Join hosts Byrd and Matt as they discuss all things giant monsters, tokusatsu, and Japanese fantasy films. We'll also cover comics, cartoons, toys, books, and more! Come here for a regular dose of everything from Godzilla and Gamera to King Kong and Ray Harryhausen to Ultraman, and everything in between!
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episode 283: Toho’s Haunted School
Byrd, Kevin and Tom discuss the Gakkou No Kaidan (aka Haunted School aka School Ghost Stories aka Ghost Stories) franchise with the main point of discussion being Toho's four live action films from the 1990s. Haunted School is a multi-media franchise that started as a book of short stories written by a teacher who got ideas for children's horror stories from his students. It has since gotten film, television, anime, and feature film adaptations, as well as video games, toys, etc. The Japanese TV specials largely paved the way for the J-Horror boom, including a spinoff series, Ju-On (aka The Grudge), which itself has become a global pop culture phenomenon. Toho's films were released between 1995 and 1999 with three entries being directed by Hideyuki Hirayama (Samurai Resurrection 2003) and one by Shusuke Kaneko (GMK, Gamera Trilogy) and were met with box office success in Japan but still remain elusive internationally. So how do these movies hold up? And how does this franchise tie into Toho's Bloodthirsty trilogy? Listen and find out!