Yes, boys and girls, two weeks have come and gone since the last edition of International Eye Candy and so the time has come to cull the best and brightest from around the globe to make your day a little brighter. And you know what makes my day brighter? Spontaneous human combustion! Lots of light there! And don’t even get me started on kung fu horror, Norwegian slashers or Korean action stars. All that in more down below … let’s get rolling!

Don’t get me wrong here. The original COLD PREY (or FRITT VILT, if you prefer the original title) is not a perfect film. For a slasher it’s remarkably light on blood, for one thing, but it IS the film that triggered the current wave of Nordic horror films and for very good reason. It’s impeccably shot, director Roar Uthaug has a fantastic sense of pace and how to build tension, and – most importantly – the character work is absolutely stellar. No surprise, then, that it went on to make a bucket of money at the local box office and triggered an inevitable sequel.

COLD PREY 2 picks up right were the original left off and while Uthaug isn’t directing this one himself he’s involved as a producer and has been overseeing the project right from the beginning so expect the same strengths to be in play with a significant bump to the level of blood and violence. First teaser is out now and it’s looking tasty.

Hack and slash to your heart’s content.

Good god, that poster messes with my head. And if it’s not enough to convince you to give Graham Reznick’s I CAN SEE YOU a look, how about this? The film is the latest to come out of Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix outfit. And while this is Reznick’s directorial debut he has been working behind the scenes for years as an editor and sound designer, filling the latter role on Ti West’s THE ROOST and TRIGGER MAN. So there’s some talent at play here …

The film itself is a lo-fi, psychedelic sort of horror film revolving around ad men (I’m scared already) stranded in the woods where the obligatory Bad Things happen.

Sell somebody something they don’t need here

Anticipation for VINYAN, the latest from CALVAIRE director Fabrice Du Welz, is growing steadily as bits and pieces of news continue to trickle out. The first trailer indicated that this would be a more ‘mature’ sort of film than Du Welz’s earlier work but fears that he may have stepped away from the shocking imagery that made his reputation were quickly wiped away by news that the film very nearly failed to clear the French censors. So, no, he’s not softening up, he’s just playing coy.

Anyway … all of that to say that a brand new scene from the film has just arrived and while this is much like the trailer in that it’s not showing off the blood it certainly goes a long way to establishing the sort of tone that Du Welz is going for with this one. Very nice.

You’ll find the clip and trailer here

More martial arts action coming later but we’ll get that particular ball rolling now with the full theatrical trailer for KINTA, the new martial arts flick from Malaysia. This thing boasts several national champion martial artists in the cast so you know things are going to be solid on that level and the camera work is remarkably good for this sort of thing. The film is set in the late 1800’s in the Kinta tin mining region of Malaysia so expect lots of half naked sweaty men punching each other hard.

Face it, fight flicks are inherently homo-erotic.

Right! People! Catching fire! Spontaneously! It comes from Thailand, it’s called BURN and the male lead is a guy who played scenery chewing sorts of villains in pulp flicks like TIGER BLADE and VENGEANCE. If a spontaneous combustion film were to come from anywhere I’m rather pleased it’s coming from Thailand, where they’ll treat the material with the mixture of low brow exploitation and high end tech gloss that it deserves. Just wait till the fire starts to spread in the trailer … some killer (bad pun, I know) effects shots in there.

Insert bad Doors joke here

Wanna know what it takes to be an action star? I mean what it really takes? Korean doc ACTION BOYS snuck up with a very low profile until premiering at the recently completed New York Asian Film Festival but with the Korean theatrical release coming soon the press machine is gearing up. Which means not only that killer poster but also a proper trailer.

The people participating in this thing are the real deal, the stunt guys from films such as OLDBOY, A BITTERSWEET LIFE and virtually every other major Korean action flick of recent days. So when they talk you’d best listen because you’re not going to get any closer to the source than this.

Check it out here

We’ll stay in the world of Korean action flicks a little bit longer here, this one – ROUGH CUT – coming, bizarrely, from the production outfit run by arthouse favorite Kim Ki-Duk. Yep, the guy who made 3 IRON is now producing action films. Go figure. Thing is, it looks as though he’s producing GOOD action films, so no complaints from this quarter. The stars are young but talented and production values look typically strong, a good combination.

Take a look at the trailer here

Okay, a little hop across the sea now where we check out the first trailer for PAINTED SKIN. Anybody out there remember the days when Hong Kong turned out supernaturally tinged kung fu flicks like THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR with regularity? Well, the people behind PAINTED SKIN certainly do and they’re doing everything they can to bring those days back. Gordon Chan sits in the director’s chair, Donnie Yen fills the lead and there’s a guy with a big snaky tongue. Life is good.

You’ll find the trailer here

By now readers of this column should be good and familiar with TOKYO GORE POLICE, the ridiculously over the top Japanese splatter film starring AUDITION’s Eihi Shiina as a cop hunting down and killing vicious mutants. Well, new trailer means new gore and the thing to keep in mind while watching this is that the mutants sprout deadly weapons from their wounds. Got that? Wound = weapon. Now get watching and let your mind explore the possibilities.

Yes, what you’re thinking might happen really does happen.

While Kaz Kiriya’s live action adaptation of classic anime series CASSHERN managed to split audiences cleanly down the middle – I personally think it’s pretty much brilliant – there’s no denying that it revived interest in the long-dormant character in a big, big way. Big enough that CASSHERN is returning to the anime world with a new series – CASSHERN SINS – produced by primo animation studio Madhouse. The only trailer released so far is short but sweet, loaded with robot hunting goodness and a whole lot darker than the original show was. Yes, please.

Check out the robot carnage here

How to tell your mother was right about that guy being no good for you: he follows up “I love you” with “Come work as a hooker for me.” Seriously, girls, don’t go out with that guy. It’s all downhill from there. Too bad the female lead of OCEAN FLAME wasn’t smart enough to follow such sensible advice …

The Hong Kong drama was produced by Simon Yam, who also takes a supporting role, and has been winning a whole lot of love on the festival circuit. Not hard to tell why from the trailer …

Check it out here

Hey look! We’re back in Korea for another kick ass action film! The film in question this time is SPARE, a low budget martial arts film that makes up for a lack of funds with a cast more than happy to give (and take) a beating. No wires, no CG, no trickery, just a cast of talented fighters putting the beat down on each other.

The first trailer for this one was cut in a hurry before it was through post and ended up being pretty rough as a result but the latest version is worlds better, so much better that I’d say there’s a chance for this to end up in the top tier of Korean fight flicks.

Let the beatings begin!

Yes, kids, it’s a second trailer for QUICK GUN MURUGAN, everybody’s favorite karmic cowboy, riding to the defense of cattle and vegetarianism everywhere.

Now, before watching this latest technicolored treat, I want you to ask yourself a question. Think about Hindu gods for a moment. Which of those gods possesses an attribute that could prove helpful to an Indian gunslinger? Thank you, you may proceed.

Shiva is angry with meat eaters

And, finally we head to Norway to wrap this edition of the ol’ IEC with the latest from Erik Poppe, a film maker I like to describe as a sort of Euro-version of MAGNOLIA’s P.T. Anderson.

The film is titled DE USYNLIGE and I think the less I say plot-wise on this one the better. What you need to check out, though, is a new six minute reel from the film which is actually two reels in one. What Poppe’s done is cut two extended sequences from two of his main characters’ perspectives and set them up to play simultaneously, side by side. This sort of multi-perspective thing has been done before but seldom this well …

Find all the details, trailers and links here