SUPERNATURAL– tag –

Words by Carlos Nakajima I got summoned by Andrew and came out to Shinjuku. The other day, I told him there was a prediction that Japan would be destroyed by a massive earthquake. Apparently, that piqued his interest. So, we decided to o...

(Neo, Uncooked Media) Thanks to his friend, Ryo, the sensitive, weepy Akira is merged with a demon in a blood-drenched orgy. Now he transforms into the berserk hero Devilman, created to save humanity. Or was he? Now on Netflix, Devilman ...

(Sight & Sound, BFI) Towards the climax of the Chinese cartoon Big Fish and Begonia, there’s a watery apocalypse. Huge tubular waterfalls break through clouds and hammer down on the green fantasy realm where most of the film takes pl...

(My review of the 1998 Berserk TV series, published in Neo magazine, is below; my reviews of the film versions are underneath.) In a medieval-style world, as brutal as Game of Thrones, the ragtag Band of the Hawk wins acclaim on the batt...

My review of the original 26-part Durarara! series is available on the Neo magazine website, along with my review of the first sequel series, Durarara!! x2 Shou. My Neo review of the second sequel series, Durarara!! x2 Sho, is below. Fol...

(Sight & Sound Magazine, BFI) In recent years, the Japanese animated films which have reached British cinemas have tended to be Studio Ghibli products or films like them, such as The Wolf Children (2013) and Giovanni’s Island (2014)....

(Sight & Sound, BFI) In London, 25-year old Jamie Morgan lives with his mother, Marion. Jamie has birthmarks on his face and body, and feels outcast from society. Hooded gangs commit a spate of murders. Jamie sees the thugs as reptil...

(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) Like law-enforcers who go up against Death Note's killer with a notepad, this Netflix remake is brave but futile. Transposing the franchise from Japan to Seattle, the film tries new twists and takes on t...

(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing - there are also further reflections on the series in an article I wrote for the MangaUK blog.) Oh, you’re awake. Lie there on the ground for a moment, and listen to me. Welcome to the Afterlife Battlefro...

(Neo, Uncooked Media) Ajin is Tokyo Ghoul meets 24. That’s not a subtle analysis, but then this horror-action-thriller isn’t in it for the subtlety. It’s about grabbing the viewer early and propelling you through chases, story rug-pulls,...

(Judge Dredd Megazine, Rebellion) The Cabin in the Woods (out now), produced by Joss Whedon, directed by his former Buffy collaborator Drew Goddard, and written by both of them, has had a favourable reception from reviewers. The film is ...

(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) Song of the Sea was among the contenders for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars this February. It didn’t win, but now we can finally see it, it’s clear why it was nominated. This is a lovely, crafted fi...

(Judge Dredd Megazine, Rebellion) Drag Me to Hell is about director Sam Raimi’s long-awaited return to horror after spending the 2000s web-slinging. But let’s be honest. If Raimi really wanted to return to his true indie horror roots, th...

(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) You’re reading SFX, which means you’re almost certainly not the target audience for Devil’s Due. This fright film is aimed at teenagers – particularly teenage girls - who haven’t seen many horror picture...

(Sight & Sound Magazine, BFI) New England, the present. In the town of Blithe Fell, eleven year-old Norman sees ghosts wherever he goes, while his family and schoolmates think he’s deranged. Norman is pestered by his eccentric uncle ...

(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) If you saw the Frozen trailers and thought, “Meh, a Disney princess film,” then think again. Frozen is flawed but it’s Disney’s boldest cartoon in ages, sometimes more Stephen King than Snow White. Altho...

Clash of the Titans is a throwback to a throwback, not unusual for a fantasy film, but less predictable than the revivals of Star Wars and Indiana Jones for new generations. The first Clash of the Titans opened in summer 1981, on the sam...

(Judge Dredd Megazine, Rebellion) Final Destination 5 opens with a set-piece spectacular around a high road bridge, and anyone with a passing acquaintance with the series won’t need telling what happens. Oh, all right. The bridge falls d...

(Sight & Sound, BFI) Following a hostile response to The Golden Compass (2007), the last big fantasy film, the fleet-footed The Spiderwick Chronicles has enjoyed a much warmer reception in America. The film is produced by the Nickelo...

(Neo, Uncooked Media) 1973 and Mushi Production, the studio that propelled postwar anime with Astro Boy, is bankrupt, collapsing and dying. Its founder Osamu Tezuka has jumped ship. Just before the end, the studio releases a movie… Bella...

(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) The sign on the soundstage door warns, “Wolves on set.” Within, the fairy-tale forest is darkened. This is a night scene, in which scared peasants are trying to lure one of the predators into a trap. A h...

(Judge Dredd Megazine, Rebellion) Let Me In (out now), as readers of this column must surely know, is the English-language remake of the hugely acclaimed Swedish film, Let the Right One In. It’s a lyrical tale about a tender and bloody l...

(Judge Dredd Magazine, Rebellion) So let’s play fantasy Harry Potter. Imagine, if you will, that the seven J.K. Rowling books could each be filmed by a different director with a specialism in fantasy and a rep for quirk. Imagine a dream ...