The Genius of the Japanese

I'm one of those people that nurtures obsessions. From a really early age I realized that when something captivated me, it was all over - it would become the focus of my existence. It happened when I discovered The Beatles in fourth grade, and listened to 'With The Beatles' over and over again on my yellow Walkman. It happened again after the onset of puberty, when I realized that boys were exceptionally cuter when they had British accents. I became obsessed with everything British - I was the most hardcore anglophile Montreal had ever seen.

My latest longstanding obsession is Japan. It started in college once my status as an anglophile had receded, and I was working at the Fine Arts Library at UofM. I discovered all these books about traditional Japanese tattooing, and Samurai armor and I was hooked. Then came the kicker: Japanese horror movies! I'm thoroughly convinced that the East produces the best horror films in the world. And obviously I'm not the only once since almost every popular Asian horror film of the past few years has been redone in the U.S. (The Ring, The Grudge, One Missed Call, The Eye). Of course the originals always blow the remakes out of the water (sorry Naomi Watts! Love you.)

Next up from Japan is the ridiculously kitschy RoboGeisha. Yes, the film is exactly what you would expect: robotic Geishas with all kinds of killer appendages. Gorey, shocking, and seriously funny.