easternKicks.com - the ultimate site for Asian film!

Review

Death Valley

A dark and gritty wuxia film from Lo Wei…

Interview

Zhu Rikun interview: “Perhaps they think I’m a very dangerous person”

A New York film festival organiser forced to cancel an event at the last minute…

Review

Bat Without Wings

Chor Yuen does what he does best while trying so much more for a wuxia mystery of grotesque beauty…

Review

China White

An early and controversial crime thriller from Ronny Yu, shot in Amsterdam’s Chinatown…

Review

Calif Chong interview: “A casting director might say that’s ‘uncastable’ – lesson learned!”

We talk to the director of British film High Wire about her debut and career…

Review
Swordsman at Large
Wai Wang plays a hero with a broken heart and sullied reputation…
Review
Jakoman and Tetsu
Kurosawa via Fukasaku?! It happened — and to surprising results for either’s adherents…
Review
Tomb Watcher
A cheating husband and his lover must care for the corpse of his rich wife for 100 days to inherit her fortune…
Review
Stranger
A minimalist thriller that doesn’t quite hit the mark…
Review
Legend Of the Eight Samurai
One of the best epic fantasy films Japan ever crafted…
Review
Shadow Girl
Lily Li plays a mischievous invisible swordswoman in this strange but entertaining wuxia…

COMING SOON...

Review: Bloody Parrot
Review: The Town Within Reach
Review: The Golden Sword

Latest news

All the latest news from Asian cinema...

News
Bi Gan’s Resurrection voted 10th best film of 2025 by Sight &...
Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud also feature prominently…
News
East Asian films at Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF)
Currently screening up to 16 November, here’s what to watch…
News
East Asian films at BFI’s Too Much: Melodrama on Film season
At BFI Southbank and across the country, plenty of classics to be seen…
News
Sine Screen in Focus: Kaori Oda
A programme exploring the work of the experimental filmmaker and artist…
News
Sine Screen’s Whose Homeland film season returns
The season explores shifting homelands and migrant narratives through a mix of cinematic forms…
News
London Korean Film Festival turns 20!
Full festival programme is out now…

The fourth volume in Arrow Video’s Shawscope series comes to Blu-ray on 8th December 2025, celebrating Hong Kong’s mightiest film studio and the special effects-driven horror and sci-fi cinema that dominated the global box office in the 1970s — taking things one step beyond!

Review
Bat Without Wings
Chor Yuen does what he does best while trying so much more for a wuxia mystery of grotesque beauty…
Review
The Oily Maniac
Classic exploitation howler where a man transforms to enact revenge upon those who have unwisely wronged him…
Review
The Seeding of a Ghost
One of the Shaw Brothers’ most infamous and sleazy shockers finally gets the rerelease it deserves…
Review
Black Magic
A little sleazy, a little gory and a lot dated. This film is everything you could want from a 1970s horror…
Review
Bloody Parrot
One of the crazier of the later Shaw Brothers films, mixing magic, martial arts and bloody madness…
Review
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Shaw Brothers oddity as sci fi meets comedy spoof in a car crash of a movie, but not one without merit…
Review
The Super Inframan
A joyful and frenetic cult classic take on the superhero movie…
Review
The Seeding of a Ghost
Spells, sorcery and copulation from beyond the grave; presenting another Shaw Brothers horror classic that’s as daft as it’s gory…
Feature
Black Magic and Sleazy Spells: The Shaw Brothers Horror Films
As part of our special Shaw Brothers Halloween season, we take a look at the studio’s best-known horrors…
Review
Bewitched
Sleazy sorcery and gruesome black magic in another wild offering from the legendary Kuei Chih-hung…

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BFI London Film Festival 2025

The 69th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) returns this Autumn from 8 to 19 October…

Review
Calif Chong interview: “A casting director might say that’s ‘uncastable’ – lesson...
We talk to the director of British film High Wire about her debut and career…
Interview
Akira Emoto interview: “I hope more films are made about Japan from...
A Japanese screen legend speaks with us about his English-language debut…
Review
Rental Family
Brendan Fraser stars in Hikari’s film about Japan’s infamous ‘rental family’ services…
Review
Left-Handed Girl
With Sean Baker co-writing the results are perhaps not unexpected, but still a joy…
Review
High Wire
Isabella Wei stars as a young woman stuck in her family’s takeaway business who dreams of something more…
Review
A Useful Ghost
An inventively whacky comic premise that turns to dark commentary…
Review
No Other Choice
Park Chan-wook returns with a comedy caper starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin…
Review
Human Resource
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit returns to the workplace as a HR manager considers whether to bring a child into the world…
Review
The World of Love
Newcomer Seo Su-bin shines in Yoon Ga-eun’s stunning teen drama…
Review
Resurrection
As visually stunning as you’d expect for Bi Gan, but its affectations may divide audiences…

New York Asian Film Festival 2025

The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) returns July 11–27 for its boldest edition yet, unleashing a full-scale feast for Asian cinema lovers…

Interview
Banjong Pisanthanakun interview: “This kind of ghostly story really scared us!”
With more frighting features on the way, Banjong talks Shutter in 4K…
Review
Bel Ami
A contemplative black comedy about a hidden gay community in freezing northeast China, shot in black and white…
Review
Possession Street
Not a comedic romp, but a well-paced piece of melodrama and horror…
Review
Ravens
Film based photography is all about processing light and darkness, can art and film process a life too?…
Review
I, The Song
A subtle drama using local cultures and attitudes to weave a mystery, yet relatable no matter where you are…
Review
Lilim
A familiar but entertaining gothic tale from the director Mikhail Red…
Interview
The Stone interview: “Why cheat so much when you are playing with...
A bold debut explores Thai amulet culture, karma, and the cost of belief…
Review
Last Song for You
Ekin Cheng shines in this tender romance with a mighty twist…
News
NYAFF 2025 Has Arrived!
Full lineup and Uncaged Nominees revealed as “Cinema as Disruption” takes over New York…
Review
Dollhouse
You’ve been warned about creepy dolls…

cineXtremes

Celebrating the excesses of Hong Kong Category III, Asian extreme and exploitation cinema…

Review
China White
An early and controversial crime thriller from Ronny Yu, shot in Amsterdam’s Chinatown…
Review
Tomb Watcher
A cheating husband and his lover must care for the corpse of his rich wife for 100 days to inherit her fortune…
Review
The Captives
A Chinese special forces team are humanity’s last hope when CGI alien bugs launch a sneak attack…
Review
Ghost Mask: Scar
A young Japanese woman travels to Seoul to search for her missing sister and crosses paths with a mysterious plastic surgeon…
Review
Crazy Tsunami
Tsunami survivors find themselves hunted by a giant croc in this 2021 Chinese creature feature…
Review
Lured
Found footage horror following an American filmmaker travelling to a remote village to meet a girl he’s been chatting with online…
Review
Huge Shark
A young woman fights for her life against an oversized shark in this 2021 Chinese creature feature…
Review
Sadako Returned
Sadako haunts a projector instead of a videotape in this low-budget Chinese Ring knock-off…
Review
The Wilderness Hotel
Things get increasingly bizarre after a newlywed couple decide to stay the night in a remote hotel in this 2017 Mainland Chinese horror…
Review
Big Bee
Genetically modified giant bees go on the rampage in this shoddy Chinese CGI-heavy creature feature…

Far East Film Festival 2025

Europe’s biggest East Asian film festival returns for 2025, running from 24 April to 2 May…

Feature
The Many Faces of Sylvia Chang and Taiwan Cinema
Ming-Yeh Rawnsley looks at how monumental the actress has been in a country’s cinema…
Review
Death Whisperer 2
The murmuring continues in the sequel to the Thai box office horror hit…
Interview
The Stone interview: “Why cheat so much when you are playing with...
A bold debut explores Thai amulet culture, karma, and the cost of belief…
Review
Last Song for You
Ekin Cheng shines in this tender romance with a mighty twist…
Review
Shake, Rattle & Roll
The first of the long-running Filipino cult classic horror anthologies…
Review
Upstream
Xu Zheng tackles food delivery worker struggles—but turns hardship into hollow spectacle…
Review
Teki Cometh
Yoshiba Daihaici portrays the insecurities of an old man in Teki Cometh, but fails to give his film depth and nuance…
Review
Dollhouse
You’ve been warned about creepy dolls…
Review
Love in the Big City
A bright, offbeat portrait of friendship and survival, wrapped in the deceptive warmth of a romantic comedy…
Review
Dollhouse
After the tragic death of their child, a couple buy a doll to help them grieve. But the toy seems to have a mind of its own…

J-Horror Rising

Arrow revive the classic turn of the millennium Japanese horrors with a new boxset collection and separate release of Tomie, based on Junji Itō’s notorious manga creation…

Review
Three / Three… Extremes
The Peter Chan-produced horror anthology series makes a welcome return to home media…
Review
Shikoku
A woman returns to her rural hometown where she encounters the ghost of a childhood friend in this familiar 1999 J-Horror…
Review
Isola: Multiple Personality Girl
A psychic woman travels to Kobe to help victims of the 1995 earthquake, where she meets a troubled girl…
Review
Tomie
A slow burning adaptation of Junji Ito’s classic manga from Ataru Oikawa…
Review
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
A disfigured supernatural murderess stalks children in this 2007 J-horror drawn from an urban legend…
Review
St. John’s Wort
A young woman inherits a creepy abandoned mansion in this 2001 Japanese video game adaptation…

The best in film festival coverage, year after year

Coverage of Chinese Visual Festival 2019

Coverage of Hong Kong International Film Festival 2019

Coverage of New York Asian Film Festival 2019

The easternKicks Podcast

A regular magazine programme about East Asian film, with the latest news, reviews and interviews.

Podcast
Episode 58 – Spotlight on Mongolian Cinema
With If Only I Could Hibernate in UK cinemas, we talk to director Zoljargal Purevdash…
Podcast
Episode 57 – ek Picks for March 2024
Our guide to what to watch on streamers and in cinemas in February…
Podcast
Episode 56 – eK Picks for February 2024
Our guide to what to watch on streamers and in cinemas in February…
Podcast
Episode 55 – easternKicks Picks for January 2024
Our guide to what to watch on streamers and in cinemas in January and February…
Podcast
Episode 54 – easternKicks Picks for December
Our guide to what to watch on streamers and in cinemas…
Podcast
Episode 53 – easternKicks Picks for November
No idea what to watch or where to find it? Here’s our new guide…
Podcast
Episode 52 – Halloween Special: Visible Secret
We revisit Ann Hui’s classic and look at new HK horror Back Home…
Podcast
Episode 51 – A Tokyo Melody: Remembering Ryuichi Sakamoto
We interview Tokyo Melody director Elizabeth Lennard and more…
Podcast
Episode 49 – Mikhail Red interview / Deleter
We focus on the Filipino filmmaker with an exclusive interview…
Podcast
Episode 48 – Mark Dacascos interview / Brotherhood of the Wolf
easternKicks chats to martial arts star (and Iron Chef’s Chairman!) Mark Dacascos…

Interviews

Our interviews with filmmakers, directors, actors, composers and much more besides from the world of Asian film…

Interview
Akira Emoto interview: “I hope more films are made about Japan from...
A Japanese screen legend speaks with us about his English-language debut…
Interview
Yeo Siew Hua interview: “The history of cinema is sooooo obsessed with...
We talk to the Stranger Eyes director about his film, his philosophy as a filmmaker, and his filmmaking as philosophy…
Interview
Siyou Tan interview: “I don’t wanna make babies for the country!”
We talk to the director of Amoeba about her feature debut…
Interview
Yen and Ai-Lee interview: “We still want to keep making the stories...
Writer-director Tom Lin Shu-yu and actress-producer-writer Kimi Hsia discuss their latest film…
Interview
Ken’ichi Ugana interview: “I knew I had just one chance to film...
Japan’s emerging genre director talks about his international debut and filming in the US…
Interview
Yuumi Kawai interview: “Cinema allows us to create a better future together”
Japan’s rising star talks industry and internalisation…
Interview
Banjong Pisanthanakun interview: “This kind of ghostly story really scared us!”
With more frighting features on the way, Banjong talks Shutter in 4K…
Interview
The Stone interview: “Why cheat so much when you are playing with...
A bold debut explores Thai amulet culture, karma, and the cost of belief…
Interview
Megumi interview: “It’s a moment of great opportunity for Japan”
FEFF 2025’s multi-hyphenate juror talks Japan Night and beyond…
Interview
AUM: “The story of Aum’s rise is relevant to the world today”
The transnational co-directors of a daring new documentary examine Aum’s impact past and present…

Shaw Brothers

With releases from Arrow Video, Shout Factory, 88 Films, Eureka and many more, we celebrate the greatest studio of the 20th century…

Review
Death Valley
A dark and gritty wuxia film from Lo Wei…
Review
Bat Without Wings
Chor Yuen does what he does best while trying so much more for a wuxia mystery of grotesque beauty…
Review
Shadow Girl
Lily Li plays a mischievous invisible swordswoman in this strange but entertaining wuxia…
Review
The 14 Amazons
A scintillating masterpiece from Cheng Kang where a cast of women warriors in the Song Dynasty take on the Western Xia…
Review
The Lady Hermit
Cheng Pei-pei dazzles in Ho Meng-hua’s classic…
Review
The Black Butterfly
Lisa Chiao Chiao robs from the rich and gives to the poor in this wuxia film by Lo Wei…
Review
Duel for Gold
A heist goes awry in Chor Yuen’s gritty wuxia film…
Review
Vengeance of a Snowgirl
Lo Wei delivers a spectacular adventure about revenge, love and redemption starring Li Ching and Yueh Hua…
Review
Vengeance of a Snowgirl
Creative fights and visuals, droll plotting, and a delightfully psychotic heroine surprisingly set this wuxia apart…
Review
The Web of Death
Chor Yuen’s gonzo wuxia masterpiece…

Death Valley

Zhu Rikun interview: “Perhaps they think I’m a very dangerous person”

Bat Without Wings

China White

Calif Chong interview: “A casting director might say that’s ‘uncastable’ – lesson learned!”

Swordsman at Large

Jakoman and Tetsu

Tomb Watcher

Stranger

Legend Of the Eight Samurai

Shadow Girl

Bi Gan’s Resurrection voted 10th best film of 2025 by Sight &...

East Asian films at Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF)

East Asian films at BFI’s Too Much: Melodrama on Film season

Sine Screen in Focus: Kaori Oda

Sine Screen’s Whose Homeland film season returns

London Korean Film Festival turns 20!

Bat Without Wings

The Oily Maniac

The Seeding of a Ghost

Black Magic

Bloody Parrot

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The Super Inframan

The Seeding of a Ghost

Black Magic and Sleazy Spells: The Shaw Brothers Horror Films

Bewitched

Calif Chong interview: “A casting director might say that’s ‘uncastable’ – lesson...

Akira Emoto interview: “I hope more films are made about Japan from...

Rental Family

Left-Handed Girl

High Wire

A Useful Ghost

No Other Choice

Human Resource

The World of Love

Resurrection

Banjong Pisanthanakun interview: “This kind of ghostly story really scared us!”

Bel Ami

Possession Street

Ravens

I, The Song

Lilim

The Stone interview: “Why cheat so much when you are playing with...

Last Song for You

NYAFF 2025 Has Arrived!

Dollhouse

China White

Tomb Watcher

The Captives

Ghost Mask: Scar

Crazy Tsunami

Lured

Huge Shark

Sadako Returned

The Wilderness Hotel

Big Bee

The Many Faces of Sylvia Chang and Taiwan Cinema

Death Whisperer 2

The Stone interview: “Why cheat so much when you are playing with...

Last Song for You

Shake, Rattle & Roll

Upstream

Teki Cometh

Dollhouse

Love in the Big City

Dollhouse

Three / Three… Extremes

Shikoku

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl

Tomie

Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman

St. John’s Wort

The best in film festival coverage, year after year

Episode 58 – Spotlight on Mongolian Cinema

Episode 57 – ek Picks for March 2024

Episode 56 – eK Picks for February 2024

Episode 55 – easternKicks Picks for January 2024

Episode 54 – easternKicks Picks for December

Episode 53 – easternKicks Picks for November