Kung Fu Fridays in October 2012

I've long wanted to tap into this particular theme, so October will be Halloween Month, a collection of monster movies from across the whole of Asia (well, three of the major countries, at least). So if you're in my corner of Acadia and like to read subtitles while crazy action is going on onscreen, here's what I'm showing:

Destroy All Monsters - Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Rodan, even Anguirus are in this daikaiju-studded spectacular, and more besides. What better way to start Halloween month than this tribute to rubber suits and wrestling moves? Plus, I've been wanting to feature Mothra on a poster for years.

A Chinese Ghost Story - The 1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Wu Ma, not the 2011 remake, this film spawned a number of sequels, a tv show, an animated film, and a trend in the Hong Kong cinema of the time. The original Chinese title translates as the far less generic, but I suppose less marketable "The Ethereal Spirit of a Beauty".

Mr. Vampire - Another start to a hugely popular franchise, Ricky Lau's comedy horror hit would spawn 3 sequels and a host of Chinese vampire film, television and even theatrical projects. Look for this movie's trailer online to see just why we're excited about Chinese vampires.

Sector 7 - Last year's Korean 3D hit (in glorious 2D, of course), I expect this to be a bog-standard, generic monster flick, so bring some munchies and get ready to hoot at the screen. There's a reason I do this with a group of people, y'know.

As usual, readers well outside my area can look forward to capsule reviews of each film on the succeeding Sunday. But tonight, Johnnie To's Sparrow!