Almost at the end of the alphabet of horror films to watch, and instead of breaking this one up, we are in for a bumper edition this time out! From vampire yakuza to ghosts to mysteries in the mountains, we have a great mix of genres for you to browse!
Yakuza Apocalypse (2015)
Boss Kamiura is the most legendary and ruthless of the yakuza bosses. He has a secret that keeps the rumour of invincibility and razor-sharp reactions swirling; he is a bloodsucking vampire! With his life in danger, he bites underling Kageyama, who begins to possess the powers of Kamimura. However, Kageyama must now battle the International Vampire Syndicate to stay alive.
A Takashi Miike action horror with our villain dressed in a furry frog costume is an automatic winner. Yakuza Apocalypse is over the top, violent and weird as all hell. It’s everything you could ever want and then some. He is the type of director who will plop a seriously toned film into his filmography once in a while, but for the most part, he is here for a fun time, not a long time, and this is certainly one of his aggressively fun films.
Does all of what we see work? Nah, but you forgive it for the absurdity of it all that it verges on being a satire. It’s packed to the gills, which is probably why it isn’t a classic. For fans of Miike, this is a must. For those who love their action, we have Yayan Ruhian from The Raid series, so you know for a fact that it means business.
Yella (2007)
Yella has managed to escape her violent and abusive husband and is off to start afresh in a new city. However, her ex, who was also her business partner, has other plans and is taking her rejection badly. He tries one last attempt as he forcibly manoeuvres himself to drive her to the station.
Yella is a loose adaptation (in the concept of what happens at the beginning and end) of another film, but it is better to keep you on your toes regarding what that film is to spare you from spoilers. Yet even with the ending that Yella has, it is that meat in the middle of the film that makes it work, and that is mostly down to Christian Petzold’s nearly forensic filmmaking. This just about comes into the realm of horror as it becomes a psychological horror thriller, and if you wanted, you could even throw in some anti-capitalist subtext for good measure.
The use of realism helps compound this nightmare that Nina Hoss expertly delivers in the lead role. You see how lost and desperate she is in these continual open spaces as toxic men just attract themselves to her, to plague her at every moment, to submerge and drown her in their nonsense. You feel desperate for her, but we are watching her torment, and for a moment, she looks at us, and it leaves us to consider whether or not we are as bad as the men she is suffocated mentally and emotionally by.
Yella isn’t a standard horror film in that it has blood and gore, it’s more subtle than that, and that’s what makes horror so damn good, the range to torment its audience in an innumerable amount of ways.
YellowBrickRoad (2010)
The year 1940 was not a good one for the small population of Friars in New Hampshire. Why? Well, the entire town walked up a winding mountain trail and never returned. Sixty-eight years later, the first official expedition into the mystery tries to figure out what happened; they will learn to wish they hadn’t bothered.
A film that can build itself up to the excruciating level of tension, only to lose that momentum by trying to get itself too tangled up with its own script. Very flawed but incredibly interesting, with enough present in its runtime to make it a worthwhile watch. However, if you turned the film off when a character wakes up inside a specific building, then I would wholly understand.
By not letting the audience know what style of horror the film is going to be, it allows us to be on edge, and when the film focuses on that, goodness does it shine. It keeps things subtle and takes the “not all of your questions, or even the questions we have posed, will get answered, sorry” approach. Focussing on the fragility of human minds and obsessions is the highlight of this overall solid indie horror.
Yoga (2009)
Hyo-Jung is a successful co-host of a popular shopping channel TV show, but she is soon kicked to the kerb when a younger host replaces her. Desperate to get back onto television, she joins an intensive yoga course; the trainer informs her students that they must keep to her rules or fall foul to the horrible consequences.
Venturing down the Suspiria root mixed with the dangers of making one’s self-worth into how they look. Yoga somehow takes the peaceful yet challenging practice of yoga and can shoot and edit it into something quite sinister. Director Jae-yeon Yun tackles the concept that women are constantly pitted against each other to succeed and run with it.
However, those expecting a typical scary K-horror that is full of constant twists are in for some disappointment, for this is a film that wants to unsettle you with its build-up and suspense. A bit of a distraction, for me anyway, is the fact that Hyo-Jung is only in her late 20s when she is booted out for someone “younger”. It does fall foul of having the build-up be better than the finale, but it is still a decent watch and will make you second-guess signing up for that yoga class that you might have been eyeing.
Yōkai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968)
The residents of a tenement building are being kicked out of their homes due to greed and corruption from a developer and the magistrate. In their haste to get what they want, they fail to finish the cleansing ritual, unleashing (you guessed it) 100 monsters to pay for their sins.
A story that could be told anywhere at any time, Yokai Monsters is a delight. For those who do not know the joys of Yōkai (a type of supernatural entity and spirits in Japanese folklore), then boys and girls, you are in for a treat and a guaranteed rabbit-hole-esque deep dive. We get glimpses here and there until the expected monsters flood their way before us in the finale.
Let’s be honest, though; we all kind of enjoy a film where the humans (or at least some of the humans) are the bad guys and the “monsters” are basically the judge, jury and executioners as they dispatch each of our villains one after another. We get what we have been after the whole film, for these inhumane people to get their penance in the worst ways imaginable, and sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.
Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 1 and 2 (1949)
With no master and poor samurai, Iemon Tamiya wants and needs something better. However, due to his marriage with the devoted and always suffering Oiwa, he is curtailed from achieving the dreams he aims for. Recently released, Kohei is after the love he never received back from Oiwa, and his former co-prisoner Naosuke has his plans for the overwhelmed Oiwa.
A theme from Japanese horrors/tragedies made in the 1940s and 50s is how men always wanted a better life and that their wives (usually the people in the marriage with their heads on their shoulders) just have to grin and bear it, subservient to their overzealous husbands. There are links that these films started to get made in response to how Japanese men sent their country headfirst into a disaster during WWII, with the women of the nation bearing the brunt of it by being made homeless, invaded and losing their sons and husbands, etc., in a patriarchal landscape.
Now, this is a double bill for the patient; it is full to the brim with melodrama, but the spookiness that is present in the first half pays off. It is more of a spooky, melodramatic psychological drama. But, to appreciate part two, you have to watch part one, so here they are combined as one big old double bill for you to devour.
When the ghosts do come, they are there to guilt Iemon for all of the actions that he has done, and they will not rest until he feels the wrath of the pain he has caused. It takes the film down the more Shakespearean, man paying for his wrong deeds route than a horror one, but it remains immensely effective. The restraint is still there, but not as much as director Keisuke Kinoshita allows the pace to kick on thoroughly.
Yotsuya Ghost Story (1959)
Iemon Tamiya is someone who believes he should have everything he wants: a beautiful woman, money, and power. Everything. When he is denied these things, he gets violent, and being a samurai, that usually means death for whoever is in his way. When he finally gets one of the things, he wants a wife and a son in Oiwa, yet he wants that money and takes drastic measures to get it.
People negatively talk about remakes or retelling of old stories in modern times; they must thank their lucky stars who weren’t around in the late 40s and 50s to see the number of adaptations of the same stories that got told. Yotsuya Kaidan is one of Japan’s most famous stories, so it would inevitably get told, retold, and retold for newer generations. With Yotsuya Ghost Story, we have one of the best iterations of this story. Iterations which almost always drastically differ from the original 1825 play.
Even here, there are slight changes, but this rings closest to the original play and, compared to the 1949 version, ramps up the ghost aspect of the narrative to a near explosive amount in the final act when Iemon has to pay for his wrongs. We are never made to feel sorry for Iemon, which is important to the story’s success. He is a horrible person for everything he has done, and the guilt he is now feeling because of those who are haunting him is deserved, so for a little bit, we get to relish in his emotional turmoil.
You can feel director Nobuo Nakagawa feel in full flow in that final act, as if he has been waiting the whole time to get there and as such, the artistry that he puts into the film, messing around with lighting and really trying to spook not only Iemon but us as well. Visually, this is a wonderful film spectacle, and the fact that it is frightening just enough with a character who gets what is coming to him only adds to the satisfaction.
You Are Not Me (2023)
Aitana returns home for Christmas for the first time in a few years to introduce her family to her partner, Gabi, and their son. When she arrives, her family, usually warm and welcoming, is unusually cold to her, except for her brother. Yet, there is a stranger to her in the house, not only in the house but also in her room, bed, and clothes. Her parents act like this woman is their daughter and not Aitana. Aitana, full of jealousy and confusion, is adamant about finding out what’s going on.
You Are Not Me made some considerable waves at festivals in 2023, and now that Christmas has come around, we have a great Christmas horror for you to enjoy! This is a tale that takes you places that you don’t really want to go at Christmas. Imagine returning home, and your family doesn’t really care, and seeing you as more of a nuisance. The film takes the dark path, and while you can probably guess where the film goes, it’s an utter horrific blast as you follow it to the end credits. We won’t talk more about it just yet (wait for the next update on this letter down the line) due to the film not being officially out yet, but you are in for a great time here.
You Are Not Me is coming out in the US on December 6th 2024! Keep an eye out.
You Are Not My Mother (2021)
Char’s mother mysteriously goes missing in a Dublin housing estate, with her car parked and doors open in the middle of a field. She returns, but she is not the same, and Char is determined to find out where she went and what has happened to her wee mammy (sorry, that’s for the Irish folks who read this). The more she learns, the more darkness she finds about her family.
A haunting Irish horror that does everything in its power to drain you emotionally as each minute ticks by You Are Not My Mother is the type of film you bookmark when you need to return to the phrase atmospheric folk horror. Kate Dolan comes out flying with her debut feature, creating a moody film that pulls you in.
Harrowing and full of dread, the filmmaking’s measured nature stops it from being considered slow. Not a second is wasted in making you uneasy about what is happening with Char’s “investigation” into what has happened. This is an impressive film that, while it doesn’t break the mould, does the one thing I have said on other lists: it does all of the important parts right and, as such, works on you, allows you to feel for the characters. When a psychological horror does that, goodness, is it fantastic.
You’ll Die at Midnight (1986)
A man has a violent altercation with his wife after discovering that he has been having an extramarital affair. Sadly for him (and I guess her), she is found murdered not long afterwards, and he is the police’s main suspect.
Lamberto is back with another Giallo, which ends up being one of his better ones, especially since he apparently did not love making them. There seem to have been a few ideas “borrowed” from other Giallos, especially Tenebrae, but we will forgive it as this is as stylish as Bava gets with his camera.
Combined with good performances and a decent, coherent story, there is an awful lot to like about You’ll Die at Midnight, but it is the murder scenes that, as you would expect, really level up the film. It also answers the age-old question: in the battle between a knife and a whisk, which will win? Answers on a postcard for that one. What surprises me is how well the story develops with this one. As anyone who has seen a Giallo will attest, the stories can tend to get a little lost in the shuffle in the line of importance. Here, though, the story is what kept me at least interested. You have an idea who the killer is, but when the reveal happens, it actually makes sense for a change.
If You’ll Die at Midnight does anything, it will show you that anything in your kitchen can be a weapon.
You’ll Like My Mother (1972)
Francesca is heavily pregnant and decides to meet her recently deceased husband’s family for the first time in their home in Minnesota. Uncomfortable from the get-go, Francesca looks for a way out, but Mrs Kinsolving and her other deviant son, Kenny, have other plans for poor Francesca.
Rule number one is visiting someone and getting a major red flag thrown and draped over you. Do not, under any circumstances, enter the home of a person who just admitted to drowning a bunch of kittens. Just stay at the door and make a runner for the car, anything. Do not go inside the house, nothing. Get out of there.
Francesca doesn’t, and well, she has herself to blame for what happens next if she doesn’t do that runner. You would think that this was just a standard, creepy-ass family, let ska-doodle on out of here type film, but it goes further than that. Imagine Misery, but it is a mother-in-law, shudderingly horrific. Despite the slightly lacklustre finale, the film holds its own as a credible horror-thriller that disturbs just the right amount to make it a decent suspenseful watch. The one true winner in this film was probably the husband who died while serving in Vietnam, he never had to endure his family again.
You’re Next (2011)
The Davisons are enjoying a lovely getaway to celebrate the wedding anniversary of the mother and father of the family when suddenly masked killers start to take out the family one by one. Unbeknownst to them, though, one of the would-be victims has prepared for such a scenario their whole life, and they won’t go down without a fight.
Home Alone for gore-hungry adults, You’re Next is a darkly comedic horror that just goes for the jugular and never lets go until it is happy. Our hearts are prepared, and it is almost refreshing to have a film give us a final character who knows what the hell to do to get out of the horrendous predicament they finds themselves in. As lean as a film can get, Adam Wingard throws us into the action as quickly as he possibly can, and you have to thank a director for mixing it up in this manner just to do that. Just enough information to clue us in, and then bang chaos. Perfect.
You’re Next takes the standard home invasion angle and gives us something more meaty to enjoy. Brutal with a decent and by turning some genre stereotypes on its head, gives us a film to remember and return to.
Your Sweet Body to Kill (1970)
Clive (what an unfortunate name, Clive, can you believe that name?) has fallen out of love with his wife Diana; how out of love, you ask? Well, he continually fantasises about murdering her. Fortunately for him, one day, he gets an anonymous letter that tells him that his wife has been cheating on him. Now, thinking she has a motive, instead of just not divorcing the poor woman, Clive begins to devise a plan out of his fantasies.
More Hitchcock than Giallo, Alfonso Brescia focuses more on the suspense and twists than on the violence, and it turns out that was very much the right choice, even if he could have been a little tougher on the runtime and cut it down a bit more. The main question is, what on Earth is this title because I have zero clues. Your Sweet Body to Kill also goes under the title A Suitcase for a Corpse, which makes much more sense as the film goes on. Still, here we are with a European film with a nonsensical title. Classic 70s.
George Ardison is a mess, but a great one as the nervy and idiotic Clive. As the film goes on and the noose keeps getting tighter, we see the paranoia run amok in this man’s head with Addison carrying the film. You want to hate him, but he is such a disaster of a human that you almost pity him than hate him—a strong addition to the Giallo sub-genre.
Your Vice Is a Locked Room, and Only I Have the Key (1972)
Oliviero is an author long overdue a new book. He spends his time being a waste of space by hosting group sex in his manor as well as abusing his suffering wife. (Giallos and abused or murdered wives, never change…). Women are starting to get murdered a bit too close to comfort to Oliviero’s home and the police rightfully have him marked as their prime suspect.
Giallo’s and the letter Y- they love them as much as they love blank space on their movie posters where words could be used instead. We have a cracker of a title with this one; I mean, this one got away from someone and became a monster of a title, didn’t it? Luckily for… (I am not typing out that title again) the star of the show is the cinematography. The manor is shot to perfection, and cinematographer Giancarlo Ferrando fully achieves that unsettling nature that Sergio Martino aimed for.
Being a Sergio Martino film, there is a good bit of scumminess to proceedings, I mean look at that synopsis for one. Yet, this is very much his best film; perhaps it is too psychosexual for most people, too full of melodrama. Definitely. This one has so many twists that a cow just went by my window. Yet, it works, and that is all that matters. It is another that is a little Hitchcockian in its feel with a healthy dose of Edgar Allan Poe.
You Won’t Be Alone (2022)
In 19th-century Macedonia, a girl is kidnapped from his nearby mountain village. She is transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. Intrigued at what it is like to be human, she kills and continues to transform as she attempts to understand the meaning of being a person.
You Won’t Be Alone has the look and feel of The Witch, coupled with effectively the story of Under the Skin. It’s an interesting combination, but one that actually works very well. This is the type of film where you will need to be focused throughout as the visual aspects to it far supersede those of the auditory. However, the sound is still crucial to this film, especially its sound effects; they help immerse you into the environment you find yourself watching and, in certain instances, make some absolutely horrendous noises that represent what is happening to an animal.
A film that shines in the tranquil and meditative allure of humanity (for all the bad and good of our species). Its tone, pacing, etc, is not quite that of a typical horror, but when has horror even been typical? It’s not a film for everyone, but there are rewards to be found if you let the film get under your skin.
Yummy (2019)
Alison isn’t happy with her body, specifically her breasts; you see, she would like them to be reduced a bit. Her mother tags along to get another face-lift. Maybe buy one, get one free. Are services available in this rundown Eastern European hospital? While waiting for the procedures to be finished, Alison’s boyfriend sees a woman strapped and gagged to an operating table; while helping her, he accidentally unleashes a zombie outbreak.
I know what you are thinking; what a mad synopsis, yet after so many Giallo’s that could give you a headache for days trying to understand, a straight-up zombie horror comedy is exactly what the doctor ordered (well, not these ones anyway). Full of zombie genre cliches (certainly zombie comedy cliches), it makes up for it all by being a great gorey blast of a viewing. Absurd to the tilt, this is the sort of madness you need to watch after having one of those days.
Hopefully, the VFX team were handsomely paid for the efforts in this one, as they are working overtime to get these sequences to look as good as they do. A welcome surprise of a Belgian horror film that is one of the better zombie comedies to come out over the past few years.
To check out our previous letters have a click below! Otherwise, come back for the letter Z!
Horror films to watch: Letter A
Horror films to watch: Letter B
Horror films to watch: Letter B (Part 2)
Horror films to watch: Letter C
Horror films to watch: Letter D
Horror films to watch: Letter E
Horror films to watch: Letter F
Horror films to watch: Letter G
Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 1
Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 2
Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 3
Horror films to watch: Letter I; Part 1
Horror films to watch: Letter I – Part 2
Horror films to watch; Letter J
Horror films to watch; Letter K
Horror films to watch: Letter L
Horror films to watch: Letter M
Horror films to watch: Letter M (Part 2)
Horror films to watch: Letter M (part 3)
Horror films to watch: Letter N
Horror films to watch: Letter N (Part 2)
Horror films to watch: Letter O
Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part 1)
Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part 2)
Horror films to watch: Letter Q
Horror films to watch: Letter R (Part 1)
Horror films to watch: Letter S (Part 1)
Horror films to watch: Letter T (Part 1)
Horror films to watch: Letter U
Horror films to watch: Letter V (Part 1)
Horror films to watch: Letter W (Part 1)
Horror films to watch: Letter X
Horror films to watch: Letter Y
Horror films to watch: Letter Z
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