Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to THE CINEHOUND FORUM: Dedicated to Bill Barounis (RIP). We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Got something to say about Asian movies
Topic Started: Sep 26 2007, 03:30 PM (10,810 Views)
cinehound
Member Avatar
Administrator
This MAGIC CURSE tape is magnificent, even a beta, congratulations again! It has a VHS release also but extremely rare. By the way I'm very fond of those Hokushin pre-certs (small boxes), they're marvellous releases and I have some already in my collection (not Asian movies)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jack J
Member Avatar
Superstar Member
Thanks! :D :D

(and sorry! :lol: )



Jack
2019 AD. The only blog that survived the nuclear holocaust: EN LEJEMORDER SER TILBAGE
The ONLY site in the world devoted entirely to trashy Filipino war flicks: When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines
The FLIPSIDE of Asian cinema: Backyard Asia
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jack J
Member Avatar
Superstar Member
CORPSE MANIA is coming out on dvd!!!

Yep, I just heard about it today, the dark 'n' nasty old Shaw Brothers horror movie CORPSE MANIA (1981) is coming out from Image in the US in October! It's one of those films Celestial only put out on vcd so a dvd release will be very welcome (not that the vcd is bad mind you, Celestial vcd's are better than any other vcd's but of course... it's still vcd!).

Here's the cover:

Posted Image


The "old" VCD (which isn't actually that old):
Posted Image

Old poster:
Posted Image


Jack
2019 AD. The only blog that survived the nuclear holocaust: EN LEJEMORDER SER TILBAGE
The ONLY site in the world devoted entirely to trashy Filipino war flicks: When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines
The FLIPSIDE of Asian cinema: Backyard Asia
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Stephen Gladwin
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  * ]
My turn! Here's a few VCDs from my vaults:

First up, my original VCD of THE RAPE AFTER (yes, Jack, it is indeed one of the all-time great HK horrors. Here's hoping we'll see it fully uncut on DVD some day)...

Front:

Posted Image

Back:

Posted Image

Next up: The scarce HK horror PITUITARY HUNTER (aka BRAIN THEFT). VCD release

Front:

Posted Image

Back:

Posted Image

Next: The rare Thai horror Sek Hunlaiga ma la Pob. VCD release

Posted Image

Finally, a VCD release of the oh-so-wacky HK horror/comedy HAUNTED COP SHOP II

Front:

Posted Image

Back:

Posted Image

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jack J
Member Avatar
Superstar Member
Good on ya, Stephen!

Very cool that you've got that THE RAPE AFTER vcd! If you knew how long I tried to (unsuccessfully) track that down!! :(

Posted Image

And the same goes for the PITUITARY HUNTER vcd. I had it on order from Buyuyu for the longest time just to get notified they didn't have it. :(

HAUNTED COP SHOP 2 is one of my favourites, yes it's got slapstick silliness galore but it's also so over the top wild that its just crazy! "I'll remember him every time I urinate" :lol: :lol:

Unfortunately the new(ish) FS dvd release of the first in the series is cut! :angry: The old dvd and Jap. vhs are uncut.

I've got a few of those "old" Thai horror movies but those titles are messing with my head! It seems every seller spells the Romanised titles differently. "Old" because the Thai definition of what is old is slightly different to the rest of us; any Thai movie made prior to 2000 is "old"! :blink: So when they sell so-called old horror movies they may very well be from the 90s!


Jack
2019 AD. The only blog that survived the nuclear holocaust: EN LEJEMORDER SER TILBAGE
The ONLY site in the world devoted entirely to trashy Filipino war flicks: When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines
The FLIPSIDE of Asian cinema: Backyard Asia
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Stephen Gladwin
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  * ]
Glad you like those scans Jack! And glad to see you like HAUNTED COP SHOP 2! Definitely one of the better HK horror/comedy hybrid films. I use the excuse "sorry, I thought you were a vampire" whenever I grope a hot chick's breasts but it never seems to fly :lol: (forum members who haven't seen the film...just smile and nod politely to your computer screen and move along...)

Anyways, below I have posted scans for what I think is THE BEST Thai horror film I've seen -- PHI TA BO. Below the pics is a mini-review I wrote for the film years ago.

This film is very rare and isn't even in Donald C. Willis's exhaustive and astonishing "Horror and Science Fiction Films IV" reference (I put a pic of the book cover immediately below). If you don't have this book yet -- GET IT! Sure the price tag is steep ($99 at amazon) but it's worth every penny. A huge hardcover weighing in it at over 600 pages (no photos, just text!), this is the reference book custom made for this forum! It has 1000s of reviews of the rarest films from all over the world (Thailand, Philipines, Hong Kong, Europe, Indonesia, rare US films). For example, PITUITARY HUNTER is in there, as is THE RAPE AFTER, DEVIL'S SWORD, MYSTICS IN BALI, and gallons more of hyper-rare Asian horrors I haven't seen yet or have been able to find! He even covers US pornos that rip off famous horror/scifi films, with great titles like POLTERGASH and E3: THE EXTRA TESTICLE (!). The only downside is because of the rarity of some of these titles, info available to him was scarce (at best) and so don't expect revelations about complete cast/crew credits or video availability or even full synopses on some of the rarest films. But considering this book was published in 1997 and this is the FOURTH installment of this series (he began the books in the late 70s I believe), I'll cut him some slack and even go as far as saying he is perhaps the most important rare horror film historian in the US. And, of course, it functions as a great goldmine for discovering hidden gems to track down...

Posted Image

PHI TA BO vcd Front:

Posted Image

Back:

Posted Image

Review: From what I can tell (the film is in Thai language only), it is the Thai version of Eyes Without a Face! Sort of. A doctor's daughter is scarred in a car accident and he is intent on restoring her face. He kills a man and steals his eyes and transplants them to his daughter. However, the cadaver is soon vengeful and wants his eyes back! He rises from the grave, terrorizing the doctor and his family.

All I can say is WOW! What a great little film that I've been searching for for ages! This is a TRUE Thai horror for once! It even has a healthy dose of GORE! The film has an amazing sequence early on which is quite graphic: the doctor gorily removes his daughter's damaged eyes, placing the eyeballs in a beaker! Yes, you actually see the removed eyes (optical nerve and all!), and there is a very gory closeup of the doctor removing the eyes from the sockets (the sockets spouting blood). Kind of reminded me of a scene from the "Guinea Pig" Flowers of Flesh and Blood episode. And it doesn't stop there! The vengeful corpse is a sight (no pun intended!) to behold. He rises from his grave in the inky black Thai forest, stumbling around with bleeding, eyeless sockets. He holds out his hands, moaning for his eyes. And he even attacks the villagers with his arm that extends into this long, slithery serpent thing and strangles them! Awesome! The ending of the film is a showstopper, in which he fires (superimposed) eyeballs at his victims! He also rips the eyes out of members of the doctor's (presumably) family! And yes it's fairly bloody too! In one scene a pair of eyeballs even grow on a tree! This is definitely the best Thai horror I've seen. Hell, it even has an effectively eerie electronic score (although it may very well be pirated). While it is unevenly paced and does have that achilles heel of so much Thai horror (broad humor), it is kept to a pleasing minimum. DEFINITELY seek this rarity out!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jack J
Member Avatar
Superstar Member
Stephen Gladwin
Oct 10 2008, 10:46 PM
Glad you like those scans Jack!  And glad to see you like HAUNTED COP SHOP 2!  Definitely one of the better HK horror/comedy hybrid films.  I use the excuse "sorry, I thought you were a vampire" whenever I grope a hot chick's breasts but it never seems to fly :lol:


Yeah, I must have seen that film a dozen times over the years after having first read about it in NAKED!SCREAMING!TERROR! in the early 90s. I have never tried that pick-up line though. :lol:

Stephen Gladwin
Oct 10 2008, 10:46 PM

If you don't have this book yet -- GET IT!  Sure the price tag is steep ($99 at amazon) but it's worth every penny.  A huge hardcover weighing in it at over 600 pages (no photos, just text!), this is the reference book custom made for this forum! 

That book sounds fantastic and yes I want one! Unfortunately it's not "just" $99 from "my" Amazon but around £70 ($120)!!! :blink: :blink:
But I'll get it at some stage. I h-a-v-e to!! :D


Stephen Gladwin
Oct 10 2008, 10:46 PM

Anyways, below I have posted scans for what I think is THE BEST Thai horror film I've seen -- PHI TA BO.  Below the pics is a mini-review I wrote for the film years ago.


That film looks great and although I didn't remember the title I was aware of its existence. I think there's a cover or poster scan in the Mondo Macabro book. Does anybody know of a release anywhere (one that's actually available)??


Posted Image


Cheers for all the info, Steve.

Jack
2019 AD. The only blog that survived the nuclear holocaust: EN LEJEMORDER SER TILBAGE
The ONLY site in the world devoted entirely to trashy Filipino war flicks: When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines
The FLIPSIDE of Asian cinema: Backyard Asia
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sweeney Todd
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  * ]
Hello Steve, remember me ? you recommended "Phi Ta Bo" some years ago when we had some correspondence and it remains one of my favorite "old" Thai movies - it was made in 1981 so it must be a prehistoric object in Thailand :lol:
The problem is with the VCD itself - as it's cropped as so many other titles on VCDs and even sometimes DVDs in Thailand. More exactly, it's in Pan&Scan, at least during the credits, and it's painful to watch as these credits were originally written on the left of the screen, then on the right for the following ones, then on left, etc. so the video tries to "follow" them... it's ridiculous.
But "Phi Ta Bo" is so interesting as a movie that a company of the caliber of "Mondo Macabro" could eventually re-release it after complete restoration and a new master respecting the original ratio... and adding English subs of course.

The poster:

Posted Image
[IMG]

Incidentally, if somebody sees "Phi Ta Bo" in a video list - most of the time it's the 1990's remake :

Posted Image


I have both and the original is the best, of course.

Incidentally, Stephen, did you ever find WHO directed "Phi Ta Bo" ? it was (apparently) made in 1981, and the actors were Porjed Kaenpetch, Naowarat Yooktanum, Lor Tok (an actor who made more than A THOUSAND movies !) and Phochet. The only way to find the other credits would be to make scans of the Thai credits (from the poster, or, better, from the video itself) and send them to a Thai website in English. I made this sometimes in the past and they were able to identify some of the movies I have, or posters. In using this method I found than one of my Thai posters, depicting a Universal-type Frankenstein Monster battling with a werewolf (!) and starring Lor Tok as usual was something translated as "Power of the Zombie" ! :)

Sorry for the bad repro below but, having no camera, I was forced to scan the poster in several pieces and then re-unite the pieces, so it's not perfect. But the poster itself is mint of course (even after the scans!). Lor Tok is the guy in blue shirt on the right.
And apparently Glenn Strange was in the movie :lol:

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Stephen Gladwin
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  * ]
Dr. Jean-Claude Michel, I presume :D ? Is that you? I've been trying to piece together your identity via your posts on the forum (hmm, a French guy --I think -- in his 60s -- who has a long and flowing history in genre film criticism -- CHECK! Must be Jean-Claude!). At least I HOPE it's you as you would be a great contribution to the forum!

Anyways, glad you liked PHI TA BO (can't remember - did I copy that and send it to you?)! Yeah I totally agree about this one getting a proper DVD release. MM would be ideal for this film! A true lost gem just waiting for rediscovery!

By the way, have you come across any other older Thai horrors that are in the same league as PHI TA BO? Did you ever find a copy of that Frankenstein/mummy/werewolf film that you have a poster of? Seems interesting to say the least...

And thanks for the cast info on PHI TA BO! No, I never did find out who directed it unfortunately :(

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jack J
Member Avatar
Superstar Member
Yup, it's Jean-Claude. Incidentally, when you wrote to me a couple days ago and mentioned the Pontianak films from the "Fear Without Frontiers" book and said it was probably the best piece on them I thought about telling you about this guy at Cinehound who knows heaps about them (there's a thread here somewhere) - and then you already know him. Small world! :lol:


Jack
2019 AD. The only blog that survived the nuclear holocaust: EN LEJEMORDER SER TILBAGE
The ONLY site in the world devoted entirely to trashy Filipino war flicks: When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines
The FLIPSIDE of Asian cinema: Backyard Asia
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Enjoy forums? Start your own community for free.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Asian Movies · Next Topic »
Add Reply