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From around the late 1990s, for arou'nd a decade the Far East went through a golden era for film-making in terms of horror and psychological movies. I've been a major devotee of this "Asia Extreme" set of movies (as the film series was known as here when it was all released under the "Tartan Asia Extreme" DVD brand) and loved it all so much of it (and bought most of them until the DVD brand collapsed). 'Cure' was one of the first in this genrue, but to my eternal shame I had no knowledge of it incredibly, and only finally got watch is now in a retro showing in the cinema, and what a seminal film it is (partly as it wasn't released under the "Tartan Asia Extreme" brand).

'Cure is not an easy film to explain as there is very little exposition in this movie. It centres around a detective out to decipher the mystery surrounding some very gruesome but inexplicable deaths & murders that baffle even the most seasoned investigator. Parallel to all this is the detective trying to manage his homelife as his wife has some psychiatric issues, and the pressure of it all just takes him to the edge of insanity as his frustrations come to the fore. What makes it worse is that all the murders are committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done, so what is going on, and who is the mastermind? Or is there even one?

Story wise, there is little exposition as said and even no background music, so the starkness of the pictures seem to drag you into the discomfort of this world despite being filmed in the beautiful Japanese settings. The settings do delve in the downtrodden blue-collar areas of town too, and you have a detective stepping where ever he can to get down to the bottom of everything, yet none of it is fathomable.

Our lead is the main protagonist as we follow lead in this almost impossible task, and really the actor really pushes the role incredibly to its limits. I can't think that anyone could have done any better than how he did, but he is very well supported a by great cast who helped to set up a very uncomfortable atmosphere in this very intense psychological horror thriller.

I really wish I'd known about this long back, and watched it during its heyday. Those Tartan Asia Extreme films were an incredible era which really changed the horror landscape, and became influential abroad.

This is a film I would recommend highly to all. It's not an easy watch, but from first second to last it will keep you intrigued and gripped without needing to rely on any action thrillers. Just great story, direction & action. Highly recommended by me.

Rebels 11 even just by it's name is clearly a derivative to the more celebrated Seven Samurai or even the relatively more recent and equally excellent 13 Assassins. Putting aside the copycat criticisms some would say, the truth is that this actually does go its own way and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.

The film is really a derivative of various films, such as the two earlier mentioned but also the Dirty Dozen and likely by coincidence the US comedy movie Spies Like Us! Anyhow, no spoilers but the film centres 11 criminals and some samurai conscripted together to defend a castle, but not all is as it seems.

The film starts a bit poorly and I thought this was going to be a cheap cash-in, yet it grows and develops quite strongly and I was very pleasantly surprised by just how good the story did evolve. You do grow to love the motley crew as you watch them battle tragically against the clashing realpolitik interest, with no idea who they should best serve.

The action is very good, and the battles are well balanced without a need to go way over the top. That was what really gives the film its value in my opinion. The dialogue & direction is great to watch, and despite its runtime it doesn't drag.

If you like period pieces, especially action ones, then this is one that is not taxing and is very enjoyable. Good humour & action, tragedy and drama. I'd say it's very much worth a viewing.

You got to hand it to the makers of this movie. A refreshing horror-comedy (more fun than gruesome I'd argue) that made everyone in the cinema burst out laughing throughout with a good stream of jokes.

We have a crazy story of a toy monkey that seems to haunt a pair of twins, where each time it is wound up it leads to the death of someone close to them (albeit randomly).

The jokes are crazy, and it's no Childs Play or Death Note, clearly two films that have influenced this film. Personally, I think it's all the better for it.

In the cinema, it's a great fun comedy horror ride. Give it half a chance and you'll enjoy it.