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Single named Japanese writer-director Sabu has long been a favorite around these parts thanks to his clever and highly literate tweakings of genre conventions. Sabu is clearly someone who knows and loves conventional genre film while also being the sort of restless intelligence that just can't resist flipping things on their heads, a tendency that led to his early slow-chase movies and more recent fare such as arthouse undead picture Miss Zombie.Sabu's latest, Chasuke's Journey, is an afterlife tale adapted from his own novel and having just played in competition in Berlin a trio of clips are online.In the afterlife, busy playwrights are writing scenarios for living human beings. What they write controls everyone's destiny. Celestial tea server Chasuke constantly serves them to keep them...

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Written and directed by cult Japanese filmmaker Sabu (Dangan Runner, Postman Blues), Miss Zombie is a curious little film. The plot concerns a quiet and withdrawn family living in the suburbs of a nameless city in the aftermath of a zombie plague. When they are sent a 'pet zombie' in the mail, they decide to give her chores around the garden, but don't count on the disruption her presence will have on their lives. Shot in muted black and white and with an extremely tense and heavy atmosphere, it makes its central points early on and then takes forever to develop the story. I suspect this film could have been a wonderful short, but as a feature it's flawed and frustrating.

We meet husband and wife Teramoto and Shizuko (played by Toru Tezuka and Makoto Togashi) and th [Continued ...]...

After what seems a very successful run on the festival circuits it looks they are in the market for some overseas sales (heres hoping they get them) of cult director Sabu latest offering Miss Zombie. Cue an English poster and subbed trailer, from stage left. Synopsis: A doctor and his family receive an unexpected delivery from an old friend at their remote country home - a large wooden crate containing a gun, a female zombie and an instruction sheet telling them not to feed her meat. The family is concerned, of course, but she seems harmless enough. Perhaps she can help clean up outside? Welcome to the unusual world of Miss Zombie, a world in which the zombie virus is clearly a well-known phenomenon and in which more docile sufferers are bought and sold to hobbyists or those looking for cheap labour. It’s a practice not without controversy – the...

The 42nd edition of the Festival du nouveau cinéma will be held in Montreal from October 9 to the 20th, showcasing the best new films and filmmakers from around the world. The festival which has often been described as ‘ baby-tiff’ – picks up the best from Berlinale, Cannes, Venice, Telluride, Toronto and more. This new edition demonstrates the vibrancy of filmmaking in all its forms and for all audiences with an incredible 273 films (146 feature films and 124 shorts) from 47 countries – including (count them) 39 world premieres, 33 North American premieres and 47 Canadian premieres. Of the various sections of the film festival, my favourite program is Time Ø. If you are not familiar with the festival, think of this section of films as the equivalent of Tiff’s Midnight Madness program, only sexier. Here is a break down of what you can see this year.

(Please note: This list is in no particular oder)

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1- R100

Hitoshi Matsumoto,...

Times are tough all over, especially if you're a zombie. Though Miss Zombie has obviously been made with skillful intent, the film's dry, art house flavor mutes any horror impact from its premise. And that appears to have been an intentional move on the part of writer/director Sabu. Sabu is the creative 'pen name,' as it were, of Tanaka Hiroyuki, who acts under his given name, and here I must admit to a limited familiarity with his work, which has been largely limited to the international festival circuit. But one doesn't need to be intimate with his prior films to recognize his ability to frame and stage dramatic action with arresting style. Miss Zombie begins with the delivery of a very large package to the...

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Acclaimed Japanese director Sabu’s horror flick “Miss Zombie” is presently scheduled to screen at this year’s Austin Fantastic Fest. If you’re planning to attend the festival later this month, then you definitely should allot some time to this little genre effort. Judging from the trailer, it definitely has potential. If you like ‘em strange and kinky, that is. Check out this lengthy synopsis: A doctor and his family receive an unexpected delivery from an old friend at their remote country home – a large wooden crate containing a gun, a female zombie and an instruction sheet telling them not to feed her meat. The family is concerned, of course, but she seems harmless enough. Perhaps she can help clean up outside? Welcome to the unusual world of Miss Zombie, a world in which the zombie virus is clearly a well-known phenomenon and in which more docile sufferers are...

The premise and beautifully stark monochrome visuals of cult director Sabu latest offering Miss Zombie has had us intrigued for several months now, so its great news it finally heading our way (its due for its North American premiere at this years Austin Fantastic Fest) so we can finally get a decent, detailed, handle on the plot. Miss Zombie screens at the Aff on Sept 21. Synopsis: A doctor and his family receive an unexpected delivery from an old friend at their remote country home - a large wooden crate containing a gun, a female zombie and an instruction sheet telling them not to feed her meat. The family is concerned, of course, but she seems harmless enough. Perhaps she can help clean up outside? Welcome to the unusual world of Miss Zombie, a world in which the zombie virus is clearly a well-known phenomenon and in which more docile sufferers...

 

With only weeks left before Fantastic Fest gets underway in Austin, the final wave of films has been announced. Check out the goodies below, and visit FantasticFest.com for the complete schedule and to get your tickets.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (USA, 2006)

Special Screening

Director - Jonathon Levine, 98 min

All the boys love Mandy Lane and all the girls want to be her. There's at least one person, though, that wants Mandy and her friends dead.

Chanthaly (Lao People's Democratic Republic, 2013)

North American Premiere

Director - Mattie Do, 98 min

A sickly young woman experiences visions of her dead mother. Is the apparition simply a side effect of her daily medication, or her mother actually reaching out to her from beyond the grave?

Confession Of Murder (Korea, 2012)

U.S. Premiere

Director - Jeong Byeong-Gil, 119 min

After the statute of limitations expires on a series of high profile murders, a...

In 2 weeks, you will be seeing tons of content from one of the best genre film festivals in North America, Fantastic Fest. Held in Austin, TX, Fantastic Fest is a orgasmic wave of sci-fi, horror, crime and foreign film. We have been lucky enough to be attending since 2010 and this year, I plan on giving you the most coverage I can. There will be daily video recorded and published on the site in addition to interviews and reviews. Today, the final wave and closing night film was announced. Every year, Fantastic Fest tends to have side events/parties that tie into the Opening & Closing Night films and given the content, I can’t wait to see what they come up with. The closing night film is the North American Premiere of Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem.

Without further ado, here is the official press release with a full list of films that were added.

Fantastic Fest has sent out a press release announcing their closing night film and the final wave of programming that includes All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, We Are What We Are, Rigor Mortis, and more:

Austin, TX-Thursday, September 5, 2013- Fantastic Fest is excited to announce its final wave of film programming, including Terry Gilliam’s unique dystopian vision of the future, The Zero Theorem, as the closing night film on September 26th. The ninth edition of Fantastic Fest, will take place September 19 – 26 at Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline in Austin, Texas. See below for descriptions of twenty-five new World, North American & Us premiere films at this year’s festival.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (USA, 2006)

Special Screening

Director – Jonathon Levine, 98 min

All the boys love Mandy Lane and all the girls want to be her. There’s at least one person, though, that wants Mandy and her friends dead.

Chanthaly (Lao People’s Democratic Republic,...

Long time cult favorite director Sabu may have taken a turn towards the mainstream with his more recent output but it would appear that he's getting back to his playfully inventive and - it should be said - somewhat odd roots with his new effort, Miss Zombie.Komatsu Ayaka stars as the titular undead woman, a zombie delivered to a man's house in a cage with a gun and a sign saying not to feed her meat. She seems harmless enough so they keep her as a domestic servant.This one appears to be a rousing return to form for Sabu, an impression backed up by the fact the film has already been confirmed to appear in the L'Etrange Festival in France and Korea's Busan International Film...

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