Wine and an X-Phile #X-01003: Squeeze

“Is there any way I can get it off my fingers quickly without betraying my cool exterior?"

Air Date: September 24, 1993
Directed by: Harry Longstreet
Written by: Glen Morgan & James Wong

Filed Under: Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

A former academy classmate of Scully’s asks her and Mulder to help with a serial killer case that has proven to be strange with the lack of clues. The investigation leads to a century-old killer who can squeeze his body through narrow areas to attack without trace.

Review:

It’s our first proper Monster of the Week! And our first introduction to one of the best writing team duos, Glen Morgan and James Wong. As a creature feature lover, the MOTWs have always been my favorite of the episodes. While I do think The X-Files does some good storylines that are fun when connected with the greater conspiracy arc, these types of episodes with weird creatures are always just fun and a little spooky - right up my alley. I had forgotten how creepy this show really got and it really honed in on why I still look back on the series in fondness. I’ve talked about this previously on the blog and elsewhere but I’m not one to get scared, so my judgment of what is truly is scary and what isn’t is non-existent, but this episode starts us off spooky from the very beginning showing Tooms from the sewer grate, his eyes really the only thing you can see.

The episode focused on Mulder’s outcast (and spooky) status within other members of the FBI. Up until this point we’ve only heard these stories in passing and never got a true sense of how the rest of the agents felt about him and it was an interesting insight. The episode also focuses more on the dynamic of the relationship between Mulder and Scully and how it’s already starting to strengthen and solidify. While Scully doesn’t believe everything that Mulder does, she does back him up throughout multiple parts of this episode despite not believing what Tooms is and knowing Colton for a lot longer than Mulder. When Colton calls off the stakeout, she’s angry and vowes to back him up against the bureau.

It also is the begining of Mulder truly believing in Scully’s skill outside of her medical status. Up until this point, the show has focused on Mulder being a good agent and profiler (which is probably the main reason he’s allowed to keep on the X-Files Project, because they can’t afford to lose him as an agent), but we haven’t gotten to see that in Scully outside of her medical skills. When they are at the first initial stakeout, one that Scully has profiled the perpetrator to be at, Mulder doubts he will be there and questions Scully’s profile. When Tooms is caught, you can see Mulder’s shift in his view of Scully. I don’t think Mulder thought of her less before this point, but I do feel that Mulder being forced to have been regulated to the basement and partnerless has clouded his judgement because he has to constantly put up a defense knowing that the person he’s around could be there to spy on him, find him weird, or not be there for him for long and he wasn’t expecting someone to be his match. It’s a small point, but I think it’s a greater defining point for the series in showing Scully as an equal. And with it being only the third episode not just for Mulder, but the viewers.

Or maybe it’s just Mulder falling in love with her. Either way works.

Another plot I really loved during the episode was the juxtaposition of Colton and Frank Briggs, the retired police officer who worked on the original cases involving Tooms. It is established fairly early on in the episode that Colton is only there to ‘win’ solving the challenging case, using other people on his way to the top. He really only called Scully to help him on the sidelines, and maybe make an ally for later on as he continues to climb the ladder as well as potentially using Mulder’s known profiling skills. Briggs is saddened by the case, and after decades of it not having been solved and the families not having answers, it has affected him. Briggs also mirrors Mulder in a way, as we’ll see a little bit more in the next episode, Conduit. Mulder’s pursuit for solving cases is based on his own personal story of being a victim that has yet to be given answers. He is in the unique position to understand what the people in these cases have to deal with. Colton stopping the investigation is the same as Briggs being regulated to a desk job after the murders started again. The officers who stop Briggs from trying to solve the case could be seen as the reason Tooms continued to kill, just as Colton stopping Mulder’s stakeout could be seen as effectively allowing Tooms to almost kill Scully.

A lot of the episode is focused on the creepiness of Tooms in the way that he moves and the way that no area is safe, and I think it portrays that uneasiness well. The thought of knowing that no matter how safe you have made your own space and it still not being enough is a horrific thought. I think the added elements of focusing on Tooms as a serial killer also add to this uneasiness, as he is then viewed as a home intruder - a real and tangible threat to everyone watching. I think that’s also why this episode in particular is always labeled as one of the scariest episodes. It combines not only the fake monsters, but the real ones as well.

Extras:

Morgan and Wong were inspired by Jack the Ripper and Richard Ramirez actions, specifically Ramirez who despite his size was entering homes through the small window in the shower. The episode had some issues with production, as the director and the duo clashed on the direction the show was being taken. Because of this, and Carter’s respect for their work and dedication on the episode, they were able to follow up the story with the later episode in the season, Tooms.

Favorite Prop(s):

One of my favorite graphic props to work on has always been newspapers. I don’t know if it’s because I can zone out and just focus on the creation of a repetitive object, or that the prop itself is an interesting one. Newspapers aren’t generally thought about, they are mostly used as something for the actor to hold in their hands but it can contain so much information. It can tell of a further plot, or clue into when and where the drama is set without saying a word. It was prop I created frequently, and have always appreciated how impactful it truly can be. The newspaper in the episode is obviously used in the most known way - as the nest that Tooms creates - but it also is the reason we learn that Briggs can finally start to heal.

MSR:

I don’t like to give “boy rescues girl who’s perfectly capable but randomly isn’t so the boy can become the hero” tropes attention, but this episode I may have to give an exception tp. Mulder rushing to save Scully is great, but I personally love how it shows them working together, physically, to fight off the intruder. They truly work well together. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Mulder and Scully’s library date looking at the microfiche as it works perfectly with my favorite prop. Just a couple of love birds watching the pages fly by.

Rating:

4/5 wine glasses. Squeeze has the unintended problem of being a little bit of a harder rewatch because of what has happened with the actor playing Tooms, Doug Hutchison (who is very much more spooky than a being that can squeeze itself in tight spots), and so the rewatch wasn’t as a good as it could have been. Despite that, it still lives up as a pretty solid first Monster of the Week and reliving the story of the monster I always think of when I look at a/c vents was fun. It was also the perfect episode to ring in the spooky season.

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31 Days of Asian Horror

Happy almost October!

While it’s spooky season year-round here, the Halloween season warrants special posts and this year I’ll be reviewing a different Asian horror every day leading up to Halloween. I tried to pick as much of a variety of movies and shows from different countries as possible, but I also wanted to keep it to things that are attainable and easily accessible. I’ll also be focusing on switching up the reviews from time to time with fun extras and behind the scenes and while most of the reviews will probably be spoiler free some of the movies and dramas will warrant a more in-depth look. As a means for me to narrow down what Asian horror that I was going to pick, each day of the week has a specific theme.

SCHEDULE:

+ Retro Sundays: Retro is a bit loose, as the earliest movie is from 1981, but I wanted to focus on some older Asian horror from before the 90’s.
+ Drama Mondays: To switch things up and not just focus on movies, Mondays I’ll be reviewing horror dramas.
+ Film Maker Tuesdays: Movies that focus on film makers, whether it’s a main character or the movie is documentary style, will be up on Thursdays.
+ Wednesday Pairings: The focus will be on movies that have remakes (like my Ringu post) and maybe a double feature, comparing the two movies.
+ Thirsty Thursdays: While vampires aren’t too common in Asian horror, there are some options and Thursdays are dedicated to the blood suckers.
+ Creature Feature Fridays: One of my favorite genres, Creature Feature Fridays will be devoted to all types of creatures (except the blood-sucking kind).
+ Freebie Saturdays: Saturdays will be a freebie day for me with no set theme.

While I’ll most likely dial back on some of my regular and extra posts for the blog outside of these, I will still be doing Wine and an X-Phile posts on Fridays. I may throw in a special post or two time allowing. If you have any Asian horror movies you think I need to watch, or just want to talk about your favorite, let me know in the comments! I’m still going to be watching movies outside of the reviews, and would love to add to my watchlist.

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October Premieres

October seems like a fairly quiet month in comparison to previous months, which is a good thing so we can all focus on rewatching all of our Halloween favorites and just generally catch up on things. I personally have a lot of things going on in October, and while I will still be watching a lot I won’t be able to get to many new things. However, there is some great content heading to Shudder this month that I’m super excited for.

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TBA/No Date:

-The kdrama Crime Puzzle follows a criminal psychologist who is sent to prison for murdering a political candidate, who is met with a former lover who is a criminal profiler trying to figure out a murder that occurred at the prison he is in.

-Some of the Drama Special Season 12: TV Cinema will be premiering this month. Here is this list of the darker drama offerings for October:

• F20: A psychological thriller about two mothers, one whose son has schizophrenia.

• Landscape of Pain: A thriller that tells the story of three people who are caught up in a bizarre murder case.

Confirmed:

- On the 3rd the jdrama Solomon no Gisho premieres, an adaption of the 2016 Korean drama Solomon’s Perjury and previous Japanese movies from the same source.

-Remember You is a Thai drama remake of the kdrama Hello Monster that premiered back in August, but Netflix will be dropping the subbed episodes on the 5th.

-The Labyrinth finally has an official premiere date on the 6th.

-While V/H/S/94 is not necessarily an Asian horror film, it does feature Indonesian director, Timo Tjahjanto. It’ll be available for streaming on Shudder on the 6th.

-Based on a true story about an incident that happened to a band that went on a trip to Chuncheon, Fearsome premieres in Korean theaters Oct 7th. The teaser looks interesting and has a pretty good cast lineup.

-Taiwanese drama Danger Zone S2 will be airing starting on the 8th following the previous season. iQiyi had the English subs for season one, so I assume it’ll also sub this season.

-The Taiwanese movie, Detention, will be hitting select US theaters on the 8th. The 2019 horror film is based on the horror game with the same name. Set in 1962 during Taiwan's White Terror period the movie is about two students trapped in a high school. There is also a Netflix limited series that is also based on the game that was released end of last year.

-The Medium will be available on Shudder for streaming on the 14th. I’ve talked about this one before, and am super excited for it. I’m glad that Shudder was able to get rights.

-Rasen no Meikyu: DNA Kagaku Sosa follows Detective Genji Ando (Yasuda Ken) who’s wife has been killed by a serial killer, and the DNA expert that he reaches out to help with the investigation. The jdrama starts on the 15th.

-Also on the 15th, Netflix will drop all the episodes of a kdrama I’m personally excited for, My Name, starring Han So Hee who plays Ji Woo, a member of a crime ring who goes undercover as a police officer.

-The Japanese remake of the 1997 Canadian film by the same name, Cube, will premier on the 22nd. 6 people are locked in a mysterious cube-shaped room, if they don’t decipher the code they won’t get out of the cube. No word on International release yet, but I assume this is one of the films that will get one sooner than later.

-Jirisan/Cliffhanger, one of the most anticipated kdramas of the year is finally coming out this month. Starring Jun Ji Hyun and Joo Ji Hoon and written by Kingdom screenwriter, Kim Eun Hee, the action/thriller follows the mystery surrounding the mountain and the rangers trying to rescue the survivors and lost trekkers. It’ll be available Internationally on iQiyi on the 23rd.

-Rounding out the month on the 30th is the OCN drama, Chimera. A present-day case leads to evidence being uncovered that relates to a series of murders from 1984.

Want some more new dramas and movies to watch? Check out what happened in September.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-01002: Deep Throat

“Let’s just say this case has a distinct smell to it. A certain paranormal bouquet.”

Air Date: September 17, 1993
Directed by: Daniel Sackheim
Written by: Chris Carter

Filed Under: Mythology

I would be a terrible fan not to take a second to mention Gillian Anderson’s Emmy win for The Crown (her first Emmy was for The X-Files back in 1997). While I haven’t watched the show, I’m sure it’s wonderful and she’s always deserving of the praise she gets for her acting. And her dress! With the tiny penises! All I ever wanted to be was Gillian Anderson when I grew up and still do.

Synopsis:

Mulder and Scully travel to Ellens Air Base in Southwest Idaho to investigate the disappearances of test pilots at the base and uncover secrets about special aircraft and experiments being conducted by the military. In his pursuit of information for the investigation, Mulder meets a secretive informant.

Review:

Here we are at the second episode and already being dumped with a slew of information, a lot of what sets up for continuing storylines for the rest of the series. We also are introduced to a major reoccuring character who is tied to not only what the government has been hiding but also Mulder’s family secrets: Deep Throat! This is a major episode in the general mythology of the show, and while I respect that…it isn’t one of my favorite episodes. Monster of the Week will forever and always have my heart, I love the creepy and spooky. Conspiracies aren’t generally my thing. But I think one of the reasons why this specific episode just didn’t click with me is that I feel like a lot of this information is rushed. Not necessarily within the episode, but where we are in the series. I mean we’re only in the second episode and we are getting major confirmations about UFO testings and government (and military) coverups.

I also felt like the episode was competing with two different stories: the test pilots and Mulder’s UFO search. Neither work that well with each other. The pilots get regulated to the back for most of the episode as almost an afterthought and only serve as the purpose to get Mulder and Scully there. I understand that the only reason Mulder wants to take the case is for the reason to get to see the air craft and have a purpose to be there, I just feel like we still should have spent a bit more time on the case itself. The episode does show how much Mulder is willing to do to find the truth even to the determinate of his health, and it foreshadows some of the further issues with Mulder’s insistence creating an unsafe environment for not just him, but Scully as well. But maybe dial that back a bit during this episode so we can talk more about weird air craft test pilots who pluck their hair to use in fishing lures, you know? We breeze past so many things and then all of a sudden the missing pilot is back, then he’s weird, and then normal.

I do respect what the episode does to set up Deep Throat’s character, and do think that it worked well to have it introduce how influential and connected he really is. We spend several episodes wondering if he’s truly there to help and why, but I don’t think they drag it out unnecessarily and this episode kind of helps that along. We get to see Deep Throat in more of his morally grey role and not a villain. The foreshadowing from Deep Throat about how this all has been something much more deeper than Mulder can and will ever know is so much more impactful now after seeing the full series and knowing how things play out with Mulder’s father and his part in the greater conspiracies and coverups. While I don’t know if it was intentional at the time they wrote this episode as a story arc they knew they were going to incorporate, it’s fun that the show does eventually play that out.

“Mr. Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time.” - Deep Throat

Extras:

This is not Daniel Sackheim’s only directing credit for the series, as he’s also worked on a handful of episodes. He also worked as consulting producer for 23 episodes of the series as well as working as a director or producer on a slew of great series such as: Lovecraft Country, True Detective, and The Americans. This episode also marks the first episode of the wonderful and amazing Mark Snow as composer. The scenes where Mulder infiltrates the air base were shot at a real US air base. We also see more of the number Easter Eggs with Scully’s report being #DF101356.

Favorite Prop(s):

Not much goes on this episode to really have a favorite prop, so this week we are focusing on a set. I love a good diner scene, especially in The X-Files and especially one with UFO sightings printed out for purchase. The show is no stranger to these types of places, and it’s always fun when one shows up. And the picture that Mulder eventually buys is still ingrained into my brain as the iconic look of an UFO.

MSR:

Should I do this? I don’t know. Maybe? I guess I will. Because I am me and a deep and long time shipper we’re adding a new section second episode in that highlights some good MSR moments. There were just so many good ones in this episode that I had to share some of them, and I know there will be more in future that I’ll want to highlight so might as well make them their own section. They truly loved each other from the very beginning. My personal favorites of the episode is the first scene at the bar and the lovebirds watching the lights of the air show. Sigh.

Rating:

3.5/5 wine glasses. While I don’t think the central story was fleshed out and felt like filler, I do respect the importance of this episode for the general lore of the show. I’ll also give a 1/2 point to the appearance of stoner Seth Green.

I realized last week that I didn’t really explain my rating scale, and that might be something that should be known. I kind of don’t like ratings because they can vary from person to person and what I think is important and that can impact a rating might not necessarily reflect what you would.

To help out I’ve made a handy chart that’s very much on theme:

5 - My glass is still full it was so good.
4 - Good binge, finished the glass but it took the full episode.
3 - Average, mostly a reason to drink wine. I went up to refill at least once without pausing.
2 - More wine, please. Nevermind, just bring the bottle over here.
1 - At least there was wine?

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Squid Game Review

Squid Game came out this past Friday and I, having no will and strength, binged the entire thing on Saturday (save one episode that I watched on Friday, but I had other things to binge on Friday so I had to wait). I was really excited to watch, it being one of the only dramas premiering this month that I had my eyes on, and I generally like these survival game thriller horrors, so it’s not too surprising I would finish basically the drama in one sitting. While the drama was a great binge and I did enjoy a lot of it, after sitting with it for a while there was more that I wanted to talk about than just a quick non-spoiler review and some plots that I had issues with.

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Squid Game follows the contestants in a secret game where they will be given a set amount of money if they win. To win they have to be the last person standing, playing various games to win. The setup for the games is a little more interesting than most in this drama, as they aren’t complicated puzzles that you have to figure out a la an escape room. All the games come from childhood and are easy, familiar games. I liked how the games being played out the way they were relatively adaptable for any of the players. While with some games the player could have a disadvantage being elderly or not as strong, some of the games were based on luck or simple mind games. The game contestants had an age range that was much more skewed the older side (although we had a few main characters who were young), most of the main players being middle age. It was a good set up the reason why they decided to play the game. All were down on their luck and for most the outside world was just as bad as this blood-filled game.

One of the comments I’ve heard from multiple people online is the predictability of the games - not just in who was going to win. And it’s true, it’s pretty clear what’s going on from the beginning and most of the reveals weren’t that shocking. Especially if you’ve watched any of these types of dramas, or even if you are just a general kdrama watcher. I think one of the biggest problems with kdramas is that they follow the same format (no matter the genre) and very few ever fall out of it - there’s very little exception. And for this drama, for all that it does right, it still lives in a kdrama world. Everyone is always tied with everyone. Always. As soon as I realized it was too easy for the cop, Jun Ho, to enter the grounds and become an employee with access to weapons and gear, I knew his brother who he was looking for was the guy behind the mask. How else was he able to infiltrate a highly organized game that has not only cameras but a scanning system. By kdrama trope standards, his brother not being a contestant but the guy behind the man was the only option for those two. I knew that the old guy was more than just a contestant who was magically good at everything, and magically falls completely apart in a matter of minutes (you also don’t see him get shot while the others were shown, so if you didn’t know before, that solidified everything). Kdramas tend to focus on the differences between the rich and poor which I don’t think is much of a factor in Western shows. Because of this, I never assumed that the one controlling could be some crazed psychopath serial killer, it was gonna be a bored rich guy.

While knowing these things made some of the surprises not as enjoyable to my watch, that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a bad thing overall. The predictability led me to focus on other characters a little bit more closely without the added view of trying to figure out if they would be the ones to survive. The character arc of Abdul Ali (No. 199) was solid and engaging because we knew the inevitable end of his character. His last moments with Cho Sang Woo (No. 218) were heartbreaking and real, leading to one of the most devastating deaths of the games. Since I was focused on what Jun Ho was going to do, I didn’t spend time focused on who the actor playing his brother could be. I am not kidding, if you heard the shriek that came out of my mouth when Byung Hun appeared. I don’t know if there was a rumor or spoiler floating around that he was going to be in the drama, but for the most part, I steered clear of everything (except for a last minute Gong Yoo appearance spoiler) so I was genuinely shocked it was him.

My main problem with drama fell squarely on a typical kdrama trope that I didn’t think was going to have such an impact on my viewing, nor take me out the games so much: the random English-speaking white guy. We always joke about how terrible they are when they show up in a drama, but I don’t think it’ll ever compare to the detriment they did in this. For them being the VIPs - the people betting on players, and supposed to be key characters - yet given the lines they were given was almost insulting to the script. I was supposed to feel disturbed watching them bet on players, they are part of the villains in this story, and yet all their lines made me cringe. It’s such a shame that it was so far into the drama as well and during key moments with Jun Ho and his escape. I assume their childish retorts were to mirror the childish games they were watching and betting on but the execution lacked any of that depth. This was Netflix produced, you’re telling me you couldn’t find anyone in Korea who could deliver lines better? Or any person who knew English to rewrite the lines and tighten them up? With such stellar acting for the main cast, it was a let down and took me a while to get back into the drama after.

More than anything that I got out of the drama, the visuals won. The set design is outstanding and I could easily watch detailed tours of each room. With its Willy Wonka oddness and the bright pinks, blues, and yellows, the whole design added a layer to the entire drama that really added so much to the overall story. It was also done without CGI, opting for real sets, which always helps out the world immersion not just for the audience, but also the actors and I really think it showed. The design fell into the molded conformity of humans as they grow up, having to enter into the capitalistic society while learning those things at an early age. The familiar location of the sets - key places you would remember from your childhood - the bright colors all added to the dreamlike world they were living in that was oddly familiar and yet skewed like your own memories of things when you were young. Everyone in lines or formations and in the same gym outfit, it was a great contrast and visually appealing aspect. I always love when time is spent on world-building, especially when you can tell that the director and creative team feel that is important.

In the end, Squid Game did have some solidly interesting stories, suspenseful games, and stellar acting but there were a bit too many important unanswered questions that left the end lacking and yet somehow had too much downtime filler to fill the 9 episodes. I understand that some of the unanswered questions were purposely done for the set up of a second season…but I have a problem with a second season. I don’t think it should be done, specifically in how they are setting it up to be. Could they do a second season with different characters and different games and it be good? Absolutely. But the ending of the first season told us that was not the route they were going to take, opting for the potential for him to be back in the games, maybe to infiltrate? It doesn’t seem right that he would go back as a character, especially as he is just getting back to being a human and obviously had fixed things with the relationship with the daughter.

I also wish we had gotten to see more with the employees. The small glimpses you get were intriguing and made me really want to know more about them. Why they were there, what they were promised or told about the games. We see tiny peaks with the cop, but it’s so small and doesn’t accurately portray the greater world they live in that is obviously very different than the players. It would be an interesting look. If I had the pull the second season would focus on them, not the contestants.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-01001: Pilot

“The answers are there, you just have to know where to look.”

Air Date: September 10, 1993
Directed by: Robert Mandel
Written by: Chris Carter

Filed Under: Mythology/Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

Scully is assigned to work on the X-Files project and to report what is going on with the project and what is happening during investigations. Mulder and Scully’s first investigation takes them to Bellflower Oregon to try to find the truth the unexplained deaths and disappearances behind graduates from the same high school class.

Review:

I think one of the things that I found most engaging about this first episode is that right off the bat we are in the story, there isn’t much time spent setting up what’s going on. I suppose the intention was to mirror the journey that Scully takes, as she is immediately given this position right out of medical school and then thrown into her first case without much of a hesitation nor real guidance or acclamation. I really enjoyed that we didn’t spend much time on the setup and really got into what the show would end up essentially being about: Mulder and Scully’s great relationship and the weird cases they had to investigate with the government constantly trying to cover it all up. It’s actually a good summary of the entire series in that respect and you get a good glimpse of the journey you are going to take before it even happened.

I don’t think I ever truly grasped how many things in the episode so clearly define who the characters are and their relationship with each other from the get-go. From little things like Mulder taking the time to read her thesis before her coming, with the knowledge that she would probably not stay for long like the rest, to asking her point blank about aliens knowing that the instant he said that she could be out. Even just knowing what position she was actually hired for, and why she was placed with him, and still not hesitating to include her the minute she stepped foot into that office. From day one they just clicked, you know? And sure, it could have been his “initiation” for her, but to me it’s because he had already felt something more with her that he was willing to include and listen to her side. He was also desperate for a partner to share things with and he chose to trust her.

It’s also what made me click with the drama. You didn’t have to get me with the subject material. The creepy and spooky thing that they had going was already an instant sell. I really hate the trope that most of these crime/medical shows do where they introduce characters and we have to spend all that annoying time with them getting used to each other in this “enemies to co-workers” game. We don’t have to spend that exhaustion with Mulder and Scully. They just fell into place from the very beginning, allowing us to vibe with their relationship and focus on the wacky stories. There’s an instant trust. He even goes as far as being comfortable enough with her to tell his sister’s story within days of knowing her. Scully shows that she can match him at all points. She takes the time to listen to what he has to say, and even when things are bat shit crazy (like doing an autopsy on an ape that was found in a graveyard) she does so with care and the want to find the truth and to help the victims.

Yes, The X-Files is aliens and monsters and weird unexplained things, but in the end it’s mostly character driven and driven by the relationship between Mulder and Scully and we get to see that very clearly in this fist episode. David and Gillian make this show what it is and from day one bounced off each other in a way that was - and still is - captivating. They don’t feel awkward when they are on screen together, they just fit and I think that was what set this episode apart as a pilot, the exploration of their relationship.

I did feel that the execution of the central story got a bit muddled at times, and that’s mostly to do with the amount of things that happen in such a short time that overloads the information given. It is a bit too much, especially for a pilot and one that was doing something different. I think the show falters on this a bit, as it is both a character driven and plot driven show and those are competing for time. I would have liked for them to have tightened up the story with Billy Miles a bit more, or maybe focus more on the mysterious spots that kept appearing. It’s a lot of weird things thrown into the show at once and no answers are provided, nor enough time was spent.

This episode was also the only one with the title screen “The following story is inspired by actual documented accounts”. Chris Carter used bits and pieces from real documented abduction cases in the episode, most notably the implant and the marks, but with the lack of any of these sorts of things common knowledge they became buried in the plot and were not given enough time to explain why they were so important. I like and appreciate that the nod is there and do respect the want to have the story come from a place of research and truth, I just feel that maybe some of our unanswered questions and confusion would have been alleviated if the time went to other points in the story.

Extras:

This is the only episode where the whistle intro is not used. Carter still had some issues with what they had and they were still tweaking it after the episode aired. We also get the first introduction to one of the most known Easter Eggs in the series, specific time readings. 11:21 when Mulder calls Scully (11/21 being Carter’s wife’s birthday and will be heavily used from now on), and during the autopsy scene the time is 10:56, a nod to Carter’s birthday (10/13/56).

Favorite Prop(s):

I thought it would be fun to point out my favorite prop from each of the episodes. Props are my thing (in non-pandemic times) and it just feels like a very me thing to do. This episode had a lot of contenders, but in the end it has to go to the mammalian corpse that was found in Ray Soames’ casket. It’s weird and creepy and was not expected, but also it just looks like it was a fun prop to create.

Another honorable mention goes to the nose bleed scene, which I remember very clearly the head of makeup talking about it on a behind the scenes video and in some of the books about all the logistics and problems it faced since they wanted it to be a practical effect. It would later help me out in my job in props with the knowledge of how to do those things onstage. Not only is The X-Files entertaining, but also an educational experience that helped me on the job.

Rating:

4.5/5 wine glasses. A solid start to the series, and an episode I can watch over and over (and obviously have considering I know pretty much the entire thing by heart). It makes me reminisce about my enjoyment of the series as a whole, and we get enough bits and pieces that indicate what future episodes will hold that it makes me excited. While there were some issues with the plot and story pacing, the setup for the characters and the essence of the show was spot on from the beginning.

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Random Asian Horror News 9.14.21

Asian horror news has been a bit quiet and sporadic and mostly centered on casting news these past couple of weeks, but over the last fews days a bit more has appeared. If you followed my Korean Summer Horror series you’ll know that especially in Korea, the horror season thrives in the summer and if I were to guess between that and studios unable to put out movies like they could in non-pandemic days is the reason why. Still, there are some fun things in the horizon if you are into Asian horror, crimes, and thrillers.

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CASTING

-The kdrama Crime Puzzle has confirmed the cast lineup. Yoon Kye Sang, Go Ah Sung, Yoon Kyung Ho, Song Sun Mi, Kwon Soo Hyun, Woo Hyun, Kim Bo Ra, Park Eun Byeol and Kim Roi Ha will be starring in the drama that premieres in October.

-Kim Dong Wook, Kim Sung Kyu, and Chae Jung Ahn have been cast for the Korean thriller drama, King of Pigs, based on the animated movie. (source)

-Ko Kyu Pil was confirmed cast as a ghost in the MBC kdrama Showtime From Now which will air the first half of next year. ((Jin Ki Joo and Park Hae Jin previously confirmed).

-Sadao Abe and Kenshi Okada cast in Japanese movie, Sickness That Leads to the Death Penalty.

-Jiyeon, Song Ji Eun and Kim Nu Ri have been cast in new Korean thriller movie Woman of Fire! (literal title).

-Lee Dong Wook and Han Ji Eun confirmed for Bad and Crazy, an upcoming superhero drama by The Uncanny Counter's writer and director.

-Live-action horror comedy show I Want to Hold Aono-Kun So Badly I Could Die casts Hikaru Takahashi alongside idol Shori Sato.

NEWS

-Netflix produced kdrama, Somebody (previously Finger) has started filming.

-The horror anthology V/H/S will be returning for a fourth installment with Shudder producing. V/H/S/94 will hit the streaming service October 6th after premiering at Fantastic Fest. While the series isn't exclusively Asian horror, Indonesian film director Timo Tjahjanto returns as one of the directors. (source)

-Ma Jin Won, writer of the kdrama Voice, revealed plans for season 5 and how the pandemic affected the plan for season 4. (source)

-Third-person action-horror game Kingdom: The Blood based on the kdrama, Kingdom, has released a teaser. (source)

-Netflix produced kdrama Hellbound will be released at this year's Busan International Film Festival. (source)

-Death in the Mouth, a horror anthology, showcases works from marginalized writers across the globe is looking for backers on their Kickstarter goal. The project looks super interesting, and completely BIPOC backed. If you have some funds to spare, definitely check it out. (source)

-Taiwanese horror film The Sadness has won the New Flesh Award for best film at Fantasia Fest for the debut film. Korean thriller Midnight won Best Asian Feature: Bronze in the Audience Awards. (source)

-Shinji Somai's Sailor Suit and Machine Gun will be released on UHD in November along with the original theatrical version of Battle Royale. (source)

-Netflix has struck a mulit-year deal with India’s Excel Entertainment to produce a variety of projects. (source)

-The OCN crime thriller Bad Guys and Signal will be rewritten as a webtoon series on Naver and Kakao. (source)

-Thriller webtoon Superior Day will be made into a drama airing on OCN next year directed by Studio Dragon.

-Japanese action star Rian Takeda and a number of other Japanese and Hong Kong actresses in discussions to join the Hong Kong zombie movie, Chungking Mansions. The movie will film primarily in English. (source)

-A couple of months ago I told about the Takashi Miike kdrama, Connect. FNC Entertainment confirmed actor Jung Hae In is in talks for lead role. (source)

-Ouija Japan, which will be available on Oct 1 on Amazon Prime and Blu-Ray, has released an exclusive clip.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-525652

I'm nothing if not absurd and weird and unpredictable, especially with this blog, and starting today I’m going to be adding a new element to that will become a regular Friday thing. The date just worked out a little too well to start now and I just jumped at the chance. 28 years ago a show premiered that is very near and dear to my heart, and while I wasn’t around for the very start of it (being a 9-year-old), I did watch it from very early on. It is the single television series that has stayed with me for most of my life. One that I love dearly and have always saved a place for it even after all these years. September 10,1993 the first episode of The X-Files premiered on Fox.

I’ve wanted to do some sort of passion project with The X-Files for a really long time. Start a podcast or something, I just never sat down and did it. I think a bit of that was because of life and school, and over the past years my attention on the Asian entertainment world. Not just watching things, but starting this blog, and eventually starting the podcast. I focused my work elsewhere and kind of put this in the back of my head. The series never left, I just kind of gave up on doing something specific with it. But the world is all sorts of messed up right now, and I’m just as messed up and what perfect time to dive into something that’s just going to make me happy. Relive those days of being surrounded by the fandom and consuming the product, remembering bits and pieces that my brain has let go of cause I’m not a teenager watching them in a row. I’m an adult. When I saw that this year September 10th would be back on a Friday - the day that it premiered back in 1993 - I just knew that I had to do something.

Do you remember back when Geocities was a thing? Like mid/late-90’s? My first official website was an X-Files website. I remember very clearly sitting at the computer figuring out the layout of each page, and what was going where. My friend Michelle helping. I had a page that was titled YKYAXPW: You Know You’re An X-Phile When. I taped episodes, was active on message boards. I obsessively checked smartania.com/Church of X. I saved every magazine article that even slightly mentioned the show. I have a numbered Fossil watch still in it’s test tube display. I bought all the books, both the lexicons and the fictional works. I was there every Friday (and then Sunday) night religiously. Time stopped at 10:13 and 11:21.

X-Files was such a huge part of my life, and it still is. I’ve done re-watches in the past, so it isn’t something I have completely let go. I’m sure if you follow my Twitter or the podcast you’ve heard about me mention it. I was present for the last two season reboots, watching them as soon as they aired, have bought the books that have come out since then, and kept up with what Gillian and David were doing. It’s always just tucked away in my pocket and it’s now time to take it out. I haven’t properly sat down and watched the series in full in a number of years. The last time I really remember a dedicated full watch (with movies) was back in 2016 before the 10th season, and a proper re-watch has been a long time coming. Why not add another element to my watch by reviewing the episodes on the blog?

I’ll be starting reviews next week. One of the things that I personally like when I’m looking for X-Files content is a look at the series as a whole, and not confined to non-spoiler talk and observations. The reviews will focus on that. Obviously it’s been a while since I’ve done a re-watch so I won’t remember every connection, but I hope that the reviews will dive into what I remember: extra tid-bits, fun facts, how the episodes tie with later revelations on the mythology, and all the fun that is part of the lore both onscreen and off. While I loved the whole of The X-Files, what I loved most about being part of the fandom was those fun extra things and insight that was huge with the show. Chris Carter and the rest of producers and writers working on the show were really big on Easter Eggs, and there are loads of them that aren’t just one-offs and carry through the entire series.

While I intend to go pretty much in order, I might end up bouncing around. I made a specific page where I’ll keep things updated to see what episodes I’ve reviewed so far. I might also do other posts. I mentioned I have books, so I could do a review or maybe a top ten list. Mostly for fun, but also so I’m not tied to a review every week, especially since I’m still going to be working on my other posts for this blog. Which brings me to that point, I’m not changing this blog into a strictly X-Files blog. I’m still going to be doing a lot of the other things that I already do, just adding this as another thing. I know that it seems weird that I’m doing posts on Asian entertainment stuff…and then X-Files, but it’s the type of person I am, and I’ve always wanted the blog to reflect me more than anything else - and this is a part of me.

In a perfect world I’d go through all of the reviews by the time the show turns 30 in 2023. While a re-watch before that is entirely possible, I don’t think I can churn out reviews that fast and kind of don’t want to. So for now, this is a one episode a week (save the weeks I end up doing a non-review post) thing. It might change with how I’m feeling, or time commitments, but that’s my plan for right now.

So, if you are already a reader of the blog, I hope maybe some of you are also fans of the show and will have fun with these. Or if you are a new reader who already has a love of the show and have stumbled upon this I hope that you have fun reliving The X-Files with me.

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September Premieres

I don’t how we are already in September, but here we are. Not everything on this list is guaranteed for International access There are also some dramas that are scheduled to premiere this month that I left off the list as they had very little information attached to them, and without fail more will be added later on. Hopefully, some of the ones that haven’t been picked up on major streaming platforms will end up showing up somewhere closer to the date they premiere. There’s only a handful of dramas that I’m personally really interested in - Hometown and Squid Game - but there are several that I might also add to my watch list for the month.

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-Danger Zone S1 will air every Friday starting September 3rd. The Taiwanese drama is about a serial murder case where the police and criminals were forced to work together to solve the case. English subs can be found on iQiyi.

-The Korean suspense-mystery drama, High Class, will premiere on September 6th. The drama follows the lives of the women who live in the top 0.1% of society. While the story does not seem like a drama that I would be into I love the posters they’ve been putting out.

-Show Me the Ghost the "self-exorcism comedy" movie will have its theatrical premiere on September 9th. Written and directed by Kim Eun Kyung (Death Bell) the comedy-horror follows best friends Hodu and Yeji who rent a haunted house.

-Also on the 9th is the cdrama Double Tap. Based on a real life incident around two people who work together to investigate a murder case from thirty years prior. It is produced by Tencent, so there is a possibility this will show up subbed on their platform/YouTube channel.

-While Kate isn’t an Asian release, the thriller does star notable Japanese musicians MIYAVI and BAND MAID. It’ll be released on Netflix on September 10th.

-On the Line (Korea) is the story about a man who loses everything to a voice phishing scheme, and his pursuit to take it down. It’ll premiere on the 15th in local theaters.

-Thriller series, Squid Game, will drop all of its episodes on September 17th on Netflix. Players of a mysterious survival game compete for the grand prize. Think Battle Royale or Alice In Borderland style.

-Also premiering on the 17th is the kdrama The Veil. Han Ji Hyuk (Namgoong Min) is a top agent in the NIS who uncovers a bigger threat as he tries to uncover the internal traitor that brought his downfall. No official word on who’s picked this up for North American English sub, but as it is a MBC drama I suspect it’ll show up on Kocowa and Viki.

-Another premiering on the 17th, the Japanese drama Shinigami San will air weekly. Gido Kennin (Tanaka Kei) is a detective in a mysterious division at the Tokyo Metro Police department who re-investigates cases that received not guilty verdicts.

-And finally on the 17th is the jdrama Bokura ga Koroshita, Saiai no Kimi. The thriller is about former classmates who reunite but find themselves locked in a building, leading to uncovered secrets and deaths.

-One of my top picks this month, the kdrama Hometown premieres on tvN on September 22nd. Set in a small town in 1999, it’s about an unsolved murder case where the one of the only clues is a tape containing a recording of the murderer and a bizarre sound.

-Thai drama, Bangkok Breaking, premiers on Netflix on the 23rd. It centers around Bangkok's road rescue services when a new employee uncovers a city-wide conspiracy. This looks to be airing on the Netflix, but the series is only six episodes long.

-The Japanese comedy-horror movie Yellow Dragon's Village will be making its International premiere at the Fantastic Festival 2021.

-Beyond the Inifinite 2 will also be making a US premiere at the festival as well.

Undated

-The Labyrinth is a Korean fantasy-horror about high school students trying to save their friends from evil spirits and is set to premiere sometime this month. Starring Chani (from the kpop group SF9), the fantasy horror is about high school students trying to save their friends from evil spirits at their school.

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Whispering Corridors Guide

It’s been three months since the kick-off of the Korean Summer Horror celebration and like all good things, it must come to an end. What better way to celebrate than focus on the franchise that l started this on - Whispering Corridors. This post will be part review, part ranking, and bit of extra bits and pieces of trivia about the series to help give you a rundown of the series itself and how I enjoyed it.

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Background

The Whispering Corridors series started with the first film on May 30, 1998, where it became a surprise hit ranking third domestically in box offices that year. The film went on to produce five more spin-offs, the fifth, The Humming, releasing on June 17 of this year. While each of the movies focuses on a completely different story and are independent of each other, they do share some similar traits. All of the movies are set in all-girl high schools, and the main focus is on the students. They highlight specific problems that are known in the Korean school systems such as abusive parents/teachers, teen pregnancy, bullying, suicide, and over the top competition. They also showcase the relationships between the girls, both in friendship and heavily romantic undertones. None of the films share any other characters or story lines however the sixth film does seem to have a possible small tie to the early movies in the franchise (as it is officially labeled as a reboot). At the time of this post, I have not watched it nor is it accessible for International audiences (and thus, will not be included in this ranking).

The list of movies, in order that they premiered:

• Whispering Corridors 1 (May 30, 1998)

• Whispering Corridors 2: Momento Mori (December 24, 1999)

• Whispering Corridors 3: Wishing Stairs (August 1, 2003)

• Whispering Corridors 4: Voice (July 15, 2005)

• Whispering Corridors 5: A Blood Pledge - Broken Promise (June 18, 2009)

• Whispering Corridors 6: The Humming (June 17, 2021)

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Reviews and Ranking
*While I won’t be going into extreme detail in my reviews and synopsis, I might dive a bit deeper into spoiler territory for these. This is your warning.

#5: A Blood Pledge
Written and Directed by Lee Jong Yong. Starring Oh Yeon Seo, Son Eun Seo, Kang Byul, and Song Min Jung.
Coming in at last place is the fifth movie, A Blood Pledge. Set in an all-girls Catholic boarding school it follows the suicide of one of the students. Her and three other girls form a pact to commit suicide and sign a blood pledge that if anyone survives they will be haunted for the rest of their lives. The story sets forth the aftermath of her death, and her constant haunting to showcase the true story of the pledge and what led them to consider suicide.

Out of all the other movies, this one took a bit of a different path and combined weird deaths and random gore into the story line to play up the scares, unlike the other movies where it was bit more into the unknown and slow burns. It was also the campiest out of all of them, and felt that the acting and the script were lacking. Because of all this, I was not interested in the story nor the characters and in the end the story’s resolve wasn’t interesting enough for me.

Notes: This is the first of the movies to be set at a specific religious institution and the first one to talk about teen pregnancy. It is also the second to show a male relationship, but the first to show a relationship outside of the school.

#4: Voice
Written by Choi Ik Hwan Seol and Joon Seok. Written by Choi Ik Hwan. Starring Seo Ji Hye, Kim Ok Bin.
Voice follows the death of a voice student who haunts the school not knowing what happened. She can only being heard by her friend, Sun Min, who tries to uncover what happened to her.

I personally felt that Voice was lacking in depth and story, specifically for a horror film. The story mostly felt that of a detective story between the two friends, and the reveal was lack luster and kind of messy. It was the most boring out of the series for me, and I came out of it with no real impact. While her death was the creepy, I didn’t feel we spent enough time with who was the murderer and the relationship between the two for the pay off, and the way she died felt like it needed much more paranormal justification (as it was an impossible death for a person to do). While not a terrible film all-in-all, those short comings led to a lower rating for me. The movie also felt like it was the first shift in the series to break away from the original motif, and started to stray away from things that were grounded in subjects that were present in the real lives of a student, a theme I enjoyed in the series.

Notes: While Kim Seo Hyung stars as a voice teacher in this movie, her role in The Humming is not a reprisal and unrelated. While this carries over the arts concentration from the last film (Wishing Stairs), they have no ties to each other either.

#3: Wishing Stairs
Directed by Yun Jae Yeon. Written by Kim Soo Ah. Starring Song Ji Hyo, Park Han Byul and Jo An.
Jin Sung and So Hee are friends at a ballet school when a competition for an international spot leads to their relationship to be strained. Jin Sung finds out about the Wishing Stairs, a set of stairs on campus that will grant a wish and wishes for something that leads to great consequences.

While Wishing Stairs didn’t have as great of an impact as the top two on this list, and realistically it’s not the best, I did enjoy a lot more than the other films. I think it kept up well with the main plot points of the previous two, and personally felt the betrayal of friendship because of a competition was a good plot to take and was a bit more centered in what students could relate to, especially with it being a close friend. The character of Hye Joo is a little hard to handle, as I’m sensitive to any portrayals of overweight characters, but felt that in the grand scope of Asian entertainment, it probably was the best representation we were going to get from her. The main characters both interacted with her, but they never shared an distain for her because of her weight, and I really appreciated that. Wishing Stairs also kept up the motif of their being a legend or unknown on campus (with the stairs) that leaves the series after this.

Notes: This is the first of the films to be set in a boarding school, and one that was for a specific concentration (arts). Wikipedia suggests that the story follows closely to the ballet, Giselle.

#2: Whispering Corridors
Directed by Park Ki Hyung. Written by In Jung Ok and Park Ki Hyung. Starring Kim Gyu Ri, Lee Mi Yeon, Choi Kang Hee, Yoon Ji Hye, and Park Jin Hee.
Set at an all-girls school that’s said to be haunted by a former student who committed suicide there, Whispering Corridors follows the students and faculty after a teacher is found dead at the school and the rumors that start to spread about what happened.

I have full review of the movie already up the on the site, which you can find here. This movie came in second on the list not because I don’t generally really like the movie. I really enjoy the atmosphere and the slow build of the reveals of what was going on at the school and found that out of all the movies, this is probably more closely tied to what students, especially females, face in school which I’ve talked about previously in this post being a huge selling point for me. I really respect what the movie did, and it’s a movie I highly suggest watching.

Notes: With it being one of the first horror films to be produced after the 90’s lift on film regulations, it had to be produced cheaply. The entire production only cost $600.000 (USD) to make. In 2015 it was announced that there would be a Chinese remake of the series, co-produced with original production house, Cine2000.

#1: Momento Mori
Written and Directed by Kim Tae Yong and Min Kyu Dong. Starring Park Ye Jin, Kim Gyu Ri, and Lee Young Jin.
High school students Si Eun and Hyo Shin become romantically involved and the relationship causes them to be bullied by the rest of the students. Soh Min Ah finds the journal the girls share, which reveals the story behind their relationship.

Momento Mori takes a different approach in its story telling as the story is shown not only real time, but as Min Ah reads the journal and is connected to the two’s relationship and story. It jumps pretty quickly between what is going on and Si Eun and Hyo Shin’s past that creates some confusion with the story, but also directly mirrors the chaotic relationship of the two. Not just in their ‘taboo’ relationship, but also the relationship of teen’s first love: confusing, over the top, and a whirlwind of emotions in a short time. While all the movies have ghosts, this one feels the most paranormal because of the way the book almost overtakes Min Ah and becomes a living thing, and the crazy explosion of it all at the end. It takes the number one spot because I thought the use of those elements, even in their overdone way, convey what high school is like in teenagers and overall became a more entertaining movie and my favorite of the five.

Notes: Momento Mori was one of the first Korean commercial teen films to depict lesbian characters. This is also the only film to depict a male/student relationship, as most of the movies teachers are more physically abusive or just not present at all.

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While the series does have its flaws, I found it mostly enjoyable and a must see for any Asian horror fan.

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Music Highlights 8.23.21

This post is filled with returning favorites, including a lot of my favorite 2nd gen women. Music has been good.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-We Are the Night came out with a new single, ‘Summer Fiction’.

-Fei has a very special place in my heart. She’s my bias in Miss A, one of the first girl groups I really fell hard for. It’s been a while since she’s released music and I’m very glad she has. My only complaint for ‘Stalker’ is that the background beats are too loud. I haven’t been able to get ahold of the song outside of YouTube, though, so there is a chance it’s not that present in the recording. Despite that, I really love the song and the MV.

-Hyolyn and Dasom did what they do best, and put out a great summer bop. Watching them do the dance on TikTok with the other members has been fun.

I really don’t need to add TXT to my too long music list, but as this is now the second release I’ve liked I might be losing that battle.

-I really liked Jenyer’s last release and was excited to hear more. And then she announced she was going to be featuring her former 4Minute member, Gayoon, on the single. I don’t know what happened in the universe that made it so we got Miss A, SISTAR, and 4Minute former member comebacks all in a span of two weeks, but I’m not complaining.

-I think this might be my favorite Lucy title track.

-I really like the lead singer’s voice, and I think it lends really well to the water/summer feeling of the songs, almost like waves. Adding the group to my every growing list to look more into.

-You really can’t go wrong with Standing Egg.

-Another group who can do no wrong for me, Yorushika. I think at this point if you haven’t listened to them yet just means we can’t be friends.

-Seori and eaJ (Jae from DAY6) came out with another collab. It’s the perfect song to throw on during a drive..

-Summer isn’t really my favorite season, but I still can’t seem to stop myself from adding all the summer songs.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

CL single, ‘Spicy’ (24th)
Ben&Ben album, Pebble House Vol 1 (29th)
The Black Skirts Japanese album, Team Baby (29th)
NELL album, Moments In Between (2nd)

Artist Spotlight ▹▹▹
Since the indie rock singer The Black Skirts will be releasing his first full Japanese album the end of this week, it seems fitting to focus a bit of attention on him. I’ve posted about him before, and I know the relatively he’s a bit more popular than a lot of the other indie artists I focus on, but if you haven’t listened to his work, specifically the 2017 Team Baby, you are really missing out on some solid music. The title track, ‘Everything’ was one of the first indie songs I listened to and still one of my favorites.

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Review: Howling Village (2019)

With the amount of times I kept seeing Howling Village pop up in various horror news outlets, and its slots in various film festivals, I was really interested in the movie and made a point to watch it when it was released in the US on VOD as opposed to waiting till it was on Blu-Ray or later on in the year when I’m not spending most of my attention on Korean horror. Written and directed by Takashi Shimzu (Ju-On), Howling Village follows psychiatrist Kanae who’s brother goes missing after events that happened while visiting the Haunted Village with his girlfriend, and her journey to uncover the mysteries of the village and it’s ties to her family. In theory, it sounds like everything I would want in a movie. Mysteries, ghosts, family secrets, and creepiness. The movie, however, didn’t quite live up to it.

While the film started off relatively quickly, after about the first third it felt draggy and bogged down in the pursuit of the truth behind the Howling Village and their family’s relation to it. There was a lot of time spent on this, and very little scares were part of this. If you are not a lover of slow burns, this movie will not be your cup of tea. I was intrigued by the mysteries in the beginning, but it failed to live up to what I assumed it would be. The reveals were a bit underwhelming and confusing. Even at the end during the main reveal, much of the focus was trying to figure out what was going on and why the pieces we got along the way come to this. This resulted in a lot of the creepy factors being overshadowed by trying to keep up with what was going on.

The haunted village and tunnel in the movie are based on true legends, as Takashi stated in this Disappointment Media interview:

“The producer approached [me] about some strange things that had happened in this Inunaki Tunnel and what may have happened in the tunnel, a lot of it has been taken up on the internet, and everybody has chimed in with their own version and their own ideas. And basically, [I] took all of that and started to put it together into a script.”

I’m not familiar with the legend, and while not much information is available, I did find several articles about some of the lore behind it. The tunnel is located in Miyawaka town in the Fukuoka Prefecture and is mostly famous for the amount of murders that have occurred in or near. The tunnel is currently sealed because of this. The YouTube channel Kowabana Japan has a couple of videos with a brief history of the area, including the main murder that happened that has cursed the area. I suggest checking out the video (found here). While it doesn’t really tie to the movie, it is interesting to know a little more about the area and why it is a known place for people in that area.

Although Howling Village did not live up to the hype for me, I did enjoy some parts. I thought Ayaka Miyoshi was great in her main role, and her scenes with the boy she was taking care of were some of my favorite parts. I would have loved a bit more with them, and more with the spirits he could see. I would recommend this to anyone who’s into jhorror or a fan of Takashi’s work, but wouldn’t drop things to make room for it. Howling Village is currently on VOD in a number of places (I watched it on YouTube) and will be released on Blu-Ray September 14th.

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Random Asian Horror News 8.16.21

I’ve once again rounded up some of the Asian horror (…and thriller/fantasy/sci-fi) news. I’ve decided to try to keep up with casting news however, it’s a bit harder for anything outside of Korea so it might not be as varied. A lot of film festivals are currently happening, and I expect that we’ll start to see more movies picked up for International release because of that. Check back at the end of the month for all the movies and dramas premiering in September.

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CASTING

-Jin Ki Joo is confirmed for lead in the fantasy romcom, Showtime From Now, with Park Hae Jin. The kdrama is scheduled for the first half of 2022 about a police officer and a magician.

-The casting for the tvN kdrama, Monstrous and includes Koo Kyo Hwan, Shin Hyun Bin, Kwak Dong Yeon, Nam Da Reum, Kim Ji Young, and Park Ho San. The drama, scheduled for the first half of next year, and follows the various characters as they react to the town’s bizarre phenomena.

NEWS

-Since the release of the special Kingdom episode, Ashin of the North, there has been a lot more updates. Director Kang Yun Sung is reportedly directing a second special episode, Kingdom: The Crown Palace. There is still no confirmation for season 3, but writer Kim Eun Hee states: “It’s hard to say, as nothing has been confirmed yet regarding Season 3. However, if I’m to tell you my personal thoughts: if Season 3 does get made, I’ve already decided how I would like to conclude the story.” (source)

-The fantasy horror film starring SF9 member Chani titled, White Day: Broken Boundaries, will be released in theaters September. The film is tied to the video game, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School, which just had it's 20th anniversary. Chani will play Hee Min, the successor of a top exorcist. (source)

-The Taiwanese horror The Sadness has released a trailer, currently being screened in film festivals. The film follows a Taiwanese couple who attempt to reunite amidst a viral pandemic that turns people into bloodthirsty maniacs and is written and directed by Canadian animator Rob Jabbaz for his directorial debut.

-The 2019 Japanese horror film, Howling Village (written and directed by Takashi Shimizu - Ju-On) will be available on VOD starting tomorrow.

-The Korean fantasy-thriller Spiritwalker has won the Award for Excellence at NYAFF. Starring Yoon Kye Sang, the film follows a man who is unable yo remember his own identity and wakes up in a diffrent body every 12 hours. (source)

-The 2018 Indonesian film, Seven Angels (Tujuh Bidadari), is available in the US on VOD. It is about an all-girl band that travel to Australia and used as sacrifices to bring back a demon. (source)

-The Korean movie, Guimoon: The Lightless Door premieres on the 18th has released more detail for their multiple viewing formats including ScreenX, which provides a 270-degree viewing experience with multi-projection on three walls, whereas 4DX adds a multi-sensory experience to ScreenX with moving seats and water and wind effects.

-The upcoming Korean film, Scream of the Forest: People Who Disappeared, has released a trailer. Find it here. It is scheduled to be released in Korean theaters at the end of this month.

-The Japanese psychological thriller drama, Alice in Borderland’s season 2 has begun filming and doesn’t expect to be done filming until late December because of Covid and Olympics delays. (source)

-The trailer for Cube, the Japanese remake of the 1997 Canadian sc-fi horror film, has been released. The movie will be in Japanese theaters October 22.

-Netflix’s Hellbound, starring Yoo Ah In and Won Jin Ah, will be the first Korean drama invited to Toronto International Film Festival. (source)

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Music Highlights 8.9.21

I’m back with another Monday filled with a lot of really great music. It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update of my recent music faves, and after missing the last post there was a good bit of music to go through so I tried to limit to what was at the top of my list so this post didn’t go on forever. I also know that I’ve probably missed some great music to mention but I was pretty random checking the new music that was coming out the past month. There were some good hidden gems this round, though.

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Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-AKMU has a new album with a bunch of collabs, and they have been releasing it slowly. All have been very good, but I think ‘Hey Kid, Close Your Eyes’ with Lee Sun Hee is my favorite.

-sunwoojunga collabed with a number of people for 'Buffalo' including Dami, which is how I was introduced to the song. The song is great, and I've been really into it.

-E.So's 'Orgel' has a good beat and I loved how she uses her higher register.

-SURL rarely disapoints, and 'Beside' proves that. It's a chill song, but perfect for warm nights.

-Another band that doesn't disappoint is JANNABI.

-LOREN is back with another grunge rock single, 'NEED (ooo-eee)’

-I’ve regrettably haven’t made time to listen to the rest of the album, but if it’s anything like "‘I’m Alive’ it is safe to say I’ll dig it.

-Seoul Magic Club’s ‘Que Sera Sera’ is that perfect 90’s song that you’d blast with all the windows down while driving to the beach. Which is a vibe this Floridian is always into.

-You didn't think I would forget to talk about Dreamcatcher, did you? ‘BEcause’ was everything I wanted from a title track. It's creepy and catchy, the perfect Dreamcatcher summer bop. I have a full album review up that you can find here.

-I really liked both songs that SANJO came out with and they have been officially added to my new music list. I don't think they've been a group for very long, but even with the small sample I'm anticipating a lot more great music in the future.

-While ‘You Can’t Sit With Us’ is super fun and catchy (I’d delete the rap part, though), where it shines is the music video filled with great visuals and 90’s/00’s references. And zombies. Off the EP my favorite song is ‘Borderline’.

-’Ghosts Are Bored’ has a good beat and I love the lead singer’s voice. Another group I very much need to focus on the rest of their music.

OST ▹▹▹

-So I don’t really know anything about Nevertheless but I want to check it out purely because of its OST.

-Another Nevertheless, but Say Sue Me will always be the right choice.

-I haven’t started The Devil Judge yet, but oof. I loooove this song.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

We Are the Night single, ‘Summer Fiction’ (9th)
HYOLYN and DASOM unit single, ‘Summer or Summer’ (10th)
Fei single, ‘Stalker’ (12th)
Red Velvet EP, Queendom (16th)

Artist Spotlight ▹▹▹
I learned of the shoegaze/progressive rock group Monotheism a week or two ago and have been really into their music since then. Their most recent EP released in June is Rally, a sampling of their previous works live and a great introduction to what you can expect from them.

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Review: The Master's Sun (2013)

In honor of The Master’s Sun having premiered today 8 years ago, I decided to finally sit down and watch the drama and review it. I know it’s a pretty universally loved drama as it is always brought up by a slew of people, even those that don’t like darker dramas and its MyDramaList score is fairly high. Going in the drama had a pretty big shoe to fill and sadly it never filled that for me. In fact, by the first episode I knew that it wasn’t going to be an enjoyable watch for me, but I continued for all seventeen episodes because I wanted to try to see what I was missing.

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The Master’s Sun follows Tae Gong Shil (Gong Hyo Jin) a medium who is plagued with being able to communicate with ghosts. She meets stoic rich businessman, Joo Joong Won (So Ji Sub), who had suffered a tragic loss when he was younger and in trying to find out what happened, developed a disdain for anyone who says they can see ghosts. They meet and develop a relationship as she deals with her ability and he uncovers the truth behind his first love.

One of the biggest problems I had with the drama was the relationship between Gong Shil and Joong Won. The relationship is entirely based on him controlling her. Consistently. There was never a time I thought that their relationship was sweet, or that there was some push for me to believe that they should be with each other. Usually, these types of yelly/grumpy male interest dramas at least change the guy to a passable person that you can imagine the female being with, but that never happened here, he stays consistent till the end. I guess in a sense it’s the most realistic option as people don’t change like that (especially not with professional help)? An exhausting realistic option for a drama that’s main focus was romance.

Another part that was hard to watch with the drama was the fact that we never saw real growth from Gong Shil in any real sense. The drama wanted you to believe that she does, but she doesn’t. What little growth we saw was only tied to Joong Won, and that was only through her falling in love with him. She never believed in herself the way that she was and accepted her faults, and didn’t see the real good she was doing with helping the ghosts. She blamed everything on herself, and Joong Won never provided any true or lengthy support to help her see her strength or to make her know that it wasn’t her fault. She never got to grow the way she deserved. The imbalance in the power dynamic between the two stayed present and dominating throughout, making the relationship feel messy and uncomfortable. And that’s really sad. It was entirely a one-sided relationship that I was never rooting for and never felt good about.

While I did like the sub-story about his first love, I found that it was nothing like the rest of the drama and didn’t work well when paired with it. It was darker and felt like the writer was constantly forcing two completely different stories together. Even the stories of the ghosts tended to not be consistent, and while I do think the format of focusing on a different ghost and its story for an episode or two helped with the entertainment, you could tell their only purpose was to bring in the horror element and clashed just as much as the first love story. It just never fit for me, and I do think a lot of that had to do with Gong Hyo Jin’s character and how scared she was at not scary things it just made it seem like they were trying to hit you over the head that this was a horror drama through her (or just a catalyst for her to constantly run into Joong Won’s arms). I feel that a lot of times the ghost storylines were rushed to the point that I never connected with them, which is a loss because a lot of the heart and warmth of the drama was supossed to be pulled from those stoylines and fell flat, especially when they weren’t accomplishing that warmth through the main relationship. As far as it being labeled a horror drama, they do mean this in the loosest of terms. While some of the ghosts had a little bit darker storylines dealing with their death, for the most part they are the scare level of Disney’s Haunted Mansion.

While I didn’t like the drama, I don’t want to spend this entire review bashing it, because that’s not fun and not realistic. There were parts that I enjoyed about it and thought worked well. I specifically loved the assistant character played by Choi Jung Woo. I’m a sucker for the gentle fatherly type of presence, and I thought his character really did this well and was not only good for Joong Won, but all of the other characters. He developed realistic and healthy bonds with all of them, and I think that if anyone learned anything in the process of the drama, it was from him.

In a drama that is so fraught with the generic tropes (and I’m serious about this, they used every trope from wrist grabs to amnesia to random separation), the one thing it did surprisingly well was handle the evil mother in law. While she was a presence of nonacceptance, she was level-headed and not over the top. It was real and refreshing to see the character be handled that way, and I really enjoyed that her husband was equally as good and that their relationship was not a relationship of hatred, but of love and acceptance for their differences. It was really nice.

The second female lead was also not over done and drawn out as I thought she was going to be in the first couple of episodes. She was annoying, and created some minor barriers, but overall she was fine and allowing her to not be an evil character helped her storyline. I liked her parts with Seo In Guk, even if she was a tad too pushy, and their storyline was generally cute and not draining.

All-in-all I’m sad that the drama didn’t live up to what I thought it would be for me. With a strong cast of actors and the praise it constantly got, I thought that it would be a fun watch for me and it was anything but. Make no mistake, I know that the drama is outside of my genre tastes a bit, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed other romcoms and with the addition of the horror element I was sure that this one would be at the least a fun watch but that just wasn’t the case.

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