“Claypot Curry Killers” (2011) – Malaysian Cannibal Horror

Well… the weather here has turned silly and unseasonably cold again, and on this wee lady’s day off, your Favorite Catgirl Princess finds herself completely unwilling to venture forth on a miserably cloudy, damp, and chilly afternoon to do much of anything. 😦 But… upside is… that means I’m trapped here in the apartment all by my lonesome and can’t think of a decent reason not to finally get back to the business of giving you all another long overdue Review of yet another trashy foreign horror goodie that finally made it’s way to our DVD player a night or two back. So… lucky you.. it’s time for Neko to share her impressions of Malay director James Lee’s 2011 horror film “Claypot Curry Killers”. 😉

Our synopsis? Well here goes… “Following the grisly murder of her mean-spirited husband, a single mother and her three daughters find a way not only to dispense justice against all abusive men but also to make a good recipe for their restaurant’s famous claypot curry dishes. The best thing to do to an enemy, cut them up and eat them up.”

Cannibals, murder, female empowerment… and spicy, yummy curry? Oh heck, yes…. this one definitely sounds like a certain goofy Catgirl’s idea of movie fun. So what the heck are we waitin’ for? Let get to it, shall we?

“Kelibat” (2014) – Malay Ghost/ Horror

Time to get back to some reviews! So how about a look at another of the Malay horror goodies from my last big DVD spree in Malaysia? “Kelibat”, another creepy exercise in ghostly haunting terror.

The synopsis goes like this: “The story follows failed businessman Kamal and his wife Kalin, and three children, Azhari, Azalis and Azmeera, who move into a new house out in the rural backcountry one step ahead of vicious loan sharks seeking repayment of their money. Unfortunently for them, the house is haunted by a mysterious supernatural figure known as Kelibat. Kelibat did not just haunt the family physically but also emotionally and spiritually.”

So what the heck is a Kelibat anyways? Darned if this wee lil’ Catgirl knows but the Trailer makes it look pretty darn scary.But I’ve been teased before… and the last couple of Malay offerings I’ve seen have been somewhat tepid at best… Will I get any luck this time around? Only one way to find out… 😉

“Nasi Tangas” aka “Nasi Kangkang” (2014) – Malay Witchcraft/ Horror

My mailbox got a visit from the FedEx guy with another big ol’ package of goodies from Malaysia just the other day and naturally lil’ ol’ me couldn’t wait to give a watch to one of them on Movie Nite with my sweetie last evening. With a well-earned day off today, that means I’m free to tell you all about the creepy Witchcraft story that is “Nasi Tangas”. 😉

Our synopsis goes like this: “Hairi and Fatin are close childhood friends who co-own a small food stand together. Mira, who is also Fatin’s best friend, admits that she likes Hairi. Fatin helps them to unite and get married. As time passes, Mira becomes jealous of Hairi’s close friendship with pretty Fatin. Mira’s wicked mother persuades Mira to use the witchcraft of “nasi kangkang” in order to compel and enslave Hairi to obey her as she has with Mira’s father. To achieve her intention, Mira is even willing to sleep with the evil shaman who instructs her in the forbidden spells.”

Now from what the Trailer showed… and a little research I did… I soon discovered the idea behind this one is a pretty gross bit of Malay folklore in which some sort of love spell can be cast by tricking a guy into eating… errr… ahhh… umm… a rice dish made out of vaginal secretions, menstrual blood, and feces. Eeeeewwww!! Yep, I kid you not. Somehow I just know this one’s gonna be nasty. Still wanna hear all the icky evil details? Then… if you’ve a strong stomach and a liking for odd Asian horror… just “Read On” o’ Gentle Visitor and let this wee Catgirl tell you all about it.

“Hungry Ghost Ritual” (2014) – HK/ Malaysian Ghost/ Horror

Brrrrr!!! The wind is certainly blowing the snow fiercely around my windows with some serious fury as I prepare for another “Shared Review” with our blogging friend Stephen over at his blog, Gweilo Ramblings. “Winter… why, o’ why do you seem to hate this wee lady so?” 😉

Anyways… This time out we’re going to be taking a peek at the recent Hong Kong/ Malay production, 2014’s “Hungry Ghost Ritual” directed by and starring Nick Cheung. As always, it’s a pleasure to welcome Stephen here to visit me at the Litterbox to share his opinions on the films we both love so well. 🙂

As always Miyuki, the pleasure is mine. As I know you love Ghost stories so much, I was hoping this one might be just up your street.

Ooooh! Ghost story? Yep, I’m soooo there! 😉 So what’s the score with this one then? Well how’s this for our synopsis: “Prodigal son Zong Hua, the long absent son of a modestly successful opera troupe leader, returns to his family after more than a decade in China on the eve of their Hungry Ghost Festival performance. His personal and professional life in tatters, Zong tries desperately to fit back into a life he’s never really been a part of. No sooner has Zong arrived, however, when a series of bizarre, supernatural occurrences start to take place. Zong’s younger sister Jing Jing starts acting up, and all the stress and pressures begin to wear on Zong’s father bringing on a heart attack. With the inexperienced Zong now in placed in charge, the rest of the troupe turn against him and are quick to blame his lack of understanding for their rituals and traditions for their problems. Problems which soon escalate into creepy and unexplainable horror for them all…”

Ahhhh… now that all sounds sort of familiar, doesn’t it? Looks like we’re in for a pretty much by-the-numbers exercise in Chinese horror, but hey… sometimes one of these films goes in surprising directions, so with my fingers crossed… and the popcorn popped… let’s settle down and give it a watch, shall we Stephen?

Indeed we shall. I’ll cross my fingers too, even if it makes this Super-Size Cola hard to hold. 🙂

“Paku: Bila Cinta Menjadi Seram” (2013) – Malay Vampire Horror/ Romance

Time for another trip to Malaysia for this wee Catgirl as we take a peek this time out at yet another Malay vampire horror offering, “Paku: Bila Cinta Menjadi Seram”. In this one we get tragically doomed romance… shamanism and black magic… and a much more scary look at their local vampire, the Pontianak than our last few Malay films have given us. Always a good thing in this lady’s book… 😉

The synopsis goes like this: “Loving young couple, Fahmi and Raina seem to have it all. A tender romantic life together and a cute daughter they both love. Tragically, disaster strikes while Raina is pregnant with their second child and she gets crushed to death inside their car during the disastrous collapse of their apartment building one fateful day. Unable to live without her, Fahmi does the most desperate thing he could think of, to try and bring her back to life with the help of a shaman in violation of all the laws of Allah that they might be together. But… Raina is not a human anymore… now she is a blood hungry Pontianak… and only Evil can come from her continued existence in the Mortal world.”

Yep. Definitely sounds like my kind of movie. Think it might also be yours, Gentle Visitor? Wanna know more about the creepy goings-on? Then, by goodness, you know what comes next… 😉

“Ular” (2013) – Malay Snake Horror

So…. how about a Malay horror film about big killer snakes? Yep.. that’s what your favorite Catgirl’s got for you this time out o’ Gentle Visitors, and to be specific we’re taking a quick peek at “Ular”, the recently released island snake survival/horror effort by director Jason Chong and produced by Showbiz Productions Sdn. Bhd. The word “ular” itself is apparently translated from Malay simply as “snake” and a quick look at the Trailer had this wee lady thinking it’s come sort of a local low budget horror cross between “Anaconda” and “Snakes On A Plane”. But with a whole lot less swearing by Samuel L. Jackson… 😉 Hmmmm? “Snakes on an Island” maybe?

Our synopsis? Try this on for style: “Myra, a top crime reporter is sent to do a review of a vacation resort on an island along with a lucky group of sweepstake winners after being suspended from work, and is horrified by what she learns. The island is inhabited by a horde of giant snakes, kept out of the resort only by an electric fence. When the power is down during a heavy storm, the giant snakes are let loose, and the island’s inhabitants have to band together to survive the night.”

Well, this wee lady is certainly game for a movie with oodles of hungry killer snakes, so it wasn’t really all that hard a sell… especially at the crazy low price Malay DVD’s are known for. Wonder if you too might want an evening of deadly snake horror goodness? Then by now, you know the drill… 😉

“Penanggal” (2013) – Malay Vampire Horror

Time for another trip o’ Gentle Visitors to explore the weird and wonderful horror cinema of Asia with your Favorite Movie Watching Catgirl… this time out with a “Nekolishous”  look at the recently released Malay horror effort, “Penanggal”. No hopping vampires… no “ghost in a sack” pocongs… no long haired hantu… not even tree demon kuntilanaks…. this time we get perhaps the freakiest and scariest Asian folklore critter of them all, the flying vampire head called the penanggalan!! Yep. If you’ve been watching Asian horror films as long as this wee lady then you certainly know all about this critter…

Our synopsis? Well try this on: “In 1930s rural Malaysia, tragically deformed young Murni unknowingly inherits evil ghostly powers from her grandmother, Mak Ajeng, which terrifies the village folk in Kampung Jawa, forcing her to flee. Abused by the villagers for her unwanted powers, Murni is saved by the intersession of righteous stranger Syed Yusof. Smitten with him, she is unable to avoid drawing him into becoming hopelessly entangled in her doomed life as a creature of the night.”

Oh heck, yes…. Definitely no darn way a certain goofy kitten is gonna pass this one up. No way… no how. You, however, can benefit from my impulsive desire to risk a couple of dollars on a whim by just reading along to see if this particular monster movie flies or flops before you plunk down your hard earned money for a copy….  C’mon, silly… you know you wanna… 😉

“KL Zombi” (2013) – Malay Zombie Horror/ Comedy

Yep… November has continued to chug along at it’s busy, busy pace keeping me occupied with responsibilities but… every once in a while… I still do manage to shake all of those things and indulge in some brain rotting movie fun to share with you all. This time out, I’ve an odd little bit of zombie apocalypse fun… Malay style. “KL Zombi”, an honest to goodness Malaysian Zombie film. 🙂

Our synopsis… well here it goes… “KL Zombie is a story of five friends who each have their own dreams and hopes of a better life in the big city. But those lofty ambitions come to a screeching halt when a deadly virus outbreak turns its inhabitants into zombies. Oblivious and bumbling pizza delivery boy/hero Nipis has to put his life on the line in order to save himself and his friends from being infected by the virus.”

I’ve had this disc for a few weeks now, but it’s taken a bit for me to get around to being able to give it a proper watch. Thankfully, with Thanksgiving a few days away, Carolyn and I finally found the time for a proper “Movie Nite” snuggle on Sunday…. and some brain eating zombies (Just gotta have those…. 😉 ). So just how was the resulting evening entertainment wise? Guess all you curious Gentle Visitors will have to “Read On” to find out… 🙂

“Sembunyi: Amukan Azazil” (2013) – Malay Horror

Time for this wee movie lovin’ Catgirl to put all my crazy personal drama behind me and get back to what I do best. Watch goofy horror movies from all those odd foreign places practically nobody has ever heard about here in the good ol’ US of A. Ohhh… and of course, tell all of you Gentle Visitors to my personal lil’ Litterbox all about them… 😉 This time out we take a look see at the recent Malay horror effort “Sembunyi: Amukan Azazil”.

Here’s the quick synopsis: “Aishah (Diana Danielle) is a young woman living during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, who, after being knocked unconscious while escaping from the clutches of the Japanese Army, wakes up in a quiet, sleepy village, seemingly untouched by the war. The villagers give her shelter and she begins a new life there. But soon it becomes clear that the village hides other secrets as well. Aishah is haunted by the presence of a young deformed girl whom no one else can see and she discovers that an unknown evil lurks in the surrounding woods nearby the village, an ancient creature that makes the villagers its prey, a demon known only as Azazil. The villagers keep an uneasy peace with the demon through offerings but the moment Aishah enters the village, the attacks inexplicably begin again.”

Hmmmm… period setting… naughty Japanese invaders… a “Brigadoon” kind of secret village… and a man eating Demon!! Looks like the sort of goofy fun this Catgirl Princess can get behind. Sound like another odd lil’ film you wanna hear about? Why that happens to be just what this wee Catgirl’s all about… lucky for you!! So all you gotta do is just “Read On” to find out if it’s just gotta be a “must see” on your list as well… 😉

“Alamak… Toyol!” (2011) Malay Ghost/ Comedy

Our latest Review brings us back to Malaysia for a look at 2011’s ghost/ comedy “Alamak… Toyol!”. Do you like your movies to be a weird fusion that becomes like an Asian version of “Abbot & Costello Meet the Ghost Kid”? How about with a wee bit of “Beavis & Butthead” thrown in for extra flavor and big ol’ dollop of potty humor to season things? No? Then you are certainly smarter than your average goofy movie lovin’ Catgirl Princess…. 😉

Synopsis? Hmmmm? I guess we could use one… “Pak Umar needed a way to get rich quick, so he bought an imp (toyol) from a witch doctor. However, he didn’t have much money, so he chose the cheapest one. One day, Fakhrul and Kudin, two best friends who just so happen to be thieves, decide to rob Pak Umar. Having no money, he hands them the imp. Unfortunately for the two friends, the imp isn’t any good at stealing, so they decide to seek out Pak Umar to force him to take it back. However, after some desperate pleading from the creature, they allow the imp to have another go. Little do they know that the imp would try to steal from Farah – a sexy girl who is having trouble with her boss, a drug trafficker named Daniel. Fakhrul and Kudin end up having to save pretty Farah, while at the same time trying to trace Pak Umar and unload their worthless supernatural “thief”.”

Ummmm? Ok… now wait a minute…. that actually sounds pretty good. Malaysia scored a big hit with this wee Catgirl the last time they tried that tricky mix of scares and laughs (and a wee bit of sweet romance….) in “Tolong! Awek Aku Pontianak!” so they already had me interested. And that goofy poster!! How could I not take a chance? Honestly… how could I miss this one… I’d always want to find out if it was as fun as it looked. Finding a new Malay DVD source gave me the perfect excuse to find out.

Wanna know how it all went? Then you know what you have to do, right? 😉