Festivals >> Leeds >> 2008 >> Fanomenon

20th Century Man (20-seiki shônen) (Country: Japan; Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi; Writer: Yasushi Fukuda, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa, Yûsuke Watanabe, Naoki Urasawa; Cast: Toshiaki Karasawa, Etsushi Toyokawa, Takako Tokiwa, Arata, Bengal, Yoriko Douguchi, Kenichi Endo, Fumiya Fujii, Takashi Fujii, Toshikazu Fukawa)
Live action manga adaption, sees a group of friends try to thwart a cult.

Akumu Tantei (Country: Japan; Director: Shinya Tsukamoto; Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto; Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda, Hitomi, Masanobu Ando, Ren Osugi, Yoshio Harada, Shinya Tsukamoto)
A group of suicidal people are brutally slain, but are they connected through their dreams?

The Burrowers (Country: US; Director: JT Petty; Writer: JT Petty; Cast: Doug Hutchison, Clancy Brown, William Mapother, Sean Patrick Thomas, Karl Geary, Jocelin Donahue, Laura Leighton, Stan Burd, David Busse, Trip Davis)
Western/horror hybrid sees a group of settlers get more than they bargain for when they go hunting for a missing family. Full Review

Dachimawa Lee (Country: South Korea; Director: Ryoo Seung-wan; Cast: Bo-ra Hwang, Hyo-jin Kong, Su-jeong Lim, Won-hie Lim, Si-hyeon Park, Seung-beom Ryu)
Under Japanese imperialism,the Korean national treasure Golden Buddha is stolen and legendary Korean spy Lee is assigned to recover the fabled statue, revealing the dark plot.

Dance Of The Dead (Country: US; Director: Gregg Bishop; Writer: Joe Ballarini; Cast: Jared Kusnitz, Greyson Chadwick, Chandler Darby, Carissa Capobianco, Randy McDowell, Michael V. Mammoliti, Mark Lynch, Justin Welborn, Mark Oliver, Blair Redford)
Nerds must save prom night from zombie attack.

Deadgirl (Dead Girl) (Country: US; Director: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel; Writer: Trent Haaga; Cast: Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Michael Bowen, Candice Accola, Andrew DiPalma, Eric Podnar, Nolan Gerard Funk, Christina Blevins, Kelle Cantwell, Shushig DerStepanian)
After two teenagers find a dead girl in the basement of a disused mental asylum, the boundary between right and wrong becomes sickeningly blurred. Full Review

Detroit Metal City (Country: Japan; Director: Toshio Lee; Writer: Kiminori Wakasugi, Mika Omori; Cast: Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Ryûji Akiyama, Rosa Kato, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Ryo Kato, Minami, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Masami Nagasawa, Yôsuke Ôchi)
The programme says: "Ken'ichi Matsuyama (Death Note’s L) is a small-town farm boy who dreams of being a Japanese pop sensation and instead finds enforced stardom as death metal knight Sir Johannes Krauser II. How can he capture back his dream and his love from the claws of his fornicating devil persona?"

The Disappeared (Country: UK; Director: Johnny Kevorkian; Writer: Johnny Kevorkian, Neil Murphy; Cast: Harry Treadaway, Greg Wise, Alex Jennings, Finlay Robertson, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ros Leeming, Bronson Webb, Georgia Groome, Lewis Lemperuer Palmer, Jefferson Hall, Tyler Anthony)
After a boy's younger brother disappears, he finds himself haunted by the past. Full Review Official Site, View Trailer

Fantastic Parasuicides (Fantastic Ja-sal-so-dong) (Country: South Korea; Director: Chang-ho Cho, Sung-ho Kim, Soo-young Park; Writer: Chang-ho Cho, Sung-ho Kim, Soo-young Park; Cast: In-Hyeong Gang, Yeo-reum Han, Hae-hwa Jeong, Jae-Jin Jung, Ga-Yeon Kim, Jeong-gook Kim, Kyeong-rae Kim, Nam-jin Kim, Soo-nam Kim, Yong-jin Kim)
Three off-beat stories exploring farce in the face of death.

From Inside (Country: US; Director: John Bergin; Cast: Corryn Cummins)
Animation tells the story of a pregnant woman struggling across an apocalyptic landscape on a train with other survivors.

Gachi Boy - Wrestling With A Memory (Gachi bôi) (Country: Japan; Director: Norihiro Koizumi; Writer: Ryuta Hourai, Seishi Nishida; Cast: Ryuta Sato, Saeko, Osamu Mukai, Riisa Naka, Daisuke Miyagawa, Shigeru Izumiya, Daijiro Kawaoka, Seishi Nishida)
The festival say: "Star student Igarashi joins a failing college pro-wrestling club, determined to become king of the ring but frustrated by his tragic condition of forgetting anything he’s learned at the end of each day."

Girl Sparks (Country: Japan; Director: Yûya Ishii)
Coming of age is tough for a fantasy obssessed schoolgirl with a cross-dressing dad.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom) (Country: South Korea; Director: Kim Ji-Woon; Writer: Kim Ji-Woon, Kim Min-Suk; Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Pan-joo, Ryu Seung-soo, Ryu Chang-sook, Deligeer, Yoon Jae-moon, Sohn Byung-ho, Kim Gwang-il, Ma Dong-suk, Lee Chung-ah)
Manchurian homage to Sergio Leone sees unlikely protagonists vie over a treasure map. Full Review Official Site, View Trailer

Here's Johnny (Country: US; Director: Kat Mansoor, A Lavis, W Hood; Cast: John Wagner)
Documentary about comic book artist John Hicklenton. Official Site

L: Change the World (Country: Japan; Director: Hideo Nakata; Writer: Tsugumi Ôba, Takeshi Obata, Kiyomi Fujii, Hirotoshi Kobayashi; Cast: Shunji Fujimura, Mayuko Fukuda, Sei Hiraizumi, Renji Ishibashi, Yuta Kanai, Youki Kudoh, Bokuzo Masana, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Kiyotaka Nanbara, Megumi Sato)
Death Note spin-off sees detective L battle to thwart terrorists.

Left Bank (Linkeroever) (Country: Belgium; Director: Pieter Van Hees; Writer: Christophe Dirickx, Dimitri Karakatsanis, Pieter Van Hees; Cast: Eline Kuppens, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sien Eggers, Marilou Mermans, Frank Vercruyssen, Robbie Cleiren)
Atmospheric horror film in the vein of Rosemary's Baby, with a descent into obsession and madness with the previous occupants of her boyfriend's flat. Full Review Official Site

Martyrs (Country: France, Canada; Director: Pascal Laugier; Writer: Pascal Laugier; Cast: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin)
The Festival programme says: "spine-tingling tale of the twisted revenge taken by a psychologically devastated girl on a family she’s convinced kept her captive for years." Full Review See: FrightFest postmortem, Interview with Pascal Laugier about Martyrs

Mind Game (Country: Japan; Director: Masaaki Yuasa; Writer: Robin Nishi, Robin Nishi, Masaaki Yuasa; Cast: Koji Imada, Sayaka Maeda, Takashi Fujii, Seiko Takuma, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Toshio Sakata, Joji Shimaki, Rintarou Nishi, Kenichi Chujou)
Tricky to work out what this is about but described by Leeds programmers as "what happens when the creative forces of hugely talented anime artists are unleashed inside your head".

Mum And Dad (Mum & Dad) (Country: United Kingdom; Director: Steven Sheil; Writer: Steven Sheil; Cast: Perry Benson, Dido Miles, Olga Fedori, Ainsley Howard, Toby Alexander, Toby Cooper)
Kidnapped by her co-workers, a young airport worker unwillingly becomes part of a grotesque family which survives in working class Britain by murdering strangers for their money - but that's not the half of it. Not for viewers with weak stomachs. Full Review See: Perry Benson interview about Mum & Dad and Somers Town Official Site, View Trailer

My Name Is Bruce (Country: US; Director: Bruce Campbell; Writer: Mark Verheiden; Cast: Bruce Campbell, Adam Boyd, Mike Estes, Janelle Farber, Kieran Henthorn, Dan Hicks, Jeff Hunter, Michael Kallio, Dani Kelly, Duncan Key)
Bruce "The Chin" Campbell returns as helmer and star of this horror comedy. Fans need know nothing more. Full Review

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (Country: Australia; Director: Mark Hartley; Writer: Mark Hartley; Cast: Phillip Adams, Christine Amor, Glory Annen, Victoria Anoux, Ian Barry, Briony Behets, Steve Bisley, Jamie Blanks, Graeme Blundell, Russell Boyd)
Documentary charting a key moment in Aussie cinema. Full Review See: Interview with Mark Hartley about Not Quite Hollywood, Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Pop Skull (Country: USA; Director: Adam Wingard; Writer: E.L. Katz, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard; Cast: Lane Hughes, Brandon Carroll, Maggie Henry, Hannah Hughes, Jeff Dylan Graham, L.C. Holt, E.L. Katz, Jennifer Price, Debbie Stefanov, Adam Wingard)
Step into the disturbed mind of a frazzled drug-addict and his disquieting nightmares.

Sauna (Country: Finland; Director: Antti-Jussi Annila; Writer: Iiro Küttner; Cast: Ville Virtanen, Tommi Eronen, Rain Tolk, Sonja Petäjäjärvi, Kati Outinen, Taisto Reimaluoto, Vilhelmiina Virkkunen, Ismo Kallio, Ivo Kubecka, Maija Nurmio)
Supernatural thriller about two warrior brothers trying to map out a country's new borders and cope with the guilt of battles past.

Sword Of The Stranger (Sutorejia: Mukô hadan) (Country: Japan; Director: Masahiro Andô; Writer: Fumihiko Takayama; Cast: Yûki Chinen, Tomoya Nagase, Akio Ôtsuka, Naoto Takenaka, Kôichi Yamadera)
A youngster meets a samurai haunted by his past and together they take on the bad guys.

Tokyo Gore Police (Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu) (Country: Japan; Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura; Writer: Kengo Kaji, Sayako Nakoshi, Yoshihiro Nishimura; Cast: Itsuji Itao, Camille LaBry, Shôko Nakahara, Sayako Nakoshi, Eihi Shiina)
Body horror sees a cop try to track down the cause of a virus in a futuristic Tokyo that drives the infected to murder.

Welcome To The Quiet Room (Quiet room ni yôkoso) (Country: Japan; Director: Suzuki Matsuo; Writer: Suzuki Matsuo, Suzuki Matsuo; Cast: Yuki Uchida, Kankurô Kudô, Yû Aoi, Ryô, Yûko Nakamura, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Shinobu Ootake, Hideaki Anno, Kami Hiraiwa, Mitsuru Hirata)
Dramedy sees a woman recover from an overdose to find herself in the 'quiet room' of a women's clinic, with no memory of how she got there.

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