, also known as ''Kazuo Umezz's Horror Theater'', is a Japanese six-part

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

series based on manga works by

Kazuo Umezu is a Japanese manga artist, musician and actor. He is among the most famous authors of horror manga and has been vital for its development since the 1960s. Life Umezu was born in Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, but raised in the mountainous Go ...

. It was released in 2005 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the start of Umezu's career as a manga artist. The series was distributed by

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

, and features music composed by singer-songwriter

Rurutia is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She began her career in 2001 with the release of the single " Itoshigo yo" when she was signed with Toshiba-EMI. She has released twelve albums and eleven singles. Rurutia is intensely private; most aspects of h ...

Films

''House of Bugs''

is directed by

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic and a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Although he has worked in a variety of genres, Kurosawa is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre, his honorific ...

. Its plot centers around a husband and wife, the former of whom suspects the latter of not only being unfaithful to him, but possibly mutating into a large insect.

''Ambrosia''

, is directed by Itō Tadafumi and written by Hiroshi Takahashi. It follows a schoolgirl who goes on an extreme diet in order to win the affections of a boy.

''Snake Girl''

, directed by Noboru Iguchi, is an adaptation of ''The Spotted Girl'', an installment in Umezu's 1965–66 manga trilogy '' Reptilia''. The film stars Arisa Nakamura as Yumiko, a girl who is invited by her cousin to spend her summer vacation in a rural village, where she finds herself terrorized by a half-human, half-snake witch.

''The Wish''

is directed by Atsushi Shimizu. It follows a lonely schoolboy who carves a companion for himself in the form of a wooden doll shaped like a human head.

''Present''

, directed by

Yūdai Yamaguchi is a Japanese film director who has worked mainly in the comedy and horror genres. He has "made a name for himself by mixing goofy gore with manga-esque escapades and plain utter weirdness". Life and career Yamaguchi was born in 1971 and attend ...

, sees a group of students' Christmas festivities interrupted by a murderous

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

and his band of flesh-eating reindeer.

''Death Make''

is directed by Taichi Itō. It follows a group of supposed psychics who, as part of a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

program, are challenged to spend 24 hours in an abandoned office building where, ten years prior, a group of girls disappeared after attempting to summon ghosts.

Release

The six films were screened at the Eurospace theater in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, on 18 June 2005.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * * * {{Yūdai Yamaguchi Film series introduced in 2005 Horror film series Japanese horror films Japanese film series Live-action films based on manga Japanese splatter films