Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Leeds >> 2008 >> Fanomenon
Horror, science fiction, Far Eastern anime and fantasy, and cult unclassifiables. Films in this section will compete for the Silver Melies Award. There will also be two horror marathons - Day Of The Dead and Night Of The Dead, plus a mystery movie, cunningly referred to as Surprise Of The Dead.
View other Leeds International Film Festival Films by strand: Cinema Versa, KiNETIKA!, Official Selection, Rosa von Pronheim
Deadgirl and Martyrs
20th Century Man (20-seiki shônen)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi; Writer: Yasushi Fukuda, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa, Yûsuke Watanabe, Naoki Urasawa; Stars: 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; Year: 2006; Director: Shinya Tsukamoto; Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: JT Petty; Writer: JT Petty; Stars: Doug Hutchison, Clancy Brown, William Mapother, Sean Patrick Thomas, Karl Geary, Jocelin Donahue, Laura Leighton, Stan Burd, David Busse, Trip Davis)
When a town's prime lass is kidnapped in the Old West, a posse get together to bring her back. Easier said than done when the kidnappers are underground monsters.
Dachimawa Lee
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Ryoo Seung-wan; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: Gregg Bishop; Writer: Joe Ballarini; Stars: 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.
Left Bank and The Burrowers
Deadgirl (Dead Girl)
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel; Writer: Trent Haaga; Stars: 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.
Detroit Metal City
(Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Toshio Lee; Writer: Kiminori Wakasugi, Mika Omori; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: Johnny Kevorkian; Writer: Johnny Kevorkian, Neil Murphy; Stars: Harry Treadaway, Greg Wise, Alex Jennings, Finlay Robertson, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ros Leeming, Bronson Webb, Georgia Groome, Lewis Lemperuer Palmer, Jefferson Hall, Tyler Anthony), Official Site, Trailer
A youth released from a mental hospital tries to get back to normal but is haunted by the voice of his younger brother, who disappeared.
Fantastic Parasuicides (Fantastic Ja-sal-so-dong)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2007; Director: Chang-ho Cho, Sung-ho Kim, Soo-young Park; Writer: Chang-ho Cho, Sung-ho Kim, Soo-young Park; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: John Bergin; Stars: Corryn Cummins)
Animation tells the story of a pregnant woman struggling across an apocalyptic landscape on a train with other survivors.
The Disappeared and Mum And Dad
Gachi Boy - Wrestling With A Memory (Gachi bôi)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Norihiro Koizumi; Writer: Ryuta Hourai, Seishi Nishida; Stars: 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; Year: 2007; 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; Year: 2008; Director: Kim Ji-Woon; Writer: Kim Ji-Woon, Kim Min-Suk; Stars: 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), Official Site, Trailer
Manchurian homage to Sergio Leone sees unlikely protagonists vie over a treasure map.
Here's Johnny
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Kat Mansoor, A Lavis, W Hood; Stars: John Wagner), Official Site
Documentary about comic book artist John Hicklenton.
Left Bank (Linkeroever)
(Country: Belgium; Year: 2008; Director: Pieter Van Hees; Writer: Christophe Dirickx, Dimitri Karakatsanis, Pieter Van Hees; Stars: Eline Kuppens, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sien Eggers, Marilou Mermans, Frank Vercruyssen, Robbie Cleiren), Official Site
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.
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! and The Good, The Bad, The Weird
L: Change the World
(Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Hideo Nakata; Writer: Tsugumi Ôba, Takeshi Obata, Kiyomi Fujii, Hirotoshi Kobayashi; Stars: 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.
Mind Game
(Country: Japan; Year: 2004; Director: Masaaki Yuasa; Writer: Robin Nishi, Robin Nishi, Masaaki Yuasa; Stars: 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".
Martyrs
(Country: France, Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Pascal Laugier; Writer: Pascal Laugier; Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin)
After being abducted and abused when she was younger, a young girl seeks revenge on those she believes to be responsible. Plus read our interview with Pascal Laugier.
Mum And Dad (Mum & Dad)
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Steven Sheil; Writer: Steven Sheil; Stars: Perry Benson, Dido Miles, Olga Fedori, Ainsley Howard, Toby Alexander, Toby Cooper), Official Site, Trailer
Brit horror, sees an airport worker face the perils of a close-knit family. In cinemas and on DVD this Boxing Day. Plus read our exclusive interview with Perry Benson.
My Name Is Bruce
(Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Bruce Campbell; Writer: Mark Verheiden; Stars: Bruce Campbell, Adam Boyd, Mike Estes, Janelle Farber, Kieran Henthorn, Dan Hicks, Jeff Hunter, Michael Kallio, Dani Kelly, Duncan Key)
Washed-up actor Bruce Campbell is forced to save the town of Gold Lick from ghost Guan-Di.
My Name Is Bruce and Here's Johnny
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!
(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Mark Hartley; Writer: Mark Hartley; Stars: 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.
Pop Skull
(Country: USA; Year: 2007; Director: Adam Wingard; Writer: E.L. Katz, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: Antti-Jussi Annila; Writer: Iiro Küttner; Stars: 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; Year: 2007; Director: Masahiro Andô; Writer: Fumihiko Takayama; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura; Writer: Kengo Kaji, Sayako Nakoshi, Yoshihiro Nishimura; Stars: 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; Year: 2007; Director: Suzuki Matsuo; Writer: Suzuki Matsuo, Suzuki Matsuo; Stars: 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.
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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