Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Japanese Monster Bash
The 23rd Godzilla film where the effects were at such a peak for the genre that this became the first Godzilla film to be given a US theatrical release in fifteen years
Japanese Cinema
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992)
Japanese Monster Bash
The 19th Godzilla film, part of the 1990s revival where the series started to employ modern animatronics. This revives Mothra in quite beautiful ways and mounts to a rousing monster battle
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)
Anime/Japanese Monster Movie
The second of the anime Godzilla films and much more successful than its predecessor. The reconceptions of some of the classic monsters has a dazzling ambitiousness while Godzilla has all the ferocity it should have had in the first film
Godzilla Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Japanese Monster Bash
The 25th Godzilla film which employs director Shusuke Kaneko who had done amazing things reviving the Gamera franchise. Kaneko doesn’t quite deliver the epic expected of him but does produce an amazing effects spectacle
Yuki: Snow Fairy (1981)
Anime/Young Goddess Comes to Earth
A very rare anime film about a fairy who descends to Earth from the heavens and takes the side of downtrodden peasants in standing against a greedy landowner and a demon god
Aragami (2003)
Samurai vs Immortal Monster
An action film that takes place in a single room. A samurai is invited to dine by a mysterious host who reveals he is an immortal monster and believes they have been destined to fight
Anthem of the Heart (2015)
Anime/Girl Cursed With Being Unable to Speak
Sweet and tender anime about a young girl who has a curse placed on her that causes her to lose her voice and how this actually allows everyone around her to voice things they don’t say.
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1976)
Japanese Monster Bash
The fifteenth Godzilla film, the last of the classic series, featuring a return of Mechagodzilla from the previous film. Original director Ishiro Honda returns to the series and reclaims it from the juvenile focus it had taken over the last few films to make the best entry of the 1970s
Terra Formars (2016)
Mutated Insects on Mars
Takashi Miike delivers a completely madcap film about evolved cockroaches on Mars being fought by astronauts who take doses of mutagenic serum to give them insect-based super-powers
Ring (1998)
Cursed Video Broadcast/Japanese Ghost Story
Kaidan eiga (Japanese ghost story) that was a huge hit, spawning several sequels and an English-language remake, plus a horde of imitators. For all its reputation, the film is often crude, nevertheless does evince an eerie atmosphere
Taro, The Dragon Boy (1979)
Anime/Young Boy's Adventures
Likeable and charming Japanese anime for children about a young boy of hubris who sets out on a series of adventures
Alakazam the Great (1961)
Mischievous Monkey's Adventures/Animation
Anime version of the classic tale Chinese legend Journey to the West made Osamu Tezuka, this comes with a fast-paced action and is undeniably likable
Ghost Story of Yotsuya (1959)
Japanese Ghost Story
Japanese ghost story based on a kabuki play that has been filmed numerous times. Much more character and story driven than modern kaidan eiga, this builds to a grim and spooky climax with undeniable effect
Appleseed Alpha (2014)
Anime/Post-Holocaust Cyborg Action
Shinji Aramaki returns to the Appleseed franchise for a third time with this prequel. Though it abandons the Cyberpunk milieu, Aramaki crafts action scenes with a stunning realism
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Japanese Monster Bash
The fifth Godzilla film, the point where Godzilla becomes a good guy joining Mothra and Rodan to battle Ghidrah. The best Godzilla film from this period with the effects team operating at the peak of their game
Your Name. (2016)
Anime/Cross-Time Bodyswap
Makoto Shinkai anime that starts as a light and fluffy piece about a boy and a girl who keep waking up in each other’s bodies but expands out into a wholly different story, gaining unexpected emotional depths
Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
Gonzo Japanese Splatter Film/Cops vs Bio-Mechanoid Mutants
One among the 00s spate of gonzo Japanese splatter films. The film exists as a series of outlandishly over-the-top and absurdly entertaining splatter and bizarrely cartoonish bio-mechanoid transformation
Attack on Titan (2015)
Live-Action Anime Adaptation/Invasion by Giants
The live-action adaptation of a popular manga series, this comes with a completely WTF premise about humanity defending itself from an invasion by a horde of misshapen giants that like to bite people’s heads off
Tokyo Fist (1995)
Boxing, Body-Piercing and Masochism
Shinya Tsukamoto returns to the repressions of his earlier Tetsuo: The Iron Man in this frenetic, ultra-violent work about a downtrodden salaryman who reconnects with life by allowing himself to be beaten up in the boxing ring. This feels like Raging Bull remade by David Cronenberg
Attack of the Monsters (1969)
Japanese Monster Movie
The fifth of the Gamera films, Japanese monster movies that are made for children. This abandons the relative realism of the earlier films for a colourful silliness with frequently lunatic results
YatterMan (2009)
Anime TV Series in Live-Action/Gonzo Giant Robot Heroics
Takashi Miike conducts a live-action adaptation of a 1970s anime tv series with completely madcap results. The effect is like drowning in multi-coloured candyfloss flavoured with LSD
Bloody Chainsaw Girl (2016)
Chainsaw-Wielding Schoolgirl Battles Mutant Cyborgs
Another of the gonzo Japanese splatter films about a schoolgirl who tries to go about her schoolday while fighting off mutant cyborgs with the chainsaw she carries
Genius Party Beyond (2008)
Anime Anthology
An anthology of short anime pieces from five different directors. Episodes range from traditional anime and Cyberpunk to mind-expanding surrealism
A Page of Madness (1926)
Madness/Surrealism
Forgotten silent Japanese avant garde classic set in a mental asylum. This has many similarities to The Cabinet of Dr Caligari in its shifting perspectives that delve into the subjective mental space of the inmates
Return of Giant Majin (1966)
Stone Deity Awakens
A Japanese monster movie with a difference. The second in a trilogy of films about a giant stone deity that awakens to defend villagers in trouble
Yakuza Apocalypse (2015)
Gonzo Yakuza Vampire Film
Japan’s Takashi Miike gained a cult with a series of films that went to extremes or crossed way over taboo lines; his films from the mid-2000s have become more experiments that produce a head-scratching “huh?”. Case in point being this Yakuza vampire film that frequently feels like much of it was being made up on the spot
The Mysterians (1957)
Japanese Alien Invader Film
Ishiro Honda and Toho, the creators of Godzila, turn their attentions to the alien invasion film – the first Japanese entry in the great 1950s SF alien invader fad – and deliver all the same colourful mass destruction we expect
Psycho-Pass (2015)
Anime/Future Crime Prediction Force
Film spinoff of an anime series about a future police force that uses a system to monitor the brains of the populace for the potential to commit crime. Reminiscent of Minority Report, this is not uninteresting, although falls short of being another Appleseed or Ghost in the Shell
Blade of the Immortal (2017)
Immortal Samurai/Manga Adaptation
Takashi Miike’s 100th film, the adaptation of a manga about an immortal samurai. Miike bookends the film with awesome sequences with his hero battling hundreds of opponents but the film in between drags
Reincarnation (2005)
Japanese Ghost Story
Takashi Shimizu, creator of the Ju-on/The Grudge series, makes a film about an actress who becomes haunted after taking a role based on a true-life murder
Scary True Stories (1991-2)
Japanese Ghost Stories
A trio of Japanese tv movies that retell supposedly true life ghost stories
The Red Turtle (2016)
Animation/Castaway Befriends Turtle Woman
Studio Ghibli’s first ever international co-production. A desert island castaway fantasy, this makes interesting comparison to the recent Robinson Crusoe/The Wild Life, even if both films are poles apart in style. This is dialogueless, spare and contained with a minimalism of plot and drama
One Missed Call (2003)
Haunted Cellphone Calls
Cult director Takashi Miike jumps aboard the J-horror fad of the 2000s and makes a Ringu copy that substitutes haunted videos for haunted cellphone calls. Two sequels and an English-language remake followed
X (1996)
Anime Superheroics
Anime involving a superheroic battle for the fate of the world. Dazzling eye candy but too many characters and subplots make things confusing
Rebirth of Mothra II (1997)
Japanese Monster Bash
After their successful revival of Godzilla in the 1990s, Toho revived Mothra for a series of standalone battles, albeit with a very juvenile focus made for children. This was the second and better of the three films
Big Tits Zombie (2010)
Gonzo Japanese Zombie Film
Strippers and zombies Japanese style. An entry into the Gonzo Japanese Splatter film fad. Cheaply made, with surprisingly little nudity and a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek splatter
Paprika (2006)
Anime/Dream Therapy Device
A venture inside the dreamscape from anime director Satoshi Kon who creates a beautifully animated work even if some of the ideas become excessively convoluted
Rampo (1994)
Real-Life Author and His Creation/Meta-Fiction
Beautifully made arthouse film about the real-life Japanese horror writer who becomes wound up in in enigmatic meta-fiction with his own creation
Noroi: The Curse (2005)
Japanese Found Footage/Paranormal Investigator
A Japanese Found Footage film made not long after The Blair Witch Project with a man investigating various paranormal incidents around Tokyo
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
Anime Erotica/Temptation by the Devil
Osama Tezuka is a cult figure in anime and manga – what is less well known is that he also made adult animation. This, about a woman’s temptation by The Devil in mediaeval France, is a mind-boggling array of psychedelia and eroticism
Atragon (1963)
Super-Submarine Adventure
Ishiro Honda, the director of Godzilla, makes a colourful dventure film about a super-submarine battling an undersea empire in the vein of other works of the era like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Secret of the Telegian (1960)
Teleporting Super-Villain
Toho Films of the 1960s are best known for the Godzilla films and assorted monster bashes. This is one of their non-monster films, part of a spate of mutant supervillain films concerning a villain who has invented a teleportation machine and is using it to exact revenge
Patlabor: The Mobile Police (1989)
Anime/Police Amok-Robot Squad
Early anime from Mamoru Oshii of Ghost in the Shell fame about a police squad set up to deal with giant robots gone amok. All of Oshii’s visuals and fascinating play of ideas are present
Re/Member (2022)
Timeloop Horror Film
A Japanese-made variant on the oft-used Groundhog Day timeloop theme. This pushes well into horror movie territory with a group of teenagers trapped in a typical school day and facing a monster figure pursuing them
Pokemon: The Power of One (1999)
Animation/Cute Creatures
The second of the animated films spun off around the Pokemon phenomenon and an altogether better film than its predecessor due to some imaginative animation
Godzilla vs the Thing (1964)
Japanese Monster Bash
The fourth Godzilla film, the first in which Godzilla battled another Toho monster, namely Mothra. Colourfully enjoyable and taking itself more seriously than many of the entries that would follow
The Human Vapor (1960)
Gaseous Supervillain
Godzilla creator Ishiro Honda makes a film about a meek man who gains the ability to transform into a mist and promptly becomes a bank-robbing super-villain
Gammera the Invincible (1965)
Japanese Monster Movie
This was made as a copy of the Godzilla films by rival studio Daiei. This proved sufficiently successful that it too spawned a long-running series of sequels and monster bashes
Incite Mill (2010)
Reality TV Elimination Game
Hideo Nakata, director of Ring, offers his take on reality tv shows – where contestants are locked up Big Brother-style and encouraged to kill one another. The film comes with much homage to classic murder mysteries
The Ghost of Yotsuya [Parts 1 and II] (1949)
Japanese Ghost Story
One of a number of films based on the most famous of all Japanese ghost stories. This is a adaptation made in the neo-realist style of the period that was released in two parts
Homunculus (2021)
Man Can See Inner Traumas
Takashi Shimizu, the director of the Ju-on/The Grudge films, conducts an adaptation of a manga about a man who undergoes a trepanning operation and emerges able to see people’s inner traumas given symbolic expression
The Invisible Man Appears (1949)
Japanese Invisible Man Film
An obscure and little-seen but fascinating Japanese copy of The Invisible Man films wherein a scientist becomes an invisible man after taking his formula. Let down by weak effects.
Gamera vs Gyaos (1967)
Japanese Monster Movie
The third of Daiei’s 1960s Gamera films, this takes the series back into children’s movie territory. Some moments of goofy silliness and variable effects ensue in a likeable enough combination
Bus (1987)
Japanese Dystopia
Obscure Japanese film set in a computer-controlled dystopia where a simple bus driver makes a defiant stand against against conformity
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1998)
Anime/Werewolf Anti-Terrorist Squad
A conceptually ambitious anime that builds a complex metaphor out of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf in a story centred around the self-doubting member of an anti-terrorist squad
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007)
Immortal Combat/Anime
The Highlander series conducts an anime variant on the franchise set in a post-apocalyptic future. Co-directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri of Ninja Scroll fame who adds some highly stylised moves
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Japanese Monster Bash
The 26th Japanese Godzilla film, the fourth pitting him against Mechagodzilla. After a slow first hour, the film delivers all the exhilarating mass destruction sequences we expect of it as the monsters go head to head
Ju-on: Girl in Black (2009)
Japanese Ghost Story
One of a duo of spinoff films made to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Ju-on/The Grudge series. Seven films in and the series is starting to resemble much of a muchness
Urotsukidoji II: Legend of the Demon Womb (1989)
Anime/Perverse Demon Wars
The first of two OVA sequels to the anime classic Legend of the Overfiend, this lacks the perverse imagery of the original
King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962)
Japanese Monster Bash
The third of the Godzilla films wherein Toho managed to obtain a coup in leasing copyright to pit Godzilla against a rather tatty-looking King Kong for one of the great title bouts of the century
Exit 8 (2025)
Videogame Adaptation/Trapped in a Labyrinth
Enigmatic adaptation of a Japanese videogame where the protagonist is trapped inside a railway platform tunnel and must walk through the same corridor that repeats itself with minute variations to find the exit
Halo Legends (2010)
Compilation of Anime Shorts/Videogame Adaptation/Space War
A compilation of shorts from anime directors set in the Halo videogame universe. The first two episodes have a breathtaking scale but the others are bitsy stories but nothing standout
The H-Man (1958)
Radioactive Blob Creature
Monster movie from Godzilla creator Ishiro Honda featuring a glowing blob that dissolves humans. Mostly a routine policier that is spiced up every so often by novelty effects of people melting
Maboroshi (2023)
Anime/Town Caught in a Timeloop
Anime that is a variant on Groundhog Day about a town that becomes caught in a time pocket following an industrial accident with the residents forced to live in the same day
Gorath (1962)
Rogue Planet on a Collision Course with Earth
One of the other films from Godzilla creator Ishiro Honda. This has been incorrectly identified as a Japanese giant monster film but is mostly a colourful space opera about a rogue planet
Mariko Rose the Spook (2009)
Japanese Gay Film/Ghost of a Drag Queen
A strange Japanese film in which a suicidal lesbian receives relationship advice and from the ghost of a drag queen
Sweet Home (1989)
Gonzo Japanese Haunted House Film
Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa has developed a reputation for his intensely uncanny and deeply unfathomable horror films. This is one of his earlier works, a much more straightforward haunted house film that in its more bizarre moments attains the whacked-out dementia of the cult Japanese film House
Digimon: The Movie (2000)
Animation/Cute Cyber-Creatures
The first film from Mamoru Hosoda based on a tv series that was a blatant attempt to copy the Pokemon phenomenon and concerning cute creatures that live on the internet
Legacy of Dracula: The Bloodthirsty Doll (1970)
Japanese Ghost Story/Vampire
The first of a trilogy of Japanese vampire films, although this does not feature Dracula despite the title and should be considered more of ghost story.
Dogora the Space Monster (1964)
Japanese Monster Movie
One of the overlooked Japanese monster movies directed by Godzilla’s creator Ishiro Honda concerning a giant alien blob that appears in the sky and sucks up coal and diamonds
Versus (2000)
Yakuza Zombies/Splatter
The directorial debut of Ryuhei Kitamura. A film premised on the idea of mashing the John Woo-styled gangster film up with the gore-drenched George Romero zombie film.
Space Cruiser Yamato (1977)
Anime Space Opera
Anime film spun off from a popular Japanese tv series. Despite crude animation, this has a colourful vigour and taps the same space opera vein as Star Wars, which came only three months earlier
Drifting Home (2022)
Anime/Apartment Building Drifts Out to Sea
Peculiar but very nicely made anime about a group of children who go on a fantastical journey in an abandoned apartment building that is washed away to sea
Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009)
Man-Machine Fusion
Shinya Tsukamoto’s third Tetsuo film is a disappointingly commercial concession that waters down all of the surrealism and wild sexual fetishism that made the first film so amazing
Terror Beneath the Sea (1966)
Amphibian Cyborgs
Japanese movie made for international sales where a scientist has built a race of amphibian cyborgs to take over the world
Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010)
Japanese Superhero
Takashi Miike makes a sequel to his earlier superhero film filled with his typically eccentric touches
Zebraman (2004)
Japanese Superhero
Head-scratching effort from Japan’s Takashi Miike about a schoolteacher who gains superpowers after putting on a costume from his favourite superhero tv series. Miike never seems to be mounting a parody, while the film is too low-budgeted to ever work in terms of kick-ass superheroic action
Tale of a Vampire (1992)
Vampire Romance
Part of the 1990s fad for dark romantic vampire films with vampire Julian Sands lurking around a library and fixating on Suzanna Hamilton
Sadako (2019)
Ring Sequel
The thirteenth film in the Ring/Ringu franchise. The question is whether the return of original director Hideo Nakata to the franchise can revitalise the series
Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992)
Man-Machine Fusion
Shinya Tsukamoto makes a better budgeted sequel to his breakthrough hit. The first film was a masterpiece of guerilla filmmaking but the same frenzied fetishism is missing here
Sinking of Japan (2006)
Japanese Disaster Movie
Big-budget modern Japanese remake of a 1970s disaster movie in which Japan starts to catastrophically sink into the ocean. Despite revisiting the original with CGI spectacle, this is a film in which hardly anything interesting happens
Tokyo Ghoul (2017)
Manga Adaptation/Secret World of Ghouls
Live-action adaptation of a manga about a teenager who becomes part of a secret world of flesh-eating ghouls. The set-up comes with some imagination but the film suffers from an uninvolving story and a reliance on unconvincing CGI
Sadako vs Kayako (2016)
Ring/Grudge Series Crossover
The two most popular Japanese horror franchises come together to fight it out. Both series work on the provision of intensely uncanny effect but brought together the result is diluted at best
Sharing (2014)
Premonitions of Disaster
I went to see this on the description that called it a horror film about premonitions of disaster but far less interestingly it is a fictional attempt to analyse people’s attempts to grieve over the Fukushima Disaster – not uninteresting but with little interest in being a fantastic film
Slit Mouth Woman in L.A. (2014)
Japanese Horror Anthology
Another version of the popular figure from Japanese urban legend, which has appeared in a number of films. This is an anthology where four Japanese directors have come to L.A. to shoot a series of strictly average short horror tales, not all of which feature the Slit Mouth Woman
What to Do With the Dead Kaiju? (2022)
The Aftermath of a Giant Monster Attack
An amusing take on the Japanese Monster Movie that takes place in the aftermath of a monster battle as various government agencies debate what do with the carcass of a giant monster lying in the countryside
World Apartment Horror (1991)
Strange Apartment Building Comedy/Haunting
After making the groundbreaking anime Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo then chose to direct this oddity – a live-action comedy about a frustrated Yakuza enforcer trying to evict an apartment of foreigners that turns into a horror film in its last third
Tamala 2010 (2002)
Demented Anime/Girl Cat's Space Adventures
Grungy low tech anime that comes out like a sarcastic version of Hello Kitty
Village of Dreams (1996)
Mischievous Twins' Childhood/Magical Realism
Japanese Coming of Age tale about two mischief-making twin brothers growing up in the 1940s
The X from Outer Space (1967)
Japanese Monster Movie
A wannabe entry in the Japanese monster movie, this has the distinction of featuring possibly the most ridiculous monster to ever turn up in one of these films
Vampire Bride (1960)
Vengeful Creature/Japanese Horror
Rather drab and cheap Japanese horror film about a disfigured actress who returns to life as a hairy vampire creature to exact vengeance. Not without its schlocky appeals, the hairy vampire bride looks more funny than threatening
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie – Pyramid of Light (2004)
Anime/Playing Card Dueling
An animated film based on the hit playing card phenomenon, which proves largely incomprehensible to anybody not versed in the game
The Spiral (1998)
Ring Sequel
The black sheep among the Japanese Ringu films. A sequel released the same time as the first film, this lacks the other’s uncanny atmosphere and was ignored
Tokyo Tribe (2014)
Near-Future Gang Warfare
Shion Sono is a director who has gained cult acclaim in recent years. This astonishes with the brashness of his approach, set among the street gang warfare of the near future where all of the dialogue is delivered in rap. On the other hand, the film lacks the budget to sustain such energy
Stacy (2001)
Schoolgirl Zombies
A bizarre Japanese film about hordes of schoolgirl zombies
Yakuza Weapon (2011)
Gonzo Japanese Splatter Film/Yakuza With Cyborg Attachments
Another Gonzo Japanese Splatter Film about a Yakuza heir who is blown apart by rivals and then rebuilt with cyborg attachments
The Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010)
Japanese Time Travel Film
A live-action film based on a popular Japanese young adult novel that has been filmed multiple times before. This is a rather dull film that fails to do anything terribly interesting with its time travel premise
Suicide Club (2002)
Programmed Mass Suicides
Japanese horror film that launched the name of Shion Sono and is attention grabbing but proves an unfathomable mix of mass suicides, mysterious websites that predict deaths and a pop band seemingly controlling it all
Scarlet (2025)
Anime/Journey Across the Afterlife
Mamoru Hosoda conducts the bizarre notion of an anime version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It is a Hamlet that Shakespeare would barely recognise, following a heroine as she makes a journey across the afterlife
War of the Gargantuas (1966)
Japanese Monster Bash
From Ishiro Honda, the creator of Godzilla, this bizarrely features two giant Frankenstein monsters battling it out. A fairly typical Japanese monster movie of its era featuring cheesily ridiculous rubber monsters, copious mass destruction and a largely irrelevant human element