16th MOTELX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival – Asian Presence 2022

By Asian Film Festival on September 3, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

We present the Asian films that will be screened at the MOTELX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival which will take place from September 6 – 12, 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal.

**Carnivorous Bean Sprout** by Seo – South Korea | 2021 – 4 minutes
**Section**: International Short Films

A black comedy about a strange creature in South Korea and the obsessive desires of the people who seek it out to experience the thrill of terror. (MOTELX 2022)

Screening:
September 7, 2022 | Wednesday | Cinema São Jorge Room 3 | 1:00 pm

Trailer:

**Extraneous Matter – Complete Edition** by Kenichi Ugana – Japan | 2021 – 60 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

After another day stuck in a monotonous relationship, a woman finds a strange octopus-like creature who ‘attacks’ her with climax-inducing tentacles in her wardrobe. This ‘strange matter’ quickly spreads throughout Japan, entrenching itself in the daily lives of various characters the film starts following, becoming something people get used to. This episodic indie by Kenichi Ugana, filmed in a raw black-and-white by Masahi Komino, giving the movie, where themes such as loneliness and alienation are explored with perversity and humour a jarmuschian feel. At 60 minutes long, the film takes a pensive turn at times, attributing a sense of unease to these creatures that take Japan by storm. (MOTELX 2022)

Screening:
September 6, 2022 | Tuesday | Cinema São Jorge Room 3 | 00:00 am

Trailer:

**Hunt** by Lee Jung-jae – South Korea | 2022 – 131 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

In the 1980s, with the military dictatorship at its peak, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho (Lee Jung-jae) and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo-sung) are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardise national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other. In this tense situation where they may be accused themselves, Pyong-ho and Jung-do slowly start to uncover the truth. Directed by Lee Jung-jae – star of the multiple award-winning series “Squid Game” – “Hunt” features Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung, one of the most respected acting duo from South Korea, in the main roles. The film was exhibited at the Midnight Session in Cannes and has its Portuguese premiere in MOTELX. (MOTELX 2022)

Screening:
September 8, 2022 | Thursday | Cinema São Jorge Room Manoel de Oliveira | 11:45 pm

Trailer:

**Lesson in Murder** by Kazuya Shiraishi – Japan | 2022 – 128 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

Masaya Kakei is a college student who attends a school he doesn’t particularly like. His days are usually gloomy, until, in one of them, he receives a letter from a serial killer. Yamato Haimura worked in a bakery until he was convicted of eight murders and given the death penalty. At that time, Kakei was a high school student and a customer of his store. According to the letter, Haimura confesses to having committed seven murders, but insists he did not commit the last one. And so, Kakei begins to investigate the final case…

Kazuya Shiraishi, specialising in violent thrillers, returns with a more restrained tone, yet unyieldingly gore, and echoes one of the greatest classics of serial killers films, “The Silence of the Lambs”.. (MOTELX 2022)

Screening:
September 9, 2022 | Friday | Cinema São Jorge Room Manoel de Oliveira | 4:15 pm

Trailer:

**Missing** by Shinzo Katayama – South Korea, Japan | 2021 – 123 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

Satoshi Harada and his daughter, Kaede, lead a peaceful life in a working-class neighbourhood in Osaka. Satoshi tells Kaede: “I saw the serial killer who is wanted by the police. If I caught him, I would get a reward of three million yen.” Kaede shrugs her shoulders. Her father is joking, as usual… The next morning, he disappears. Left alone, the fearful Kaede seeks out her father. The police are dismissive and tell her that most of the missing adults are not found. Her pursuit continues until she hears that Satoshi Harada works at a local construction site. She visits the place and calls out to him. Someone answers, but it’s not her father. The first feature by Shinzo Katayama, Bong Joon-ho’s former assistant director, shares themes with the Korean director’s work. (MOTELX 2022)

Trailer:

**New Religion** by Keishi Kondo – Japan | 2022 – 100 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

After her daughter’s death in an accident, Miyabi gets a divorce, starts working as a call girl and moves in with her new boyfriend. In a meeting with a new customer, he asks to take a picture of her body — first her spine, then, her feet, and after that, he begans to photograph her every time they meet. One day, while at home, Miyabi feels a small hand touching her leg and soon realises that every time she allows her body to be photographed she can feel her daughter’s spirit reaching closer and closer. Soon, only her eyes remain to be captured, leading to the outcome which defines this unique art-house fantasy from a culture-shocking Japanese voice, Keishi Kongo, which premiered at the last Fright Fest. (MOTELX 2022)

Trailer:

**Satan’s Slave 2: Communion** by Joko Anwar – Indonesia | 2022 – 120 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

1950s. Budiman, a journalist, is called by the local Lembang police to witness a macabre scene: several decomposed corpses are found in a position of reverence around an altar. Years later, Rini’s family, ravaged years earlier by supernatural events, moves to an apartment in Jakarta, near the sea. The youngest discover graves near the building and there is an incident with an elevator, all on the eve of a big storm. Joko Anwar, the biggest name in Indonesian contemporary horror, made a remake of a local exploitation classic called “Satan’s Slaves” five years ago; the box office success announced a sequel that is now coming from the same director and producer, Rapi Films, which also produced the original in the 1980s. (MOTELX 2022)

Trailer:

**The Medium** by Banjong Pisanthanakun – Thailand, South Korea | 2021 – 131 minutes
**Section**: Room Service

A documentary team follows Nim, a shaman based in Northern Thai, the Isan area, who strives to remove an evil entity that has been tormenting her niece, Mink. In the hopes of capturing the shaman lineage passing on to the next generation, the team follows them while Mink’s behaviour turns more and more bizarre. This mockumentary explores Thai demonology, where gods and demons coexist, through disconcerting footage. “The Medium” marks the comeback of Banjong Pisanthanakun’s cinema to MOTELX, where the ghost story “Alone” (co-directed with Parkpoom Wongpoom) was exhibited in 2008. (MOTELX 2022)

Trailer: