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There have been so many engrossing dark TV series that took viewers on mind-bending journeys and truly played with their heads. While modern television has embraced much darker and more sinister stories in recent decades, it takes a truly great show to bury underneath the surface of a series narrative and deliver philosophically rich stories that strike a chord for their deep, probing themes that leave a mark on viewers consciousness well after the credits have rolled. A thought-provoking series that can play with viewers' expectations often marks the difference between a simply good show and a truly great one.

Many of the best TV shows of all time were dark in nature and did not underestimate viewers' intelligence with deeply complex and intricate narratives. Highly influential series like Twin Peaks laid the groundwork for television to embrace more challenging and experimental stories. At the same time, creators worldwide, such...

Some of the most effective and engaging TV shows in recent years were also so gore-filled that audiences often had to look away in pure terror and disgust. From thrilling sci-fi dystopias to intense psychological horrors, just because a series was packed with gore, murder, and violence did not stop it from being truly great. In many cases, the excessively gruesome nature of these shows added to their appeal as they pushed the limits of what could be depicted and accepted in mainstream television.

Plenty of the most gruesomely violent TV shows were filled with gory sequences and sinister characters who committed heinous acts. From intense games that saw characters' lives on the line to sinister antiheroes who killed for the sheer thrill of it, in recent years, television has caught up with horror movies to make series that were equal to or even exceeded the most gore-filled cinematic spectacles.

"Dear Kenzaburo, I wish for your happiness." Level 33 Ent. has revealed an official US trailer for an indie film titled Cottontail, made by British filmmaker Patrick Dickinson. The film premiered at the 2023 Rome Film Festival last year and it also played at a number of other film festivals, including Istanbul and Sydney. In the quiet, tender film, a widower from Japan travels to England with his estranged son in order to fulfill his late wife's final request. Akiko had a dying wish: for her ashes to be scattered across Lake Windermere in the UK, based on a rosy childhood memory of chasing a Peter Rabbit-esque cottontail. Father and son embark on a cross-cultural journey, taking us from the noise of Tokyo to the vast English countryside. This stars Ryô Nishikido with Ciarán Hinds, Lily Franky, Aoife Hinds, Ae Kimura, Rin Takanashi, & Yuri Tsunematsu. This seems very sweet & heartfelt, looks...

The 8 Show is a South Korean dark comedy thriller series created by Han Jae-rim. Based on a Naver webtoon titled Money Game and Pie Game by Bae Jin-soo, the Netflix series follows the story of eight cash-strapped people as they participate in a mysterious game that gives them money just to be present but as time progresses things start to go a bit crazy. The 8 Show stars Ryu Jun-yeol, Chun Woo-hee, Park Jeong-min, Lee Yul-em, Park Hae-joon, Lee Zoo-young, Moon Jeong-hee, and Bae Seong-woo. So, if you love psychological drama and dark comedy with brilliant performances in The 8 Show here are some similar shows you could watch next.

Alice in Borderland (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Alice in Borderland is a Japanese sci-fi survival thriller series created by Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, and Shinsuke Sato. Based on a graphic novel of the same name by Haro Aso, the Netflix...

Supersex is here to tell the story behind one of the biggest male pornstars this world has ever seen. The Netflix series follows the life story of popular pornstar Rocco Siffredi, from his childhood in Ortona, Italy to becoming a sexual sensation. Alessandro Borghi stars in the leading role of Siffredi, and he puts everything into his performance to portray a complex and damaged character. If you loved the character-based drama, themes of deep-seated psychological issues, and sex in Supersex then you should check out these similar shows next.

The Naked Director (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

It’s Supersex but Japanese and much more comedic and raunchy. Yes, we are talking about The Naked Director. Based on a novel titled Zenra Kantoku Muranishi Toru Den by Nobuhiro Motohashi, the semi-biographical Netflix series follows the life of Toru Muranishi, a very important figure in the Japanese porn industry. The series delves into...

Alice in Borderland features a range of interesting heroes and villains, ranking the characters from worst to best reveals their complexity and development. Some characters like Ann, and Heiya were not as interesting or well-developed compared to others, and their roles in the story felt redundant or wasted. Characters like Usagi, Kuina, Kyuma, and Chishiya stand out as some of the best and most compelling characters in the show, with strong personalities and memorable moments.

Ranking the main Alice in Borderland characters from worst to best reveals how many interesting heroes and villains the show features. Netflix’s Alice in Borderland is based on the manga of the same name by Haro Aso, who also created Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. Surprisingly, even though Arisu and his friends seemly returned to the real world at the end of season 2, Alice in Borderland’s story is not over – meaning...

It’s official: Netflix has renewed its hit Japanese sci-fi thriller drama Alice in Borderland for a third season. Fans of the show noticed late Wednesday that Netflix had unceremoniously dropped a teaser for a third season, leading to online speculation that more episodes of the live-action show were officially in the works. At the Apos entertainment and media industry conference in Bali, Indonesia, Netflix’s vice president of content in Asia Pacific, Minyoung Kim, made the news official by announcing the renewal during a keynote talk from the stage.

Following its second season debut in December 2022, Alice in Borderland became Netflix Japan’s most-watched title ever, even including anime titles. It shot up to the Top 10 in over 90 countries, claiming the No. 1 spot in 17 of them, and clocked 200 million viewing hours worldwide.

With Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya reprising their roles as Arisu and Usagi in Season 3, Netflix says...

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for its latest live-action original series from Japan, Burn the House Down, set to launch globally on July 13.

A domestic revenge thriller, the show stars Mei Nagano (My Love Story!, Hanbun, Aoi) as Anzu Murata, a young woman whose childhood was torn apart when her family’s home burned down, prompting her parents to divorce. Convinced that her ailing mother was wrongly accused of the conflagration, Anzu goes undercover to work as a housekeeper for the suspicious woman who married her father in the wake of the blaze — convinced that she can gather evidence and discover the truth of what really happened.

The show is an adaptation of the popular manga Burn the House Down (Mitarai-ke Enjō Suru), which ran in Japan from 2017 to 2021. Kodansha USA Publishing began releasing the manga in English in June 2022.

‘Burn the House Down’

The lead cast includes: Asuka Kudo,...

The trailer for Alice in Borderland season 2 introduces deadly new games. A live-action adaptation of Haro Aso's manga series, which shares the same name, Alice in Borderland, debuted in 2020. Consisting of eight episodes and directed by Shinsuke Sato, the story follows characters who find themselves in an eerily abandoned Tokyo and are forced to compete in kill-or-be-killed competitions. As the season progressed, the show's universe expanded to reveal more secrets and a strange conspiracy that could go beyond what any protagonist expected. Though it was renewed shortly after its premiere, the second installment of the adaptation has been a long time coming.

But now, after filming wrapped on Alice in Borderland season 2 back in March, Netflix has unveiled the trailer for the upcoming episodes. Set to debut on December 22, Alice in Borderland season 2 looks like it will double down on the wild aspects of the first installment. There's an...

The twisted competition at the center of "Alice in Borderland" is back, and it looks like the games aren't done just yet. A "super teaser trailer" for season 2 of the popular show, which is based on the manga series of the same name by Haro Aso, was revealed during Netflix's Tudum fan event, and it looks like we're in for another wild ride.

The teaser shows the return of protagonists Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) after that massive cliffhanger at the end of the last season. After completing a number of increasingly deadly challenges, they learned to their dismay that there are even more coming as the games enter a second phase. We also get our first look at some of the other contestants roped into the games, as well as shots of the sadistic gamemaster Mira (Riisa Naka), who looks to be a more menacing presence this season.

“A Life Turned Upside Down: My Dad’s an Alcoholic” casts a damning eye on the pernicious role alcohol plays in the working careers and social lives of Japanese men. Narrated by the innermost thoughts of a daughter during the 25 years she spends watching her father drink himself to death, With achingly honest things to say about misplaced female guilt, and uplifting messages about female strength, “A Life” deserves to be on the radar of streaming platforms looking for high quality, universally accessible foreign-language fare.

The source material is Mariko Kikuchi’s autobiographical online manga, the title of which translates literally as “My father, who becomes a monster when he’s drunk, causes me pain.” When the manga first appeared in April 2017, overwhelming demand caused the publisher’s server to crash. At the heart of Kikuchi’s story, and faithfully maintained in the screenplay by Katagiri (“Room Laundering”) and fellow male writer Ayumu Kyuma,...

Kana Yamada, founder of the Logic Theater company, adapts hew own stage play for her feature debut, in a film that deals with the lives of sexual workers in Japan.

“Life: Untitled” is screening at Japan Cuts 2020

For the most part, the story is presented through the eyes of Kano, a newcomer in the industry, who, after an episode involving her not succumbing to a client, ends up doing office work for a company that deals with sexual services. A number of women and men are members of the company. The younger man functions mostly as a driver and assistant, but one of the girls is head over heels for him, despite his continuous negativity towards her. The other man seems to be the older employee there, and has the role of the “enforcer”. He frequently has sex with one of the girls, Mahiru, a constantly smiling woman who is...

In my book, Kazuya Shiraishi has raised to be the sterling voice of Japanese mainstream cinema during the last few years, with films like “Birds Without Names“, “The Blood of Wolves” and others combining artistry and context in the most entertaining fashion. “Sea of Revival” attempts to follow in the same footsteps.

Sea of Revival is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme

Ikuo works at a printing plant but has troubles with both gambling and drinking, with his life having taken a rather failed path. However, his girlfriend, Ayumi, who lives together with him and her teenage daughter from a previous wedding, Minami, is not willing to let him go. In order to “save” him, and their financial situation, she decides to take the whole family and move to her hometown, Ishinomaki, in her widowed father’s house, where she can also take care of yet another person.

A loser salary man escapes in alcohol causing everything around him to collapse. Kenji Katagiri’s second feature film surpasses his theatrical debut “Room Laundering” (2018).

“A Life Turned Upside Down” is screening at Camera Japan 2019

In the middle of the chaos stands Saki, played by 22-year-old actress Honoka Matsumoto. She wants to be a Manga artist and her identity crisis is portrayed with fitting speech bubbles that share her inner monologue with the audience. The sad fairy tail is comedy and drama at the same time. Narrated by Saki, the story may appear simple, but is well elaborated. Heavy subjects like alcoholism, suicide, and existential fear are presented light-hearted, but not in a naive way. Unlike Katagiri’s debut “Room Laundering” (2018), “A Life Turned Upside Down” manages to hit the right tones and keeps the balance between the mix of genres.

Besides the story elements, the stylistic approach also contributes a lot to the movie.

Prolific Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse) returned to Cannes with this genre-bending mashup, both a darkly comedic sci-fi and a slow-paced action spectacle. Three aliens on a reconnaissance mission to Earth take over the bodies of human hosts to explore the world they’re about to invade. On the way they steal individual concepts from the minds of anyone who crosses their path, from work, to free will, to love, leaving behind them a trail of soulless bodies. In doing so they start to unwittingly define the essential aspects of what it means to be human.

The film follows Narumi, whose husband, Shinji (Ryuhei Matsuda), becomes one of the three hosts. As the invasion grows nearer, Narumi’s attempts to save humanity from extinction become increasingly entwined with Shinji’s decision on whether to save the humanity within himself.

Combining the best of Kurosawa’s genre stylings...

Leave it to Kiyoshi Kurosawa, our favorite director of B movies that look like art films (or are they the other way around?), to upturn the nostalgia for American blockbusters of the 1980s. Japan’s modern day Don Siegel or Robert Aldrich, who admires in equal parts Jean-Luc Godard and, based on his new film Before We Vanish, John Carpenter, does Super 8, Midnight Special and Stranger Things one better by jumping off from 30-year-old conventions and making a damn good film.A bloody prologue of a massacred family and the dazzled schoolgirl culprit (Yuri Tsunematsu) suggests Kurosawa is squarely back in the horror-thriller genre he is best known for, but the film’s tone and our expectations are suddenly taken an entirely other way by Yusuke Hayashi’s soundtrack shifting to a plucky comic theme. We learn that the girl is one of three aliens who have arrived on earth and inhabit human bodies,...

Before We Vanish (Sanpo suru shinryakusha) Neon Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Screenwriter: Sachiko Tanaka, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, based on the play by Tomohiro Maekawa Cast: Masami Nagasawa, Ryuhei Matsuda, Atsuko Maeda, Hiroki Hasegawa, Yuri Tsunematsu, Mahiro Takasugi, Masahiro Higashide Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 1/25/18 Opens: February 2, 2018 If you’re looking for […]

The post Before We Vanish Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

When it comes to the U.S. distribution of Kiyoshi Kurosawa films, we often learn about their arrival just before they debut. Following the VOD-only release of Daguerrotype last fall, this is certainly the case for his sci-fi invasion feature Before We Vanish. Following a Cannes premiere and ahead of a February release, a new trailer and poster have now arrived.

Rory O’Connor said in our review, “There are few directors who would choose to take a semi-sincere approach to a lengthy pseudo-philosophical science-fiction film — especially not one that lightly pries into our fundamental psychological foibles — but there are few directors quite like Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The prolific Japanese filmmaker behind such varied genre gems as Pulse and Tokyo Sonata has constructed a sort of skittish and overlong, albeit pleasantly existential oddity in Before We Vanish, an alien-invasion B-movie packed with A-grade ideas and craft. Nail down your windows. Lock your doors.

Watching the dreadful and painfully distended films Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa made over the last 10 years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that he was abducted in 2008 and hijacked by a clueless alien parasite trying to keep up appearances. A major figure during the early days of J-horror, Kurosawa distilled the entropy creeping into the digital age before most other artists even felt it — modern classics like “Cure,” “Pulse,” and even the less-horrifying likes of “Bright Future” continue to serve as invaluable time capsules from the era that we’re still trying to escape.

As recently as “Tokyo Sonata,” which is now almost a decade old, it seemed as though Kurosawa could sublimate his obsessions with societal decay into any genre, and the shattering final scene of that film left fans desperate to see where he would go next.

Then, things got bad. The falloff was subtle at first, and it came in small doses,...

Leave it to Kiyoshi Kurosawa, our favorite director of B movies that look like art films (or are they the other way around?), to upturn the nostalgia for American blockbusters of the 1980s. Japan’s modern day Don Siegel or Robert Aldrich, who admires in equal parts Jean-Luc Godard and, based on his new film Before We Vanish, John Carpenter, does Super 8, Midnight Special and Stranger Things one better by jumping off from 30-year-old conventions and making a damn good film.A bloody prologue of a massacred family and the dazzled schoolgirl culprit (Yuri Tsunematsu) suggests Kurosawa is squarely back in the horror-thriller genre, but the film’s tone and our expectations are suddenly taken an entirely other way by Yusuke Hayashi’s soundtrack shifting to a plucky comic theme. We learn that the girl is one of three aliens who have arrived on earth and inhabit human bodies, awkwardly...