The Cold Breath of DeathAn aspiring young actress (Atsuko Ariyoshi) gets hired to star in a movie shot in Mount Hotaka, situated in Japan’s Hida Mountains. It turns out that due to an old curse, spirits from the netherworld haunt the mountains. The fi lm crew disappear one by one, only to return to the camp in horrifi c appearances. The young actress faces a terrible choice: In order to survive the deadly curse, she must sac-rifi ce her loved ones!The script includes various acts of deception and twists and turns that keep the viewer off balance. The thrills are many and achieved by a mix of spectacular special effects and psychological horror.

Yasuo KukushimaYasuo Kukushima (born August 24, 1960) is a highly prolifi c and controversial Japanese fi lmmak-er.He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Kukushima is cred-ited with directing fi fteen pro-ductions. His fi lms range from violent and bizarre to dramatic and family-friendly.Recent work includes The Rat Killer, Family Values and The Cry – a great succes at fi lm festivals all over the world.

Japanese HorrorJapanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fi ction in popu-lar culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treat-ment of the horror genre in light of western treatments. Japanese horror tends to focus on psycho-logical horror and tension build-ing (anticipation), particularly in-volving ghosts and poltergeists,