[Fight Scene Friday] IT CHAPTER TWO PARODY - IF PENNYWISE KNEW KUNG FU - ACTION COMEDY

 We're still in Spooky Season©, so this week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is a parody of the recent IT movies, done by the Martial Club crew! I haven't seen the "new" IT movies (but my friend loved the old one, so I'm interested in seeing that one at least), so I can't tell how accurate it is to the movies, but it doesn't matter! The action rocks and it's funny! Check it out!

 

The Tag-Along (2015) - A Review

A Taiwanese horror movie that will surprise you.

 The Tag-Along is a horror movie released in Taiwan in 2015 starring Hsu Wei-ning, River Huang, Liu Yin-shang, Chang Po-Chou, Pai Ming-hua, and Basang Yawei. It was directed by Cheng Wei-hao and is based on a Taiwanese urban legend.

Hsu Wei-ning (left) and River Huang (right) play a couple with different ideas about the future of their relationship.

 In The Tag-Along, River Huang plays Ho Chih-wei, a hard-working property agent who lives with his grandmother (played by Liu Yin-shang). He has a girlfriend, Shen Yi-chun (played by Hsu Wei-ning), who is a radio DJ. They love each other, but they have different goals in mind for their relationship. Yi-chun also seems to resent Chih-wei's grandmother.

 One day, Chih-wei's grandmother encounters something strange in her house, and seems to be affected by it. Chih-wei and Yi-chun go to his grandmother's house to find that she is acting strange. She leaves during the night and doesn't come back. Chih-wei is at his job worried about his grandmother when a package is delivered to him. It is a camera with a file showing his grandmother and other people walking through the forest. Chih-wei notices that they are followed by a little girl wearing red... Chih-wei asks the apartment security officer, Uncle Kun (played by  Chang Po-Chou) for help, and things go downhill from there.

Things get pretty gross in The Tag-Along...

 Chih-wei eventually disappears as well, and Yi-chun becomes determined to find him. She experiences a lot of horrifying events on her journey to find Chih-wei, and she also realizes what she's going up against. Can Yi-chun find Chih-wei and reconcile their differences?

 I did not know what to expect with The Tag-Along. I was pleasantly surprised with how good this movie was! Not only is the movie actually creepy and tense, but it has interesting characters as well. Chih-wei's and Yi-chun's conflict regarding their relationship is portrayed well. I, personally, could see both of their viewpoints, and that makes a really interesting dynamic to the story. As you can imagine, what the characters are going through with their emotions affects their reality. Hsu Wei-ning and River Huang give excellent, believable performances. The scares are pretty good, and the jump scares are effective. There is a lot of gross stuff that happens as well! The sound design in this movie is excellent. It really ratcheted up the tension and scares. The cinematography is also good, with everything looking dark and foreboding. The Tag-Along is a really well-made movie!

There are a lot of scares in this movie!

 As you can guess, I highly recommend The Tag-Along. The movie is well-made, scary, and very entertaining. Truthfully, this movie made me think about my life and my (very few) relationships. Maybe the day I watched it was just the perfect day to watch it, so it affected me more than I expected it would. Everyone's life is different (obviously) so it may not have an impact on you, or maybe it will. You might not even find it scary! Regardless, give it a chance. I loved it!

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed by David Williams

Coherence (2013) - A Quick Review

I heard this was a good movie. It lived up to the hype!

 Coherence is an American psychological thriller/sci fi movie released in 2013 starring Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen, Lorene Scafaria, Hugo Armstrong, Alex Manugian, and Lauren Maher. Coherence was written and directed by James Ward Byrkit.

Emily Foxler plays Em. She figures out what's going on...

 In Coherence, eight friends (four couples) have a dinner party the night a comet is passing through the sky. Things start going weird when Em's (played by Emily Foxler) cell phone screen cracks by itself. We soon find out that this comet has weird effects, including the phone screen cracking. The house loses power (as well as all the houses in the neighborhood, except one), and things get even stranger. Two of the friends go out to try and make a phone call at the house with power, but they return shaken; one has been injured and the other has a metal box. Inside the metal box is a ping pong paddle and pictures of each of the friends with a number on the back. Em tries to figure out what the numbers mean, as the other friends cope with the situation and each other... Their friendships and trust of one another is put to the test on this night. All I can say is, things get weird, dark, and mind-bending...

The party goers all have their own agendas... and secrets.

 Coherence is another movie where explaining the plot more thoroughly will spoil a lot of things about it. Here is what I can say about it: This movie's dialogue was mostly improvised, so the characters talk and act a bit more natural than in other movies. It annoyed me at the beginning of the movie, but as the story progresses, it feels a bit more believable. The story or plot, is very interesting. As long as you are paying attention, everything will make sense. This is a movie where multiple viewings is a must; you may find different clues you never noticed before. Coherence is very unsettling, and can be eerie and dark. It is a movie where you are not sure who or what you are seeing is the trustworthy.

Things get pretty dark...

 So should you watch Coherence? I say absolutely! The story, the characters, the situation, and the tension is top notch. This is a movie that will leave you thinking about it long after you've watched it. Then you'll want to watch it again! This movie is awesome!

 

 

 

 

Reviewed by David Williams

The Super Inframan (1975) - A Review

 

This is called one of the best worst movies. I think it's entertaining!

The Super Inframan (also known as Inframan) is a Hong Kong superhero/sci fi/action/martial arts movie released in 1975, and is the first Hong Kong superhero movie. It stars Danny Lee, Wang Hsieh, Yuan Man-tzu, Bruce Le, Terry Lau Wai-Yue, Dana Shum, and Lin Wen-Wei. The Super Inframan was directed by Hua Shan, with martial arts directed by Tong Kai.

Super Inframan. Enough said.

In The Super Inframan, Hong Kong is being attacked by monsters who rise straight out of the ground. The monsters' leader, Demon Princess Elzebub, makes her intentions clear to the world: She and her monstrous minions are planning to take over! Professor Liu Ying-de (played by Wang Hsieh), head of the Science Research Center, has just finished the BDX project, which coincidentally is just what is needed to deal with these monsters. The BDX project puts bionic parts into a human being to give them super strength and deadly combat weapons in a special suit the human can transform into at will. High ranking Science Research Center officer, Rayma (played by Danny Lee), volunteers to become The Super Inframan. From there, Super Inframan battles the various monsters, while Demon Princess Elzebub brainwashes one of Rayma's colleagues to do her bidding. Can Rayma stop Elzebub from taking over the world?

Demon Princess Elzebub and her skeleton ghost crew.

The Super Inframan is a Hong Kong movie influenced by the tokusatsu shows and movies from Japan. This movie is the Hong Kong version of Ultraman and Kamen Rider. I think this character and movie was a cool concept for Hong Kong movies at that time. Seeing as this was the first superhero movie made in Hong Kong it has its positives and negatives. The story is simple enough. Monsters are attacking and a team must stop them with the help of their super powered team mate. Rayma is a great hero... but there is not much else to his character. Really, all the characters are a bit one dimensional. We do get a nice scene between Professor Liu Ying-de and his daughter, but that's about it. It's fine, though. Who needs dramatic, serious scenes getting in the way of all the action?

The special effects are a mixed bag. The costumes are cool, especially Super Inframan's and the monsters'. They were designed by the same company that made the costumes for Kamen Rider (Shaw Brothers replaced the helmet made by the Japanese company for Super Inframan with their own helmet. I will always wonder what that original helmet looked like). Some special effects are primitive (like lasers) and some are really good (like the monsters and Super Inframan growing to gigantic size). There are a lot of explosions, including one on top of a lake! If you watch this movie, you will either respect the effort of the special effects, you will be embarrassed to be watching it, or you will laugh at it. I respect the effort. 

There's a lot of action in this, and it's awesome!

Even though The Super Inframan takes a little while to get going, once Rayma becomes Inframan, the action scenes pick up. The fight scenes are reminiscent of the first season of Power Rangers (the morphed fight scenes from the original Japanese sentai footage). So no highly complex fights in this one. Still, the fights are very fun. Inframan even has his own version of the Rider Kick! Bruce Le (with one 'e') plays an officer of the Science Research Center, and he gets to fight some Skeleton Ghosts. Danny Lee also has a cool, non-transformed fight as well. The final battle goes on for quite a while, and Super Inframan uses every move and weapon he has against the horde of monsters he has to face. Good stuff! 

So, should you watch The Super Inframan? If you like Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Power Rangers, or Godzilla, then I would say yes. Otherwise, you can skip it. I still say you should give it a chance, though. It's a fun, light-hearted movie with a crazy plot, crazy visuals, and crazy fight scenes. I hope this movie gets remade in Hong Kong or China some day. With modern special effects, and modern fight choreography, I think it would be a pretty cool movie.

(I apologize for the quality of these next pictures, I can't figure out how to take these pictures without glare.)

 

The DVD I watched for this review. The first non-bootleg Shaw Brothers movie I was able to buy.

Back cover of The Super Inframan DVD.

 

The DVD disc with a nice picture on the inner case.

The Super Inframan DVD comes with a booklet that goes into detail the making of the movie. Really informative stuff!

 

 

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] Pins and Needles Fight Scene

 It's Spooky Season©, so this week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is taken from a short film Emmanuel Manzanares helped choreograph the action for! He was also the stunt coordinator and action director! Judging from this scene, this short film looked pretty interesting! Check it out!

 

The Labyrinth (2021) - A Quick Review

 

The Labyrinth is a horror movie based on a video game.

The Labyrinth is a fantasy horror movie released in South Korea in 2021. It stars Chani, Park Yoo Na, Lee Hye Ran, Kim Woo Rin, Jang Gwang, and Lee Seung Il, among many others. Song Woon directed The Labyrinth, which his based on the video game White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. .

Chani stars as Hee Min. Typical guy trying to get with a girl instead of fighting supernatural beings! (I'm kidding)

In The Labyrinth, Chani plays Hee Min, a taekwondo expert who just transferred to a new school. Arriving at the school, a girl catches his eye: So Young (played by Park Yoo Na). He becomes obsessed with her...while also noticing strange supernatural things around the school. He ignores them, but what he doesn't know is that he is the heir to a great exorcist. At the same time this is happening, a shaman is making plans that involve the school and certain students in it. Can Hee Min embrace his destiny and stop the shaman's plan, and will So Young reveal the secret she's hiding that has to do with everything going on at the school?

Park Yoo Na as So Young. She has a secret...

The Labyrinth, even though a movie based on a video game and aimed at teens, actually has a pretty serious aspect to the story, and it is treated with respect. There is tragedy in this, but it also won't leave you feeling down or depressed. The hero's story is a bit cliched, but even he has emotional stuff he has to deal with. The actors all play their parts well; and you will feel empathy for certain characters, and straight up hate for others (I can't stand the bullies). Chani does a good job playing the hero who only cares about the girl (and not realizing the power he has within himself). He is a total good guy, for sure! The special effects are really good in some scenes, and look more like a video game in others. This doesn't take away from the feel of the movie, though. A majority of the movie is dark, foreboding, and creepy (nice things to be in a horror movie). The movie is pretty entertaining throughout.

The Labyrinth does get pretty spooky!

So, should you watch The Labyrinth? Once again, it's not the best horror movie you'll ever see, and it's a movie geared towards the teenage audience (so no graphic violence, sex, or nudity). If you're hardcore into horror, I would skip it (but hey, you may like it anyway). If you like Korean drama TV shows, movies that have video game-like plots, or just a fun scary movie, check it out. I really enjoyed this one, maybe you will too. Hopefully my vague review steers you in the right direction.

Reviewed by David Williams

Ghost Mansion (2021) - A Review

 

Ghost Mansion is a decent Korean horror movie.

Ghost Mansion (also known as Grotesque Mansion and The Night Shift) is a South Korean horror movie released in 2021. It stars Sung Joon, Kim Hong-Fa, Kim Bo-Ra, Lee Chang-Hoon, Sojin, Seo Hyun-Woo, Kang You-Seok, Lee Suk-Hyeong, and Won Hyun-Joon. Ghost Mansion was written and directed by Jo Ba-Reun.

Sung Joon as Ji-Woo. He gets in over his head in this one!

In Ghost Mansion, Sung Joon plays Ji-Woo, a webtoon artist looking for inspiration for his horror comic. He goes to a creepy apartment complex where he meets Kwon Ri-In (played by Kim Hong-Fa), the person in charge (seemingly) of the place. Ji-Woo wants to hear some stories about the apartment, as it has a reputation for having paranormal incidents and missing tenants. Each story told is a chapter in the movie, and there are five chapters: The Writer, The Pharmacist, The Seller, The Student, and The Caretaker. Determined to make his comic a success, Ji-Woo delves deeper and deeper into the lore of the apartment complex...

Kim Hong-Fa plays a very...peculiar character.

Ghost Mansion is a horror anthology movie where every chapter is connected. Every chapter leads to the final chapter, which explains why the apartment complex is 'haunted'. The movie is moody and atmospheric, and there is a certain sense of dread throughout. This is especially apparent when Ji-Woo is at the apartment complex itself; the complex is dark, shadowy, and dank while his apartment is brightly lit and cozy. I will say, there are a lot of jump scares in this. Trying not to spoil the movie here, but there are many types of...paranormal entities in this movie. Some are spooky, some are weird, and some are gross. Whatever type of ghost creeps you out, it's in here.

One of the more intriguing chapters...

Each chapter features a flawed protagonist. Besides Ji-Woo and his girlfriend, every character is not a good person. Considering the history of the apartment complex, why these particular tenants are affected by the paranormal activity makes sense. The actors all do a good job, with The Writer (played by Lee Chang-Hoon) being a stand out. I hated his character at first, but I realized he was just a very impatient and frustrated person. Lee played that character a little too well! Sung Joon as Ji-Woo is a very sympathetic character; you want him to succeed with his webtoon, but you kind of want him to stay away from that apartment...

So, should you watch Ghost Mansion? I would say...it depends. If you are a hardcore horror movie fan who has seen almost everything, I would skip this one. If you want an introduction to Korean (or Asian) horror, this is a good one to start with. It's not gory, it's not graphic, there's no sex or nudity; it's all about the atmosphere and the ghosts. I liked this movie enough. It's not the best horror movie ever, but it's pretty entertaining. I will say, you have to pay attention because there are clues and characters that tie everything together at the end. Check it out and give it a chance!

Reviewed by David Williams