary shooting exploits. However, behind his illustrious achievements is a dark secret…He is a psychopath. Watch the film and see how a person with a psychological incapacity can be regarded as a “Sniper”

The Samurai Princess
Release Date July 25,2009
A story about a beautiful lady who was transformed into a robot to fight against the mutants and the androids lurking in the city. This powerful killing machine is out to seek revenge and most importantly, to be a hero saving the mutant infested village

The Vanquisher
Release Date November 5 2009
This is a story of Thailand’s CIA Agent, who after having completed the mission in the Southwestern part of the country, was forced to fight off with rival operatives who wanted her out at all cost. After two years of hibernation, she is out in a vengeance ready to face her enemies again. Will she vanquish them for good?

The Sword With No Name
Release Date September24, 2009
The tale is about a dynasty headhunter named Moo Myoung, who tracks down fugitives and lives off their rewards. Among the exciting encounters he had was with a beautiful and noble lady, who eventually became his love interest. A few years passed by, Ja- Young enters the royal palace as the next queen. The lead character became the personal bodyguard of the queen to be close with Ja- Young
After attaining the crown, the queen tried to give the dynasty a sense of modernity. by making allies with foreign nations which became the biggest political struggle for their dynasty. In addition, somebody must assume the role of a “Protector” and that is no other than the “headhunter” himself

In summary, these Asian movies of 2009 allowed me to have the perception that film making is truly a talent and an art . It flourishes the true essence of life with the magnificent portrayals of the character in a way that it is being magnified on the big screen. Therefore, it proves that “Life is a cinema” in its depth and essence. Happy watching.

Not many Japanese actor share the same success as Mr. Fujiwara. Born in May 15, 1982 in Chichibu Saitama Prefecture, Japan, Tatsuya polish his theatrical acting as a boy who has an obsession for his step mother in Shintokumaru. The actor turned his attention into TV role right after turning 16 by appearing in TV Drama ‘That’s the Answer’. He then was cast in several more TV shows such as ‘Cyber Bishoujo Telomere’ (1998), ‘Feeling Relief is Easy’, ‘Frozen Summer’, ‘Change’ (1998), and ‘Kiss of Heaven’ (1999). Tatsuya played his first role in Takashi Komatsu’s Kamen Gakuen. In the film he plays as Akira Dojima, a mask maker whose masks possesses strange power that change the people who wears them. Not knowing anything, this results in rather unpleasant results.

The shabby, boisterous cut actor caught the attention of Director Kenji Fukasaku to be a part of his movie Battle Royale (based on a best selling novel). Given the nature of Japanese Hard action films popularity in Japan, Tatsuya Fujiwara played the perfect role of Shuya Nanahara, a young protagonist. The film is about a group of student who embark on a trip as part of their compulsory education. They were sent to an isolated island and were informed that they have been selected in a game called ‘Battle Royale’ and must kill each other until only one is left.

Despite being labeled as one of the most controversial film of 2000, The released of Battle Royale marked Tatsuya’s acting career which gain him more prominence. He then starred in several TV Series role as Jun Amemiya in ‘Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta Koto’ (The Things You Taught Me), as Murayama Satoshi in “Hijiri (Satoshi) no Seishun (Saintly springtime of life)” among others.

The Actor return to the big screen in 2002 alongside actor Satoshi Tsumabuki in Takeshi Miike‘s film Sabu. Tatsuya played as Eiji, a young man framed for a crime he did not commit. While Eiji is in prison his friend Sabu (Tsumabuki) must find who is behind the incarceration before it is too late. He also reprise his role in Battle Royale sequel: Requiem in 2003. He also showcased his talent playing as a con artist named Goro in 008 action thriller Chameleon

While he spent most of his acting career during this time in both TV series ( ‘Shinsengumi!’, ‘Yatsuhakamura’, ‘Akai Giwaku’) and movies (‘Moonlight Jellyfish’, ‘Agent Master’, ‘Sea Ghost’), he also work closely with Yukio Ninagawa. He also acted in plays like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.

Another big break came in for the young actor when he was cast as Light Yagami in live-adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s anime series Death Note. In the movie he played the role of a young man who feel bitter about the crimes and corruption of the world. When he discovers a mysterious notebook known as “Death Note”, his whole life radically change. With the power of the book he is now able to pass his judgment on the people who he deemed evil or in his way. Ken’ichi Matsuyama and Erika Toda also starred in the film. Just like the success of Battle Royale, the actor return for a Death Note sequel: The Last Name. He also played as a gambling artist in another anime turned live movie Kaiji, released in 2009.

His latest film Parade was premiered in the Pusan International film festival last October 2009, a drama thriller about a five roommates: a male student with no sense of direction, an out of work aspiring actress, an illustrator who is also a heavy drinker, a male prostitute, and a salary man. Although the characters are not involve romantically,they share a hint of affection among each other. In the end no one really knows what the other thinks.

Tatsuya confess that he is not all about work, He follows his favorite Japanese baseball team The Seibu Lions and spent his free time playing sports: soccer and snowboarding. Tatsuya Fujiwara has three siblings, an older brother and two sisters. He is also able to speak English and is currently represented by talent agency Horipro.

Resident Evil 5
This is the seventh instalment of the Horror survival Resident evil series from developer Capcom. The game follows the story of Chris Redfield who is deployed to Kijuju, a fictional region in Africa. Chris is join by Sheva Alomar to help apprehend the villain Ricardo Irving, who is trying to sell a bio-organic weapon on the black market. After witnessing a Kijuju local turning into a an evolved parasitic host, both are now fighting for their lives killing the infected.

Available on both Xbox 360 and PS3. Although I might say that the game have similarity over “Left 4 Dead” Resident Evil have an advantage. Beside being one of the most succesfull release in the horror genre, it is a game of intense adventure full of tight gameplay and awesome environment. The infected are scary enough to fill in your endless nights before the New Year.

Dead Space
This game is was released in 2008, if you are into anything Sci-Fi movies this third-person horror shooting game is for you. You will take the role of Isaac Clarke, an engineer of 26th century who is send out to fix a mining ship called the USG Ishimura. The ship requested a help signal to the Concordance Extraction Corporation, The CEC dispatches the USG Kellion to investigate.
Title is available in Xbox 360, PS3 as well as PC platform. As a player, you will battle out grotesque monsters and alien infested humans inside the idled ship with an occasional appearance of mutated undead babies.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Known in Japan as Zero: Akai Chō Of all the Fatal Frame series there is no scarier games for me than Fatal Frame II. This game was released way back in 2003 on Playstation 2, the original Xbox version contains a “director’s cut” which contain more features. The game is backward compatible with the new game console.

In here you will play Mio Amakura, who has a twin sister name Mayu. Both become lost in the forest where they often play and stumble upon a village that have been known to be mysteriously disappeared. As a player you will venture the whole village to find your way out. Although there is no zombie or alien to fight in here, Fatal frame make up for it dark environment that I find very creepy with four different great ending.

Silent Hill: Homecoming
The game is about a story of war veteran Alex Sheperd who return to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen. Alex discover that his father has gone missing and his mother became mentally disturbed. His brother Joshua, the only person who can help him also disappear.
This sixth installment of the Silent Hill series, should be in everybody’s collection after the holiday, As a character you must find a way to solve the disappearance of the towns people while battling tons of monsters on your quest. Available in Xbox 360, and PS3.

F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon
In this game you will be playing as a member of a secret special force known as FEAR, You posses a super reflexes exceed that of a regular human, you must uncover the true secret of a little girl named Alma, a ghost creating havoc.
You might disagree with me on this one, because I find that it is more creepier than the sequel. F.E.A.R. was released on October 17, 2005, unfortunately this game is only available on Windows PC. It is a first person shooting game that is very heavily inspired by Japanese Horror theme, that includes the sound and environment. That being said, this one has plenty to scare you

Comdemned: Criminal Origins
This game is a psychological horror video game in which you will play as Ethan Thomas, an SCU investigator with a very good instincts, he was also framed for a double cop murder. As a player, you will be hunting down a serial killer while trapped in a fictional ‘Metro City’ using forensic tools and instinct.
Dont let the box artwork fool you. The game takes place in a delapidated environment, where you navigate using a flashlight. As you player further the investigation , It will soon be revealed that there is mysterious phenomenon that is transforming the people of ‘Metro City’ in to a disturb phsycopaths. This game will make your night unsettling.
After you finish with this try Condemned 2.

Worth Mentioning:

System Shock 2 – You probably might not heard about this game that much, that is because it is a classic game release in 1999. System Shock 2 is a first person shooting game that redifined the horror game genre that was describe as a title “well ahead of its time” 10 years ago.

There you have it. What about any games you think is creepy or is worth mentioning ?

FlixUnlimited: Directing was probably not your dream job growing up what was it? Or have you always wanted to be a director?
Edmund Yeo: I always wanted to be a director.

FlixUnlimited: What was that moment when you have decided to or what triggers you to “Hey I want to do filmmaking”?
Edmund Yeo: As a child, my parents always brought me to the cinema. So I loved films since then. I think I was watching the 1990 film Tremors in the cinema with them at the age of six when I was getting very scared, so my mom decided to deconstruct everything in front of me by explaining softly that what I saw, the monsters, they weren’t real, just illusion created by the director. So I thought it was cool that a movie director was capable of conjuring something like that, and so I guess that was when I wanted to do filmmaking.

FlixUnlimited: “Chicken Rice Mystery” what was it feels like when you win the awards?
Edmund Yeo: The two awards (jury’s honorable mention and best acting performance for my main actress Kimmy Kiew) that Chicken Rice Mystery won at the BMW Shorties 2008 were the first ever awards I won as a filmmaker, and Chicken Rice Mystery was the first short film I made as a writer and director after I got into the film industry, so it’s definitely memorable. It was a bummer that I wasn’t at the awards ceremony (I had already moved to Tokyo then). But it was a good motivation, to know the possibility that perhaps I can make films that can be appreciated by a wider range of audiences, so since then, I never really stopped working.

FlixUnlimited: You have plenty of Short films, any chance of releasing them as a compilation DVD soon?
Edmund Yeo: Yes, Definitely.

FlixUnlimited: What about full Length films, any chance of leaping into there?
Edmund Yeo: Yes. Basically the short films I made now were more for me to sharpen my skills, test the waters in the international festival circuit, just before I embark upon doing a feature-length film.

FlixUnlimited: What is your Favorite Malaysian Film to date, including Horror?
Edmund Yeo: I’ll be frank with you. Like most Malaysians, I grew up watching foreign films. And Malaysian films, especially the independent ones, only started grabbing my attention the same time they were starting to make some noises at the festival circuit around the mid 2000s, in a movement that is called by some as the ‘Malaysian New Wave’. However, it is known by many that the Malaysian independent filmmakers are a tight-knit community, so once I got into the business as a producer during the post-production of Woo Ming Jin’s film THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA, I was introduced to many of these filmmakers, James Lee, Tan Chui Mui, Liew Seng Tat, Ho Yuhang, etc.
I guess by knowing them personally, it can be quite hard to be objective about their films. So it’s nearly impossible for me to tell you which Malaysian films are my favourites. And I don’t one any of them to blame me for favouritism either!

FlixUnlimited: What about foreign films?
Edmund Yeo: As for foreign films, that’s a tough one. I love films in general as long as they’re great, so it’s hard for me to really name a few titles. it’s probably easier for me to refer to a particular body of work from a director or something like that.

FlixUnlimited: Any hint of when are you going to make (horror film) one?
Edmund Yeo: Nope, for now I don’t think I’ll make one. I might not have the right sensibilities and skill set as a filmmaker for horror. Aside from that, I’m superstitious and fearful of the paranormal.
FlixUnlimited: You met Tsui Hark at a Dubai Film Festival, what was that feels like being with one of the greatest filmmaker in Asia?
Edmund Yeo: To tell you the truth, it was only a brief meeting. I saw him at the closing ceremony, I approached him and asked to take a photo with him. That was it, after that he was swept off by a wave of other photograph-seekers. It didn’t help that legendary actress Brigitte Lin was with him at the time as well.**
But Tsui Hark’s a great inspiration with the role he had played in Asian cinema history, so meeting him and many other directing greats in person, at recent film festivals that I have attended are quite humbling.

FlixUnlimited: Who are the most influential directors in the past and in the present to you?
Edmund Yeo: As a filmmaker, I think I was quite influenced by Wong Kar Wai, Edward Yang, Andrei Tarkovsky, Johnnie To and Shunji Iwai. but I’m quite fickle, so I would always go into a particular phase where I would go through the films of one particular filmmaker for inspiration. Few years ago, I went into a Stanley Kubrick-phase, few months ago I was in a Tarkovsky-phase, right now I’m in a Bela Tarr-phase. I also like Darren Aronofksy, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers, Steven Spielberg, argh, too many to list. But I’ve often overlooked the influence of anime director Hayao Miyazaki in my own filmmaking, so I’ll make sure I won’t omit him again!

FlixUnlimited: Your recent film Kingyo, a Japanese film with all things Japanese, but it was elegantly created how were you able to capture such a great film since you are foreigner to that country, what were the challenges
Edmund Yeo: It was challenging because I couldn’t, and still can’t, speak Japanese that much. So with an all-Japanese cast and crew, I got to experience their way of working. They are very disciplined, efficient and have a remarkable eye for detail that I wasn’t familiar with, since the Malaysian filmmakers I know usually thrive more in spontaneity. So it was a two-way learning experience for me and my crew. For them, they will have to deal with my constant improvisation, for me, I will have to deal with their meticulousness.
I grew up watching a lot of Japanese films, animation, drama, reading a lot of Japanese literature and manga. So I can’t say that I’m a completely oblivious to their culture. Instead of trying to impose my own Malaysian Chinese culture upon a Japanese film, I told everyone in the team, both the cast and crew, that I only wanted to tell a story which has some universal themes. i wanted to be respectful to the authenticity of their culture, so I kept a very ‘loose’ atmosphere during the shoot, where everyone, including the production assistants, were allowed to point out anything that seemed out of place in the performances, or the line-deliveries. It was invaluable.

FlixUnlimited: Asian films are flooding the Western Market, in your opinion what would be other Malaysian filmmakers do in order stay in competition with other countries?
Edmund Yeo: Malaysian cinema is relatively young in the international stage. While many have been winning awards in film festivals, I think we are still in the midst of finding our own identity. I’m relatively new to the business, so it’s not up to me to tell the veterans what to do. But I’ll say that instead of trying to do what films from other countries would like to do, we just have to be ourselves to maintain our uniqueness.

FlixUnlimited: It looks like you are always busy, How do you divide your time between your own personal time and professional work?
Edmund Yeo: Seriously, I don’t really have that much personal time. Haha.

FlixUnlimited: In 5 Years, where do you see yourself?
Edmund Yeo: Still making films, hopefully.

FlixUnlimited: Last say, Any tip to aspiring directors?
Edmund Yeo This is a cliche, but I can only say, just pick up a camera and shoot anything you see. I don’t wear Adidas shoes, but I can agree that “Impossible is nothing”

FlixUnlimited: On behalf of Flixunlimited, Thank you

Learn more about Edmond Yeo, his films, film review and more by visiting his Blog

These are the common scenes seen during the 31st of October to celebrate an annual holiday called Halloween. A holiday which rooted way back were Ancient Celts believe that this is the time of the year where the boundary between the living and the dead becomes slim which results to spirits visiting the living world.
Today, people celebrate this holiday by commemorating their departed loved ones and by allowing themselves to be scared by wearing scary costumes, doing ghost hunting and probably the most common, by watching horror flicks.

But if you are a person, who doesn’t have a single idea on what to watch this Halloween, most movie addicts would most likely suggest to you to watch horror movies from Japan, Korea and Thailand which are reputable on making guaranteed scary horror movies.

If you dare, you may try the following movies:

DEATHBELL

They say that the school serves as a person’s second home yet in this story, horrible killings happen in a private school by some kidnappers who kidnap students and kill them according to their ranking in midterm exam scores. This crime could only be stopped if the main characters were able to solve the puzzles given to them within a time limit in Death Bell.

INUGAMI

From celebrated Japanese director, Masato Harada, is a taut horror-drama about Akira, an art teacher who has recently transferred to the middle school in the village of Omine. After arriving in Omine, Akira quickly realizes that this place is quite unique. For the most part, this settlement has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. The residents are superstitious and believe that the fate of the town lies with the women of the Bonomiya family. These women are the guardians of the Inugami, a pack of ancient wolf spirits who supernaturally rule over the town. Since these Inugami wreak havoc on the town when unchecked, the Bonomiya women have been made the scapegoat for all of the town’s problems. When the outsider Akira falls for Miki Bonomiya, the entire village is in an uproar.

RINGU

Ringu is a Japanese film which revolves about a cursed video which shows random yet disturbing images which will cause death to whoever will watch it after a week. Though this film is not enhanced digitally by special effects, this horror movie was a success and became a hit not only in Japan, but in different countries as well which even lead to a Hollywood remake of this particular film.

JU-ON

More known as “The Grudge” Ju-on is another Japanese film which focuses about curse from a killed housewife in Nerima. It said that a curse is made by people who die with grudge or with deep anger. And in this case, as Rika Nishina, a social worker is assigned to a certain house, the story now begins as the story unfolds that this certain house is actually cursed by a housewife killed by her husband as he suspects the wife to be cheating from him. And now as the spirit of the housewife and his son lives in the house, one who enters this establishment is bound to be killed by this vengeful spirits.

SHUTTER

Shutter A Thai film which tells a story about a photographer and his girlfriend who were able to observe strange figures present in photos after running over a female by their car one night as they came from their friend’s dinner. Not only that, they were also mysterious deaths by their friends that is happening as well as the unexplainable neck pain by the photographer. As the girlfriend becomes intrigued by the victim, she pursued to investigate about her more and realized that this particular victim is directly related to his boyfriend. Are the photos the ghost’s way of seeking for help? Will she stop haunting them as the girlfriend could solve the mystery?

THE EYE

This film revolves about a blind lady who was able to regain sight after having a successful eye transplant. And as she enjoys the gift of sight, later she recognizes that alongside of having that sight, she as well starts to see figures not seen by normal human eyes. And as these unusual sights made her realize that this somehow foresees horrible deaths, she and a doctor’s friend decided to know more about the owner of the eye and there they fled to Thailand to discover the story of the owner of the eye and what made the spirit of the eye’s owner restless.

MEAT GRINDER

Does it sound gory enough for you?

Meat Grinder is a recent horror film from Thailand shows a story about an ordinary girl who cooks and sells noodles in a pushcart as a source of living. And as a persons struggle with this difficult life, what can make a person successful at this type of business … to formulate a secret recipe of course! And how does a human flesh as meat in your noodles sound like? Yum?

NOROI THE CURSE

Noroi the Curse is another Japanese film with the documentary-type of delivery, this movie follows the investigation of a journalist named Masafumi Kobayashi who receives a letter from a certain person requesting to investigate its neighbor. And from there, the journalist starts to visit the neighbor of the one who contacted him. And with this investigation, alongside with other seem-to-be unrelated events, they all then began to get connected with each other by a certain entity termed Kagutaba. And with the movie tagline, “Everybody dies,” how would a horror movie fanatic would dare to miss this?

EPITAPH

A Korean horror film set in 1979 as the protagonist named Park Jeong-nam reminisces his experiences way back at 1942, the time where the Korean nation was under the Japanese colony, as he browsed through an old photobook. There the movie shows that Park Jeong-nam at that time was bound to be married to a girl whom we never met, but this marriage was not pursued because his bride to be was already dead. Although the main character is Jeon-nam, two other stories were also unfold, one is the story of Asako, the only survivor of a car accident wherein all of her other family members were killed and starts to be haunted by ghosts and second, the story of a couple surgeon wherein the husband, Dong-won became suspicious of her own wife, In-yeong as he noticed that his wife had no shadow.

TALE OF TWO SISTERS

Tales of two sisters is Based from the title itself, the film is focused on a story between two sisters who experiences maltreatment from their step mom, Eun-Joo. As they both return from a mental institution, strange things happen and all of these unexplained events were blamed to them by their step mom. And to make things worse, their own father doesn’t do a thing for he never believed his own daughter’s accusation. And as for the audiences, the story will leave them the question, who is to blame for the unexplainable events that happened, the step mom or some other person or creature they don’t expect?

And from these different Asian horror movies, some common elements can be observed which lead to the success of these movies. One, is the element of ‘fear of the unknown’, where the main antagonist showed a little appearance or a not-so-detailed description of them which adds to the aura of mysteriousness to the film. Another is the ending where they usually will not end it to the typical ‘happy ending’ closure. As Asian horror movies will not give a very clear closure their endings, this also adds in making the story more mysterious, which will leave the audience thinking on the possibilities of how the story ended.

Though watching this type of movies is basically for entertainment, maybe we, the viewers should also think, what is the possible deeper meaning of these movies that the directors and writers want to convey to us? Are they any? Are they merely for the heck of scaring us and giving us chills to the spine? Well, to be honest, I’m not sure either of the answer to my own questions, so might as well start switching your DVD player on and watch those movies I suggested. Enjoy the view and Happy Halloween!