I'm currently attending the 50th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival, seeing a lot of Asian films, and since this blog is called Asia Shock, I really must say a few words about Ghost Train. The film was directed by Takeshi Furusawa, former assistant director to existential horror auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa. This innovative shocker concerning a haunted subway station in Tokyo and the vortex of evil that lies down one of its connecting tunnels, utilizes a combination of unnerving sound design, memorable facial prosthetics, and a subtle yet definite (for those hip to such things) H.P. Lovecraft influence. The cumulative effect is one of amped-up J-horror that pushes the fright factor to the next level. Released in 2006, Ghost Train is already available on DVD in Asia; since ADV Films is releasing it to the SFIFF, a domestic ADV DVD release should follow soon. Don't miss it!
