The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)

Kicked off the annual horror countdown with this mindf&%$ from Takashi Miike. The film was inspired by the South Korean film The Quiet Family (1998), which is on my list of the top 100 films of all time (currently #44).... But this crazy comedy musical version (with stop motion animation) was not as good. 😆

Mad God (2021)

The first movie of this year's annual horror countdown is Phil Tippett's Mad God (2021), suggested to me by my friend Jason. I'm a huge sucker for practical effects and stop motion, so this was satisfying in that respect, but the very loose narrative structure and unrelenting ick factor made this feel very long. Would have made a better short film than full-length feature.

 

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) was very silly,  but it did have a few awesome scenes. They really let the fog machine guy go hogwild with this one. 😂 Lovely, flowing costuming for knockout Joey Wong.