Takashige Ichise Movies

Infection director Masayuki Ochiai takes the helm for this remake of the 2004 horror hit from Thailand concerning a photographer and his girlfriend who are involved in a tragic auto accident, and subsequently begin to notice ghostly figures in the backgrounds of their pictures. Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor star in this supernatural frightener. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Japanese horror specialist Takashi Shimizu returns to the mythology that terrified audiences the world over with this terror-inducing sequel to the hit 2004 frightener. When a cursed Tokyo home is burned to the ground, the baneful spirit once confined within its walls is suddenly unleased to terrorize anyone and everyone who crosses its dark path. Original producers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Taka Ichise return to help Shimizu realize his hair-raising vision with this tale that finds Karen's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) sister, Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn), teaming with spellbound journalist Eason (Edison Chen) to investigate the spectral mystery. Meanwhile, the ghostly grip of Toshio (Oga Tanaka) and Kayako (Takako Fuji) tightens on a Chicago housewife (Jennifer Beals) halfway across the globe. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Japanese horror producer Taka Ichise -- the force behind Ringu and Ju-on: The Grudge -- and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the director of Pulse, team up for the supernatural horror picture Retribution (aka Sakebi), starring Koji Yakusho, Riona Hazuki, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Manami Konishi, Ryo Kase, Hiroyuki Hirayama, and Jô Odagiri. Yakusho plays Yoshioka, a cop tormented by strange details surrounding the murder of a local woman (Riona Hazuki) in a red dress. Though ostensibly killed by being drowned in a shallow, tepid pool of muddy water, an autopsy reveals the woman's belly as full of seawater. Moreover, a button found at the murder scene matches one that is missing from a coat Yoshioka purchased, and fingerprints that cover the body match his own. Yoshioka thus immediately reasons that he must have killed the woman but blocked it out, despite the assurance of his colleagues that he probably just touched the body sans gloves. He is soon visited repeatedly by the apparition of the victim (red dress intact). As these visitations build in intensity and bizarreness, another drowning murder -- that of a surgeon's son -- occurs in exactly the same manner, and the evidence this time seems to point so conclusively to Yoshioka that he could be sent away at any moment. But the story is far from over. To say more would ruin the picture, but Kurosawa then springs an endless series of twists and double-crosses that force the audience to reevaluate everything that has come before. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This American remake of director Takashi Shimizu's popular Japanese movie franchise The Grudge puts Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumna Sarah Michelle Gellar back into the line of supernatural fire. When Karen (Gellar), an American student working with a Japanese health center for college credit, comes across a mysterious curse, she quickly finds herself embroiled in a fight for her own sanity, and, ultimately, her very survival. Known as a "grudge," the curse was born inside of a house after its inhabitants died while consumed by rage -- according to legend, the curse touches all who come into contact with it, and will torment those unlucky individuals until they, too, become part of the grudge . Each time the curse finds a new victim, it is, in a sense, reborn, and will continue on its path unless Karen can free herself from its control over her. This version of The Grudge is also directed by Shimizu, and features Jason Behr, Clea DuVall, Kadee Strickland, William Mapother, and Bill Pullman in supporting roles. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Directed by Takashi Shimizu, The Grudge follows volunteer homecare worker Rika Nishida (Megumi Okina), whose altruism leads her to Chiharu (Yui Ichikawa), a catatonic old woman slowly dying in a home filled with years worth of accumulated filth. Rika's suspicion is aroused when, during the course of her volunteer duties, she can't help but sense an overwhelming feeling of dread. Eventually, Rika opens an old wardrobe only to discover a malevolent boy who introduces himself as Toshio (Yuya Ozeki). It seems as though the house was formerly occupied by a young couple -- Katsuya (Kanji Tsuda), Chiharu's son, and his wife, Kazumi (Risa Matsuda). Sadly, Kazumi was killed thanks to Toshio shortly after moving in, and it wasn't long before Katsuya met a similar fate. When one of Rika's colleagues alerts the local authorities, an investigation turns the house inside out and exposes an ancient and deadly history. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Based on a manga series, this science fiction-adventure is set in a near future in which Japan is governed by a monarchy who use a highly trained band of samurai-style assassins known as the House of Takemikazuchi to suppress a fierce band of rebels. Yuki (Yumiko Shaku), a lethal young female member of the group, discovers that her mother was betrayed and murdered by the their leader, and swears vengeance. After being wounded in battle, she takes refuge in a remote gas station run by Takashi (Hideaki Ito), a young man who is actually a member of the underground rebel army. Despite their mutual mistrust, he nurses her back to health and they form a bond as she seeks to continue her mission of vengeance and he tries to convince her otherwise. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide

Following the phenomenal success of Ringu and Ringu 2 -- films about a malevolent spirit named Sadako residing in a videotape that kills all who watch it -- Norio Tsuruta directs and Masato Hara produces this prequel to the two horror blockbusters. As a child, Sadako (Yukie Nakama) became increasingly aware of her unusual supernatural powers, inherited from her professional psychic mother. One day in 1957, Sadako's mom gives a public illustration of her uncanny abilities. When a reporter casts aspersions on her talents, Sadako strikes him dead without touching him. Sadako's mom commits suicide as a result of the incident and Sadako develops a split personality. Years later, Sadako is trying to put the pieces back together, working as an intern at a Tokyo theater company. Radiantly beautiful, she grabs the attention of both the company's debauched director and handsome fellow intern Toyama (Seiichi Tanabe). One day, the lead of the new play suddenly keels over and the director casts Sadako as the star, raising the eyebrows of many in the crew and of a young reporter (Yoshiko Tanaka) whose fiancée was the journalist she killed years ago. When the director tries to rape her, he too dies a horrible death. Soon her co-worker begins to wonder if she is a sociopathic murderer, or the victim of powers beyond her control. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This direct-to-video thriller stars Jason London as a grungy-looking Seattle psychopath setting off bombs so as not to lose his Japanese sweetheart. Lori Petty, sporting a truly odd coiffure which must be her hair growing back from Tank Girl, plays a hard-bitten FBI agent determined to take London down. Subplots include Petty's squabbles with her boss and a visiting Japanese policewoman whose interests conflict with those of the Bureau. Despite its low budget and somewhat cliched plot, the film is well-directed by Keoni Waxman and should please mad-bomber buffs.
~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Based on a popular Japanese comic, this stylish, romantic French-Canadian actioner features many exciting pyrotechnic effects, elegantly executed murders, and some nifty-doodle gadgets, but very little on-screen bloodshed as it follows the adventures of Yo, one of the world's greatest hit men. Yo works for a mysterious Chinese organization and has been given the dubious honor of being called Freeman, the name the tong gives to its chief enforcer. Yo doesn't want the honor, but there is little he can do; obligation is more important than personal want. Still, after each killing, Yo sheds a few tears for the victims. One day he bumps into Emu O'Hara, a beautiful painter who has avoided people after mobsters killed her father, who was a rigidly honest judge determined to wipe out crime. Emu witnesses Yo's killing three Yakuza on a rugged stretch of California coastline where she is painting. Yo sees her see him, and though they never speak, both know that necessity dictates she be his next victim. Following the police investigation of the killings, Emu goes back to Vancouver, BC. Yo has also been sent there to kill her and a Yakuza don. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An American FBI agent infiltrates the notorious Japanese yakuza and is forced to choose between old loyalties and his new bond of blood in this lurid crime thriller starring Viggo Mortensen. The first American ever to be accepted into Japan's treacherous criminal underworld, FBI Agent Nick Davis (Mortensen) successfully infiltrates the American arm of the yakuza and quickly rises through the ranks due to his reputation as a skilled assassin. But when Agent Davis is subsequently adopted into the powerful Tendo crime family, his mission is complicated by Italian mob boss Dino Campanela (Michael Nouri) and unpredictable enforcer Vic (Nicky Katt). When crooked and uncompromising FBI task force head Agent Littleman (Robert Forster) sets his sights on Agent Davis, the stage is set for a showdown that will set the criminal underworld ablaze. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide