Tag: bifan
BiFan 2023 Review: SANA, Takashi Shimizu Returns with J-Pop-Infused J-Horror
Takashi Shimizu, the mastermind behind the Ju-On series (he also directed the first two American remakes) is back in familiar J-horror surroundings with his second film of 2023. Sana, serving as the closing film of this year's Bucheon International Fantastic...
BiFan 2023 Review: DOOR, Magnificent Home Invasion J-Horror Classic Makes an Impression
A nervous housewife gets a frightful visit in Banmei Takahashi's little-seen psycho-sexual J-horror gem Door. With flashes of giallo inspiration and memorable sound design, this marvellously entertaining 1988 production debuted internationally with a new 4K remaster at BiFan this year....
BiFan 2023 Review: HER HOBBY, Women Band Together in Topical Rural Revenge Drama
Two women band together against the patriarchy in the sun-drenched rural revenge drama Her Hobby, the feature debut of director Ha Myung-mi. Taking a big page out of the playbook of cult island revenge drama Bedevilled, though without the graphic...
BiFan 2023 Review: 2035, Korean Reunification Mockumentary Digs to Creepy Depths after Slow Start
The division of the Korean Peninsula has long fuelled the imagination of Korean cineastes and unlocked the purse strings of local viewers. Yet while we tend to remember the more bombastic titles, such as Joint Security Area and Secret Reunion,...
BiFan 2023 Review: ABROAD, Tourists Take in the Inhospitable Sights in Eerie and Engrossing Mystery
A Korean couple travel to Minnesota in search of the Northern Lights, only to come across eerier sights in the taut and engaging mystery Abroad. This debut feature film from Italian-born ad director Giovanni Fumu offers a smoother cultural cocktail...
BiFan Opens Folk Horror-Fuelled 27th Edition with Ari Aster's BEAU IS AFRAID
After weathering the pandemic and its shifting regulations for the past three editions, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) returns to full strength this year with its 27th edition, kicking off on June 29 with the local premiere of...
BiFan 2022 Review: JINJU'S PEARL, Charming but Half-Baked Ode to Local Culture
After bagging a passel of awards at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival two years ago with his rich and lively debut Festival (full disclosure, I was on that jury), director Kim Lokkyoung returns to BiFan with his sophomore work,...
BiFan 2022 Review: MIND UNIVERSE, SF Indie Explores Ideas of Grief and Memory
Given the increasingly democratic access to film technology and the explosion of box office, ratings and streaming success for genre stories in the Korean market, it's no surprise that a growing number of local filmmakers have embraced science fiction, a...
BiFan 2022 Review: A GOOD BOY, Layered Korean Indie Explores a Teacher's Worst Nightmare
Teachers often go beyond their remit to educate, especially if they notice something wrong with the children they've been charged with. In Son Kyoungwon's debut film A Good Boy, a well-meaning teacher learns just how dangerous it can be to...
BiFan 2022 Review: THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA, Singular Debut Promises Great Things to Come
Without a doubt the most unique Korean film presented at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (or indeed anywhere) this year, The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra is the debut feature of Park Syeyoung, a 26-year-old filmmaker with an arresting and inimitable...
WHISPERING CORRIDORS 6 to Open 24th BiFan
2020 has been a long, strange and difficult year but for genre film afficionados in Korea, at least the high point of their calendar will be returning this summer as the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) has just announced...
BiFan 2019 Review: THE 12TH SUSPECT, Stagey Mystery Explores Oppressive History
This year's BiFan came to a close with a trip back to the Japanese Occupation Era in the whodunnit The 12th Suspect. Kim Sang-kyung leads a cast filled with indie cinema stalwarts in a tense single location murder mystery that...
BiFan 2019 Review: FILM ADVENTURE, Well-Performed Drama Less Exciting Than Its Title Suggests
The accomplished young actor Cho Hyun-chul returns to screens as a neurotic actor who embarks on a pensive journey peppered by unusual encounters after a row with his girlfriend in Film Adventure, the second feature film by Lee Sang-deok, following...
BiFan 2019: 10 Films to get Excited for at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Our annual pilgrimage to the soju-soaked suburbs of South Korea is just days away, with the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival getting underway this Thursday. The event promisies 11 days of the finest indie genre offerings from around the...
BiFan 2019: THE GASOLINE THIEVES to Open Jam-Packed, SciFi-Themed 23rd Edition
We're now just four weeks away from the crown jewel on the calendar for genre film fans in Asia, as the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) has just unveiled the program for its 23rd edition. The main theme will...
BiFan 2018: NAFF Awards Claimed by WORM and SOUL SEARCHING
Taking place just a few blocks away from the theaters screening the world's genre cinema delights in Bucheon, the Network of Asian Fantastic Film (NAFF) returned for its 11th edition to promote the global genre hits of tomorrow. In all,...
BiFan 2018: REVENGE & LAND OF HAPPINESS Claim Top Prizes
After ten days of hot days, long summer nights and endless genre treats in Bucheon, this year's BiFan finally drew to a close in late July. Earning this year's top award was Coralie Fargeat's acclaimed horror-thriller Revenge. Meanwhile Jung Min-kyu's...
BiFan 2018: ScreenAnarchy Offers Its Picks for This Year's Jam-Packed Bucheon!
We're now just 48 hours away from the opening of this year's 22nd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), and while the ScreenAnarchy team is busy packing their printed tees, brollies and aspirin, we've also found a little time to...
BiFan Promises Thrills and Chills in Stuffed 22nd Lineup
Pollution particles and yellow dust have been replaced by summer humidity hanging in the air, which can only mean one thing - BiFan is just around the corner! On a hot Thursday afternoon in early June in Central Seoul, the...
BiFan 2017 Review: MON MON MON MONSTERS, Giddens Ko's Brutal, Stylish High School Horror-Comedy
Taiwanese filmmaker Giddens Ko returns to high school for his follow up to the massively entertaining and successful You Are the Apple of My Eye, but things take a much darker turn in Mon Mon Mon Monsters, a mile-a-minute horror-comedy...
