Mother 
Japanese: マザー
Romaji: Maza
Release Date: September 27th, 2014 (Japan)
Running Time: 83 mins.
Director: Kazuo Umezu
Writer: Kazuo Umezu (Screenplay),
Starring: Ainosuke Kataoka, Mimi Maihane, Shoko Nakagawa, Kimie Shingyuji,
Sakura Wakakusa (Maihane) is editing the autobiography of Kazuo Umezu (Kataoka) and heads to the mountain village to research more about his past knowing that his mother, Ichie (Shingyoji) had a huge influence on Umezu. Whilst looking around, she finds herself attacked by strange phenomenon and it seems to come from Ichie who should be dead and in the ground!
Nothing to do with the Korean film which I liked a lot but hopefully, this one will be a corker because of the guy writing and directing it… Kazuo Umezu. Horror manga fans will know him as the guy behind “Drifting Classroom” and “Orochi” among others. He is a legend and this is his directorial debut at the age of 77!
Here he is with lead actor Kataoka.
Strong trailer! It’s got a mix of visual styles like German expressionism, found-footage and the editing looks manic. The film looks lurid, classy, dumb, and smart at the same time! What’s interesting about this release is that it mixes fact and fiction so it’s going to be a bit of a meta-horror title and one that fans of Umezu will be able to watch and see lots of easter eggs. That and some of the actors are totally unfamiliar. Ainosuke Kataoka is more famous as a kabuki actor and Mimi Maihane is a former member of the Takarazuka Revue.
The film images look flashy enough (I cannot get enough of Ainosuke’s striped shirt!) and the strong contrast between colours and filming styles makes this stand out as something inventive. Here are more film images.
Click to view slideshow.
