Tag: Asian Horror

Just What A Useful Ghost Offers Is Not Seduction, But Suction

A Useful Ghost turns grief, spirituality, and social satire into one of the most offbeat supernatural films in recent memory. Blending heartfelt loss with possessed appliances and sharp cultural commentary, this Ghost Month standout is equal parts absurd and affecting.

A Useful Ghost Movie Poster
Playing at the Victoria Film Festival Feb 14th, 2026 at The Roxy (2657 Quadra St.) at 2pm. Buy tickets here.

Filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke has crafted a supernatural film that doesn’t just tug at the heartstrings, it suggests grief doesn’t always need to be sucked up. A Useful Ghost (ผีใช้ได้ค่ะ) weaves several tales together to create the ultimate Ghost Month film. Originally debuting in August 2025 for Southeast Asian audiences, it’s now making a well-deserved splash across the international festival circuit.

The film introduces a series of suffocating situations. There is Tok (Krittin Thongmai), who dies at work from chest congestion. Elsewhere, an unnamed academic (Wisarut Homhuan) insists it isn’t dust but industrial pollution choking him. He buys a vacuum cleaner that promptly malfunctions. When Krong (Wanlop Rungkumjad) arrives to fix it, he has no idea he’s about to be seduced.

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The Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory Lives In the World of the Yurei

The Beasts of Burden: Occupied TerritoryDark Horse Comics
Spoiler Alert

The Beasts of Burden are back! Emrys, the old English sheepdog with a nose for smelling out the supernatural, is in Japan and this work looks like a solo adventure. Technically, it’s happened already, and he’s recounting the events in flashback.

After many mini-series and one-shots, the wait for another tale to materialize was not long. Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer share writing duties. Anyone who isn’t familiar with this canine team of paranormal investigators, three hardcovers editions–Neighbourhood Watch, Wise Dogs & Eldritch Men, and Animal Rites (Amazon Links)–collects their past adventures. No background reading is required to pick up in this latest story, titled Occupied Territory.

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The Seven Guardians of the Tomb Aren’t Evil, They are just Misunderstood

The 7 Guardians of the Tomb Movie PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

  • Spoiler Alert

Anyone who has arachnophobia is best advised to avoid Seven Guardians of the Tomb, an Indiana Jones styled adventure wannabe horror film starring Li BingBing and Kelsey Grammer. It wants to be like Tom Cruise’s hackneyed take of The Mummy. The sad part is that I was buying the idea when I first heard about this work. I thought the story might follow along the lines of Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The hunt was on ever since I happened upon mention of this film in a newsletter. It’s finally available on video and on-demand outlets—with my TV service and elsewhere Amazon Prime.

Star power helps draw attention to the film. BingBing is a wonderful talent not only on stage but also on screen. Her role is underutilized with this product. Grammer, no matter what role he takes on, always lends perfect gravitas. He’s amusing as Mason, a character with strong ties to Jia’s (BingBing) family. She has more than enough reasons to not be happy about this fact. When he contacts her to say Luke (Korean superstar Wu Chun), her brother, went missing during an archaeological dig, they form an uneasy alliance.

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