Author Archives: David

Review: In Search of My Wife’s Husband (Morocco 1993)

Posted on November 30, 2022 by David

I just got back from a 9 day trip to Morocco last night, and holy shit, what an amazing time. Went all over, Fez, Marrakech, Casablanca, the edge of the Sahara, the Todhra Gorge, ate like a king, sfenj donuts, … Continue reading →

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Review: Shin Ultraman (Japan 2022)

Posted on July 25, 2022 by David

New York Asian Film Festival 2022 A total throwback to the oldest iterations of the TV series, this latest Higuchi/Anno “Shin” reinterpretation captures the goofy magic of old school Ultraman perfectly. Episodic, tongue-in-cheek but always played straight, the plot moves so … Continue reading →

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Review: Thrilling Bloody Sword (Taiwan 1981)

Posted on February 2, 2022 by David

More gobsmackingly insane phantasmagoria out of Taiwan in the vein of The Ginseng King, Thrilling Bloody Sword is a wild mash-up of Snow White, Aladdin, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and other fairy tale material, filtered through a DIY wu xia … Continue reading →

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CSB talks with Grady Hendrix about this week’s 9th Old School Kung Fu Festival in NYC, featuring the films of Joseph Kuo

Posted on December 8, 2021 by David

Grady Hendrix has made a name for himself in the last decade as an author, with books like Paperbacks from Hell, Horrorstör, and My Best Friend’s Exorcism. But Asian film aficionados know him as part of the Subway Cinema team … Continue reading →

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Review: Benedetta (France 2021)

Posted on December 3, 2021 by David

Paul Verhoeven’s new nuns gone wild true story is a fascinating study in wrong-footing an audience. Just when you think you have the movie, and the titular character figured out, Verhoeven shifts the narrative and point of view. Sometimes a … Continue reading →

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Review: Sawdust and Tinsel (Sweden 1953)

Posted on November 21, 2021 by David

“You smell of stables, cheap perfume and sweat. But I’ll lick you clean like a dog.” Maybe earlier Bergman is just more my style, I prefer this more wry, humanist material (and his delightful Smiles of a Summer Night) to … Continue reading →

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Review: The Imp (Hong Kong 1981)

Posted on October 31, 2021 by David

Security guard Keung (Charlie Chin) and his pregnant wife end up with a bit of a Devil Fetus situation after he gets a job in the absolute wrong building. The Imp has all the craziness I associate with HK horror … Continue reading →

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Review: Wife of a Spy (Japan 2020)

Posted on September 16, 2021 by David

Watching Kiyoshi Kurosawa experiment with new genres over this past decade or so has been fascinating. The man knows how to make an incredibly spooky supernatural chiller – his Kairo/Pulse is probably the pinnacle of J-horror for me – but … Continue reading →

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Review: Yakuza Princess (Brazil 2021)

Posted on September 3, 2021 by David

Brazil has a large Japanese population, and the social conflicts between returning Japanese ex-pats and more traditional Japanese citizens have been the subject of a lot of great Japanese cinema, like Takashi Miike’s wild City of Lost Souls and Masato … Continue reading →

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Review: Behemoth (USA 2021)

Posted on August 26, 2021 by David

Horror is traditionally one of those genres where you can do a lot on a wing and prayer, and where you can show off your chops despite a low budget. Here, director Peter Szewczyk (coming out of major shops like … Continue reading →

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