Love Will Tear Us Apart (2023) and Visitors (2023) are both great new Japanese horror films.

Kenichi Ugana is definitely one to watch. I really loved his new film Love Will Tear Us Apart that is screening at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival. The story is really engaging, and it has some very beautiful cinematography like that last shot. I love the twists and reveals in it too. I think you can truly feel for the main character. Sayu Kubota gives such a fantastic performance as Wakaba. The part where she meets someone new in Tokyo and falls in love is incredible especially what happens from there. The meaning behind it reminds me of my first feature although I think his film is better. Between this and the complete version of Visitors I saw on Screambox, I really can't wait to see what this director does next. The two films are quite different but both are amazing. Visitors reminded me of Evil Dead 2 in the best ways. Funny, gory, and a blast to watch while Love Will Tear Us Apart surprised me on its phenomenal somber tone and emotional depth.

The Best Horror Movie Store in Tokyo

If you're ever in Tokyo, you should visit Video Market in Shinjuku. This store is absolutely phenomenal. I love it so much. When I first moved to Japan 5 years ago in 2017, I found it, and I couldn't stay away. There is a life-size Alien in the doorway, Texas Chainsaw Massacre props, and signed photos from all the horror celebrities that have dropped by over the years like Bill Moseley, the director of Martyrs, and even Honey Bunny from Pulp Fiction. It's an incredible place filled to the brim with horror DVDs, Blu-rays, and even some VHS. Of course, every other genre is present too: westerns, crime, sci-fi, arthouse, erotica, etc. but the horror section is by far the biggest, broken down into sections like Giallo, German Splatter, Trash Horror, etc. I even got some old Fangoria there. It really can't be beat, and it isn't a chain. This store is one of a kind, which is why it needs the support even more and the owner is super nice too. There used to be more horror stores like this in Tokyo but they've all closed now except Video Market.

The Blob (1988) shares a lot of similarities with John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).

Obviously, they're both remakes and quite dark, gory ones at that (long live the '80s!), but I forgot the extremely gruesome Thing-esque ways the Blob consumes its victims. You get faces melting, tentacles wrapping around people, a nice gestation dinner courtesy of the hobo, etc. Rob Bottin pretty much influenced all the FX artists that came after him with Carpenter's masterpiece (talk to any practical effects guy and they'll almost always cite it as the fuel for their dream), and it's easy to see that here to a degree I was never aware of as a kid. Heck, you even get flamethrowers. How can you not love flamethrowers? The Blob also has fantastic storytelling, making you care about the characters long before any blood hits the screen. In fact, it does an excellent job surprising you with who lives and who dies. Some deaths are horribly tragic. I think a huge part of this must be the writing of Frank Darabont. He clearly gets character development, and the acting doesn't disappoint either (Jeffrey DeMunn! aka Dale on The Walking Dead, a Darabont regular who knocks it out of the park here). These two movies would be the perfect companions for an awesome horror marathon (hell throw in David Cronenberg's The Fly while you're at it!). Unlike so many other remakes, these actually do something new and take the stories in different directions. They're not copying and pasting the originals. They're not afraid to kill people you love either and then melt their faces off right in front of your eyes. I love that.

Waxwork vs. Full Eclipse

Vampires, a werewolf, the mummy, Frankenstein's monster, zombies, and more all together in one movie? That can't possibly be bad, right? How about a werewolf cop flick? Uhm, ok, doesn't sound the greatest, but surely, one of these has to be good... yes? No? Please say yes. So what do they have in common? Both were directed by Anthony Hickox. Of the two, I was betting on Waxwork (1988). After all, who doesn't love '80s horror? Aliens, The Thing, Predator, The Fly, etc. Waxwork has to be better. But I actually prefer Full Eclipse (1993). Yes, the werewolf movie where there isn't a single werewolf until the end (and even then it looks pretty damn awful... werebear attack!). Who needs werewolves when you get a bunch of bone-claw Wolverines! Why do I like this again?

For one, the writing is actually a lot better. Right from the start, they twist a boring old cop-movie cliche and make it interesting. They even have a little slow-motion shootout obviously inspired by the Hong Kong gunplay master. You definitely get your squib fix, and none of that bloodless PG-13 shit. Then you have Bruce Payne. You might remember him from Passenger 57... or maybe not, but the guy is a phenomenal actor who knows how to play a villain. He gives his character the kind of manipulative charm, class, and lethal unpredictability that great theatrically-trained European actors are known for. He would’ve been right at home in a Die Hard sequel (guess that was Passenger 57). But he definitely reminds me of Alan Rickman.

Why is this photo here?

Patsy Kensit, the pretty damsel-in-distress from Lethal Weapon 2, also plays a key role although this film has the paradox of a sex scene without nudity, and it commits this crime not once but twice; however, it still manages to make those scenes work so it probably deserves even more credit. Yes, the werewolf transformation at the end sucks (actually, it’s pretty damn funny), and I hate werewolf movies that don’t have werewolves, but regardless, Full Eclipse is a lot of fun. It's almost like a bloody X-Men.

Uhm, yeah, my eyes just begged for mercy.

So why didn't I like Waxwork? Of course, you'll recognize Zach Galligan from Gremlins, but unlike that classic, his character here is awful. He isn't sympathetic or fascinating, much less cool, badass, funny, etc. He just seems like a rich jerk who complains about not getting his coffee. Then in the next scene when he immediately gets his caffeine and a cigarette, he blows smoke in the butler's face. The girl he likes says over and over how crappy he is while she comes off as self-absorbed and heartless. The true love interest doesn't get much development at all until later (and there ain't much to her except she likes being whipped). Nobody is really worth caring about so the first third of the movie is a painful slog through boringville while you wait for the monsters to show up.

Team Expendable.

Spoiler time. They give some bizarre explanation for how the whole wax-museum ghost display thingies work. Something about the owner sold his soul to the devil, but then they throw in some Voodoo mumbo jumbo too. Wasn't the devil story enough? Why does the guy need Voodoo as well? What the heck is up with the German midget and the tall Lester-type guy who acts like a baby when he's scolded? Whatever. The movie is kinda a mess. They say the world will end if the exhibits are finished, but that happens yet all they have to do is burn down the museum to stop it? Ok.

The film has a really strange opening scene too. A guy is murdered and burned alive, but they have swing music playing in the background... why? It turns out that poor bastard was the main character's grandfather. So we're supposed to laugh at his death or what? Nice confusing tone right at the beginning. After our hero Mark loses two friends to the museum, he's allowed to walk right out. Why? So the story can continue? Is that it? Wouldn't the owner stop him and throw him in an exhibit? He does later so why not earlier?

Cool.

I did like the short mummy scene and the finale is pretty entertaining. Plus, I love seeing so many different kinds of monsters together. It's just a shame the rest of it wasn't better.

Neither one is perfect (not by a long shot), and Full Eclipse has nothing on Demon Knight (my favorite horror film from the '90s), but up against Waxwork, I got to go with the Wolverine cops.