International Eye Candy
October 1st, 2008

A personal note before launching full bore into the new edition of the International Eye Candy. I'm freshly back at Twitch HQ from enjoying the Texas hospitality of Fantastic Fest and prepping to fly out tomorrow to hit Sitges in Spain but before I do I would be greatly remiss if I failed to say that, Harry, it was good to have a decent amount of time to sit and chat this year. Moriarty, Quint and Massawyrm, I was glad to finally put faces to the names and any time you boys are passing through Toronto drop me a line and the hospitality will happily be returned. A very good time was had by all …

But enough of the ass-kissery, it's time for our fortnightly collection of bits and bobs from around the globe. And this time out we've got: Chiaki Kuriyama in a go-go dress! Nazi-snow-zombies! Norwegian hack and slash! Turkish dinosaurs! The return of a Japanese cult icon! It's a weird world out there and we're loving every bit of it. Onwards!

We'll start with the icon, shall we? The film is NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE 2, the latest from Shinya Tsukamoto, the cult legend behind TETSUO: THE IRON MAN. No drill-penises here, alas, just Ryuhei Matsuda reprising his role as a suicidal man with the ability to insert himself into the dreams of others. This one's a bit more philosophical than the first ND flick, more concerned with the character than with any sort of mystery but fans of Tsukamoto won't want to miss it and it's got a brand, spankin' new trailer in it's native Japan.

Enter the world of the NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE here

From Japan we head to Norway for the full theatrical trailer for FRITT VILT 2. The first FRITT VILT was the first slasher flick ever produced in Norway – arguably the first ever produced in the entire Nordic region – and its success has been propelling the current explosion of Scando-genre film. This one picks up right where the first left off and the trailer and earlier teaser both look absolutely fantastic.

Check the FRITT VILT 2 trailer here

And now for something completely different …

We head a little east and a little south to get to Russia, a country with a loooooong history of producing animation which, somehow, has largely been left out in the cold when it comes to getting their animated work out into the world at large. This one, FEDOT THE HUNTER, could very well change that. Based on folk lore and legends the film looks simply gorgeous – if I were a betting man I'd say they're using the same animation technique Michel Ocelot used for AZUR AND ASMAR – and fuses a bit of naughty humor into the goings on. Great for the kids, fun for the adults, lots of pretty pictures for both. Yes, please.

A trio of FEDOT trailers here

More animation? You betcha, this one coming from Poland's Platige Image, a studio that nobody much seems to know about despite producing a lengthy string of hugely impressive shorts. When it comes to CG work these guys are every bit as good as the big boys, if not better, so wake up and pay attention, people. The newest Platige effort is the scifi oriented TEACHING INFINITY and all you really need to know is that you should be watching it now instead of reading this.

Learn INFINITY here

Alright, I promised you Chikai Kuriyama (KILL BILL, BATTLE ROYALE) in a go-go dress and here she is, courtesy of Ryuichi Honda's 1960's music flick GS WONDERLAND. The GS – or group sounds – movement was Japan's answer to the British invasion of the 1960s and if this film is any indication the 60s in Japan were every bit as colorful as the sixties here in the west. Honda's actually gone out and hired a group of original, chart topping GS songwriters to create the soundtrack for his film to make sure the sound is absolutely authentic. And Kuriyama should never be allowed to dress in anything other than her wardrobe from this film ever again.

Join the WONDERLAND here

It just wouldn't be a complete edition of the International Eye Candy without a fight film, now would it, and here's this edition's bit of kung fu. The film is BODYGUARD: A NEW BEGINNING, the latest from the director of last year's ultra-low-budget UNDERGROUND. The fighters are good, attention to character and story looks solid and the camera work is stunning. Every so often a group of unknowns breaks on to the scene and forces everybody to take notice and this looks as though it could very well be one of those films. Impressive stuff.

Hire the BODYGUARD here

Okay, I freely admit that this one is included more as a pre-emptive measure than because of any footage actually contained in the far-too-brief teaser but trust me – you're going to be seeing a lot more of this one in the near future. The latest from the writer of ZEBRAMAN and PING PONG, SHONEN MERIKANSACK is the new directorial effort from Japanese comedian-actor-writer-director Kankuro Kudo and believe me when I say that anything Kudo is involved with is worth your time. This guy is money in the bank. This one's about a group of punk rockers aged 50+ discovered by a young record company exec played by serious indie-darling Aoi Miyazaki, who finally gets a chance to cut loose and get goofy. Kudo's a popular musician, too, so that angle should be dead solid as well …

SHONEN MERIKENSACK teaser here

One of the running themes at Fantastic Fest this year was just how many great films are coming out of Denmark right now, particular when it comes to noir-oriented stuff. I'm not sure exactly what it is but there's just something about noir that fits with the Danish mentality and the film community there has seized on that point with surprising zeal this year, yielding a solid handful of dead solid titles in the past year alone. The latest is FEAR ME NOT, the newest offering from Dogme co-founder Kristian Levring. Drug abuse and paranoia are always a good time …

Check the FEAR ME NOT trailer here

And just to demonstrate that not everything coming out of Scandinavia is grim and harsh I present to you INSTEAD OF ABRAKADABRA, the heart warming tale of a basement dwelling would-be magician from Sweden's Patrik Eklund. Eklund is one of the very best in the region and this looks to be the sort of note-perfect slacker-comedy that launched Jared Hess into the spotlight …

You'll find the hocus pocus here

Vincent Cassel starring in the true life story of a French gangster whose criminal enterprise spanned continents in the 1970s. I do believe I've just told you what you need to know. The trailer is amazing.

You'll find all you need to know about Cassel's criminal exploits – plus a couple trailers - here

Anybody out there remember a Turkish sci-fi comedy titled GORA that played the fest circuit a few years back? Long known for their copyright flouting low budget pulp of the 1960s and 70s GORA was Turkey's first effort to prove they could produce high end stuff with the best of them, providing that you consider Mel Brooks style comedy to be high end. It was the brainchild of hugely popular comedian Cem Yilmaz and Yilmaz is now deep into production on the film's sequel AROG. And it's not just the title that's reversed here … while the first went to space and messed with future tech, this one goes resolutely into the past. Cue dinosaur and cave man jokes. A quartet of teasers have just released and they look every bit as good as the original film.

Find the AROG teasers here

And finally we end with DEAD SNOW. And if you are asking yourself how I plan to top Turkish dinosaurs and frozen urine streams, here is your answer: Nazi snow zombies invading Norway. It's from the director of KILL BILL parody KILL BULJO and it looks absolutely brilliant. Yes, please.

Check the DEAD SNOW teaser here