BFI visit

Ok….the visit to the BFI library was kinda fun, and I got loads of references and info about my subject.
Although, now I’ve got a lot of info on the Japanese horror movie Dark water, which also looks amazing. I’ve never seen this film and it may be good for analysis and a starting point for my interviews.
Perhaps I should reconsider the movies I want to look at????
Takahi Mikke audition is a movie analysts dream movie within the horror genre, I found loads of references to this film.

i also recieved many good quotations about the psychological approach to spirits and monsters and how the Japanese audiences react to them. “ Americans seem to prefer a more physical style with a huge emphasis on special makeup. To us, this isn’t a ghost- it’s a monster"

this was a brilliant way of summing up my thoughts exactly.....japanese audiences and fans of j-horror not only love the gore, but also the psychological experinece that comes with it.

e.g brain dead made by peter jackson (lord of the rings). this was one of his first ever movies and revolves around a guy who is trapped in a house wher his mother has become a zombie. he has to save the women he loves by cutting his way out of the house....with...................a lawn mower!!! from beginning to end it is simply a blood bath and grose-out-fest and doesn't really have much of a plot. even though i love the film, i can understand why some people wouldn't like it (most people actually) because there is hardly a plot and seems to just be an excuse to use an insane amount of red liquid!!!

if i compaired it to a j-horror such as ONIBABA directed by Kaneto Shindo, we can see a very clear difference as this film concentrates on the psychological horror created by dark human emotions before it introduces anything supernatural and one is left to contemplate which is worse, the dark side of humanity or the vengeful dead. Its filmed in sumptuous black and white and is set in a marshland. The story unfolds like a folktale and Shindo makes full use both visually and symbolically of the long stalks of grass waving in the wind.

these two complete horror fest movies take completely different stances on how to thrill and scare their audiences.



useful link found:
http://www.kulturblog.com/2005/01/old-school-j-horror/