Godzilla, J-Horror, Kurosawa, Oshima and More! Source: Diabolique Magazine Special Thanks to Kieran Fisher
Following a brief hiatus, the Rondo-award winning Diabolique Magazine is back in print with an entire issue dedicated to celebrating Japanese and Korean cult cinema at its most sublime, otherworldly, erotic and visceral. The cover story explores the darker elements of Japanese folklore; tracking the evolution of the ghost story from genre defining classics ONIBABA, KWAIDAN, and KURONEKO, right through to the J-horror boom of the nineties in RINGU and JU-ON: THE GRUDGE; before joining J-horror pioneer Hideo Nakata to discuss his career in genre film. This is followed with features on the blood soaked tradition of Japanese theater in relation to the work of Akira Kurosawa and Jacobean revenge, the shocking horrors of Korean war portrayed in genre film and a tribute to the work of the late great David Bowie. Add to that some sizzling sensuality and lesbian love, as Diabolique unwraps Chan-wook Park’s provocative THE HANDMAIDEN, and last, but certainly not least, a homage to the mythical beast Godzilla. The publisher promises this is one of their boldest and most potent issues yet! Inside this issue: Curse, Death and Spirits: Supernatural Folklore in the Japanese Ghost Film Kat Ellinger tracks the evolution of the Japanese Ghost Story in cinema, from classic to contemporary and unravels its folklore origins. As a continuation on the themes in Curse, Death and Spirits the feature concludes with a talk with legendary J-horror pioneer: Hideo Nakata. Hours Dreadful and Things Strange: Macbeth, Japanese Theater, and Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood Samm Deighan examines the influence of traditional Japanese theater on Akira Kurosawa’s eerie, horror-tinged 1957 Shakespeare adaptation, THRONE OF BLOOD. The Masculinized Zone: The relationship between masculinity and psychological, physical, and political traumatism within the horrors of Korean war cinema Rebecca Booth explores the representation of masculinity within Korean war cinema from the 1950s onwards, analyzing the visceral and emotional immediacy of the horrors onscreen in relation to the tensions between gender and national identity, societal roles, and the political landscape. Forbidden Colours: When British Art Rock Met Japanese Art House East meets West in the form of the cinematic/sonic dream team of Nagisa Oshima, David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian in Heather Drain’s article-expedition. Korean Gothic: Refractions of national and sexual identity in The Handmaiden Joseph Dwyer investigates aspects of sadomasochism and Gothic feminism in Park Chan-wook’s THE HANDMAIDEN, and the film’s place in an international tradition of erotic art cinema. Nature, Nuclear and National Guilt Kieran Fisher examines the complex mythology behind Japan’s biggest monster: Godzilla. Print and digital copies of Diabolique Magazine #26 (Mar/Jun 2017) can be pre-ordered now at diaboliquemagazine.com for only $9.98.
