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What in the heck is going on in this?! Blood-splattered walls, cameras, crews, samurai fights, all packed into a Wtf 30-second teaser trailer. There's a new film from Japanese filmmaker Shion Sono (Ai, Suicide Club, Hazard, Love Exposure, Cold Fish, Lords of Chaos, The Land of Hope) called Why Don't You Play in Hell?, that he has described as "an action film about the love of 35mm." Or something like that. The movie stars Sakaguchi Tak and Kunimura Jun. This is a short teaser, but has some insanely weird, psychadelic shots in it. Including what seems to be a river of blood that some woman is sliding down like a slip 'n slide. Here's the first teaser for Shion Sono's Why Don't You Play in Hell?, found by Bloody-Disgusting: Why Don't You Play in Hell? is written and directed by legendary Japanese filmmaker Shion Sono (Ai, Bicycle Sighs, Suicide Club,...

I have a question for you, what makes a movie a “Cult Classic”? Well, there is a movie out there that classifies that distinction for you; and that movie is “American Zombie”, it stars Austin Basis (Boxboarders!, Hazard), Roger Ainslie (Decaf), Alice Amter (The Good Girl, Bad Boy, A Man Apart), Kaci Brown (Public Interest, Whispering Waves) and Al Vincente (My Brother Jack, Tangled, Star Maps, Irish Twins).

The plot of this movie is so simple, but yet so realistic. This movie documents the daily lives of a small community of the living deceased who make their home in Los Angeles. Yes that’s right, it shows actual zombies that are alive today and are in our community. It’s a fictitious documentary that makes you ask the question, are there really zombies living among us? I know it sounds really crazy, but let me tell you, it really does make you ask that question.

Reminder *** You have until midnight Monday night and by that I mean when I wake up Tuesday morning I’m taking all the entrants’ e-mail addresses and pulling five names out of a hat! Don’t delay. Enter! Enter!!! ***

We like nothing more than being able to give you, the Twitchfilm faithful, the opportunities to win free stuff. We promised with the announcement of the R1 DVD release of Sion Sono’s film Hazard from Evokative Films that we would be offering you the chance to win 1 of 5, not 3 but 5, for your very own. The rules are simple. We’re going to ask you a mind boggling trivia question and all you have to do is . Todd’s still in Korea at PiFan so for now I’ll get all the answers in my inbox this time then next week I’ll randomly pick 5 winners and you’ll have your...

***Update*** Due to unforseen printing and production problems the release date has been pushed back But only two weeks to July 28th. Not long now my pets. And look for a giveaway contest next Tuesday!!! - Andrew

Hot on the heels of Sion Sono’s big win down at the New York Asian Film Festival with his latest film Love Exposure it is due time that we announce that Evokative Films is releasing one of his earlier films Hazard on Region 1 DVD next Tuesday.

Hazard tells the story of Shin (Joe Odagiri), a student who, in a fit of soul-crushing boredom, hops on a plane to New York City in search of adventure. More precisely, Shin is seeking “hazard“, his catchphrase for all the danger, excitement and mystery that America has to offer.

Upon arrival, Shin is laughed at, thrown from his cab, robbed and ultimately dumped in the middle of an armed robbery.

[Because it opens in Toronto for a limited run tomorrow, and after personally missing it at not one, but two festivals, yet hearing all the buzz, here is one final take (of a relative Twitch late comer) on Satoshi Miki’s fabulously quiet little Sidewalk Cinema]

The ‘road movie’ while mainly an American staple in filmmaking has entries and variations all around the globe. Usually two (or three or more) unlikely partners, travel to a specified or vague destination and get in misadventures along the way whilst learning about life and living. It can be big budget or micro, mainstream or arty, be in a romantic aim or a goofy buddy sense, and is oft time even used as a vehicle for horror. Credit director Satoshi Miki for somewhat re-inventing the genre with this “Sidewalk Movie.” A film that puts two very genial actors, Jô Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura, side by side perambulating the various neighborhoods and lesser-known sites of the worlds largest city.

The razor-thin plot has a debt collector (a mulletted Miura) trying to muscle 100,000 yen out of unfocused and perpetual law-student (crazy-haired, but isn’t he always crazy haired Odagiri). After near suffocation...

This is kind of becoming old hat, isn’t it? Another day, another quality acquisition from Montreal based DVD label Evokative Films. They’ve already got Miki Satoshi’s Adrift In Tokyo and Sion Sono’s Hazard and now the young start up outfit has picked up rights to Chung Mong-Hong’s Taiwanese drama Parking, starring Chang Chen and Chapman To. Our very own Simon caught this at the World Film Festival in Montreal and came away much impressed.

Very little time here before I have to run at a Sitges Festival screening but I just got a tasty bit of news that will make a whole lot of Sion Sono fans very happy. Word has just come down that sterling Canadian DVD startup Evokative Films have purchased Canadian rights to Sono’s Hazard, the much loved but little seen drama starring Jo Odagiri. Details on release plans as we get them ...