Customer Reviews

Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand

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One of the most vital and exciting developments in the last decade has been the trans-national dissemination of horror films from the east. Often made with one eye firmly on the international market, these films travel very well, without totally foregoing their own cultural specificity. Hideo Nakata's "Ring" has become the totemic film from which all other J-horror has been inspired and although I think western audiences have finally tired of the creepy kids and the long haired ghosts, these films remain persistently innovative and challenging. Galloway's very readable and entertaining book brings together a number of films from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, that could be loosely categorised as Extreme Asia. It must be noted that Galloway's book is an entirely subjective summary of films which have left an impression on him. It is in no means academic, which lends itself to a wider audience. Therefore Asia Shock is more a device to generate debate and to encourage those with more explorative tastes to seek out material from more exotic climes. In this respect the book succeeds totally. I particularly liked the book because of the number of South Korean films include; films such as "Oldboy," Tale of Two Sisters," and "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" are nothing short of masterpieces and deserve too be recognised by a wide audience. This is Mr. Galloway's quest with Asia Shock and I for one certainly hope he succeeds.

I recently purchased this book and was really looking forward to it. I have to say, however, that I was pretty disappointed. I thought I'd share some thoughts with potential buyers so they'll know what to expect, and what not to expect if they're considering a purchase.

I'll start with the good: Mr. Galloway is clearly educated on the subject of Asian horror films and very enthusiastic about the subject. Moreover, he writes in a casual, engaging style that makes for a pleasant read -- I finished the book in a couple of hours. Additionally, in my opinion, he has great taste within the genre...I'd seen a lot of the films he discusses and there weren't any that I found myself disagreeing with him on.

On to the bad. First, be aware that this is _only_ a book of reviews. If like me, you were hoping to find some attempt to contextualize these films, either through discussions of directors, studios, or a history of the genre in Asian film, you won't find it here. Apart from a brief introductory chapter, this is just reviews front to back. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if that's what you're looking for, but personally I think there are plenty of review sites and blogs all over the internet. When I buy a book like this I'm generally looking for a little more depth, and this is as shallow as they come.

As for the reviews themselves, as another reviewer noted, Mr. Galloway explains the plot in inordinate detail for each and every movie -- far more than is necessary for a book with the stated purpose of recommending movies, a book that does not attempt to provide any critical analysis. (I'm not suggesting that he should necessarily have offered critical analysis, but if he's not going to then there is absolutely no reason to detail the plot of each movie.)

Finally, the author makes comments throughout to suggest why he thinks Asian horror films are superior to American horror films, generally giving cultural explanations that are, frankly, asinine. I teach Japanese politics and culture at the University level and I broke into laughter multiple times while reading this book at the broad sweeping generalizations he made about Japanese and American cultures.

So, in conclusion, if you're looking to buy a book that will recommend a number of great films, and don't mind skipping large chunks of it to avoid spoilers, than this book may be worth your time and money. If you want anything more, look elsewhere.

I picked up this book because I already have the same author's book on Samurai movies. It's clear that Patrick Galloway has a deep and discerning love for this material -- the world of Asian cinema is rich and rewarding, but if you're not too familiar with it it can seem too daunting to explore. That's where this book comes in: it not only looks at specific films and genres, but it puts everything into the larger context, so you can really learn about the deeper aspects of what is going on in a particular film. Whether you are new to Asian film, or a long-time aficionado of these particular horror films, there's a lot to learn, and this book is a fun and comprehensive way to really dig deeper.

As an aspiring writer who was extremely impressed by the author's tone and style, as well as a fan of many of the films reviewed in Asia Shock, I am rather bemused by comments made by Vegan Viking from San Francisco. She writes: "Galloway mentions how Western audiences might not find cannibalism in Hong Kong such a stretch to imagine ... he shrugs it off by rationalizing along the lines of 'the Chinese eat a lot of weird food anyways,' implying that because the Chinese occasionally enjoy snake soup, it's only logical that they would break the universally held taboo against eating human flesh. I found this magnificently ignorant." These comments are just plain wrong. The movie in question is Three Extremes, a fictionalized account of real-life events in mainland China, and nowhere in his review does he say "Western audiences might not find cannibalism in Hong Kong such a stretch to imagine." Rather, Galloway discusses Chinese medicine's reliance on the body parts of some endangered species, then writes (pg. 69): "Such regrettable disregard for life has led many in the West to make the misguided leap of logic that Chinese people must not mind eating their own as well, whereas in reality, cannibalism is no doubt as abhorrent to Chinese people as any other group." Where Vegan Viking got the impression that Galloway was saying the exact opposite is beyond me!

Luckily most readers who love these movies and are interested in learning more will get so much from Asia Shock that I can't recommend it enough.

Written by multinational traveler and lifelong student of Asian film culture and philosophy Patrick Galloway, Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand is a movie buff's guide to the horror and shock cinema of the far east. Asia Shock is not a comprehensive encyclopedia of all films in the genre, but rather a "reviewer's choice" of top shocking picks, some with in-depth reviews and some with capsule reviews, nearly all with extensive notes on unique cultural paradigms, viewing tips, and genre considerations. Focusing on over 50 critical and fan-favorite gory, chilling, and startling Asian horror movies, Asia Shock is the connoisseur's definitive guide to the classics of this pop-culture genre.

I just got a copy of Asia Shock and couldn't put it down. This book is truly an amazing companion to what I would call "midnight" Asian cinema. I highly recommend this book to diehard fans of extreme Asian action/horror movies or even if you just have a passing interest in the genre or Asian cinema in general. Mr. Galloway doesn't just write about Asian horror and dark cinema, but he actually guides you through it like a very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. His writing style also makes reading this book a lot of fun as it is clear that he is writing about these films from the perspective of a "fan" and not some overbearing self-proclaimed film authority or academic. I also appreciated his explanation of the cross-cultural differences between East and West as it made me stop thinking about things from a western perspective. Asia Shock opens portals to new and exciting film titles and directors from Japan, Korea, China and Thailand and as a result of reading this book, my DVD wish list just got a whole lot bigger!!

I see that Mr. Galloway has also written a book about Japanese samurai movies and I am a big fan of this genre. I think I'll also give this book a try.

Overall, as someone who enjoys "dark cinema" from Asia, I found this book very enjoyable, not only to learn about new titles that I may enjoy, but also to explore another person's perspective on films that I have already seen. Galloway definitely displays a genuine passion for the subject matter, as well as a profound knowledge of many aspects of Asian art and cinema. In addition to sitting back and enjoying the movies, he has clearly done a good deal of research on them.

However, I do take issue with the way in which some of the narrative veers towards the festishistic 'exotification' of Asia. Female cinemaphiles in particular will probably be put off by Galloway's repeated transformation into a dirty old Wan Chai cheek-toucher, unprofessionally slavering over the assets of various Asian actresses rather than over their performances.

I was also disappointed by an entry describing a Hong Kong cannibalism flick: Galloway mentions how Western audiences might not find cannibalism in Hong Kong such a stretch to imagine. However, rather than attributing such attitudes to racism and xenophobia, he shrugs it off by rationalizing along the lines of 'the Chinese eat a lot of weird food anyways,' implying that because the Chinese occasionally enjoy snake soup, it's only logical that they would break the universally held taboo against eating human flesh. I found this magnificently ignorant.

If you are a person who hates even the slightest hint of a spoiler, then this book is definitely not for you. Understandably, it's very difficult to write a movie review without revealing some of the plot, and Galloway is often put in the difficult position of writing about a movie that simply cannot be described or explored without tearing the gift wrapping of the film just a little bit. Ultimately, this book is best as a companion piece, and readers may wish to do as I did and skip the entries for the films they haven't yet seen, while revisiting and gaining new perspective on films they have already enjoyed.

I purchased the book because of the reviews and because there aren't that many books on J-Horror. A few things I didn't like- while the movie reviews are well written and quite obvious that the author has watched them- there is way too much detail, i.e. spoilers in the reviews. If you have not watched the movie yet, you won't need to as the author gives you pseudo spoilers in key areas of the movie. It's the equivalent of reading a Cliff's Notes version of the movie.

With the whole point of J-Horror focusing on mood, knowing what will happen ruins the tension and build up of the movie. I only read the reviews on movies in the book i had already seen and skipped the ones i plan on watching.

The other problem is the types of movies selected. Some are good, some are ok and some are just plain mediocre. For example , Takashi Miike's, "Visitor Q" was chosen for review (The author only picked movies he felt deserved recognition as a movie to watch), and while I am a fan of Miike, he goes from hot to cold and "Q" is definitely not one of his best, in my opinion (actually it was horrible). Plus a few of the movies are selected from the 70's and early 80's and definitely not in the same vein as what i expect in current J-horror.

Taste is subjective, so for better ideas skip the book, subscribe to Netflix and read the reviews/ratings and compare them against reviews/ratings at Rottentomatoes (RT tends to have more accurate ratings than Netflix user ratings).