Asian Invasion
From Thai black magic and Korean livestream horror to Japanese action, Singaporean erotic animation, vampires, cursed forests and a yakuza discovering dance — Asian cinema runs through a surprisingly large part of this year’s programme.
The films do not have much in common beyond geography, which is probably a good thing. There is action, horror, animation, comedy, body horror, romance and a fair amount of chaos.
4 Tigers
Thailand · dir. Kongkiat Komesiri
28 October · 19:00 · Kino 1
Black magic, bullet-bending bandits, stolen Japanese gold and post-war Thailand.
4 Tigers takes outlaw folklore and turns it into a mix of Western, martial arts, fantasy, comedy and political rebellion. Four legendary bandits are forced to work together, despite the fact that none of them seem particularly interested in cooperation.
It opens this year’s festival.
Killing Time
South Korea · dir. JANG Jun-yeop
1 November · 22:30 · Kino 2
A horror livestream channel tries to make a comeback after a previous broadcast ended in tragedy.
Their solution is to head into an abandoned psychiatric hospital and create their most extreme stream yet.
Killing Time takes the slasher film and drops it into livestream culture, where violence, performance and the need for attention quickly become difficult to separate.
Read more about Killing Time →
Oscillation
Japan · dir. Kenichi Ugana
1 November · 14:00 · Kino 3
Kenichi Ugana goes in a quieter direction with Oscillation, a black-and-white body horror film about a father and daughter living together but barely communicating.
Then the father’s body begins to change.
After films such as The Gesuidouz and I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn, Ugana turns inward here, using body horror to explore distance, loneliness and family.
Break Free
Japan · dir. Yu Nakamoto
4 November · 20:00 · Kino 1
Kunio is an old-school yakuza enforcer whose entire identity is built around a world that is disappearing.
Then a dance is caught on camera and goes viral.
Break Free mixes yakuza action, comedy, music and dance, as Kunio finds himself pulled into a life he had never imagined for himself.
It closes Lund Fantastic 2026.
The Bullet Train
Japan · dir. Junya Satō
3 November · 19:40 · Kino 1
A bomb has been placed on a bullet train. If the train drops below 80 km/h, it explodes.
Released in 1975, Junya Satō’s The Bullet Train combines disaster cinema, political thriller and high-speed action, decades before Speed used a very similar idea on a bus.
The film screens as part of our Toei retrospective.
Read more about The Bullet Train →
Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage
Japan · dir. Toshimichi Okawa
3 November · 22:30 · Kino 1
A detective goes rogue after his partner is murdered. His unlikely ally is a shotgun-wielding nun.
That gets you quite far into the premise already.
Released in 1989, Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage launched Toei’s V-Cinema line and became part of a new wave of Japanese direct-to-video action filmmaking.
It plays after The Bullet Train in our Toei Double Bill.
Read more about Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage →
And in the shorts...
The Asian presence continues throughout this year’s short-film programme.
Tamasira — Singapore / Malaysia, dir. Clare Chong
A woman’s attempt to escape her insecurities at a yoga retreat turns into an examination of identity, perfection and femininity.
Read more about Tamasira →
What do you seek in the dark? — Thailand, dir. Tossaphon Riantong
A young man enters an old cinema used as a cruising spot and discovers that the darkness may contain more than he expected.
Read more about What do you seek in the dark? →
Dinner — South Korea, dir. Haeji Jeong
“The process of love is included in the course meal.” That is probably enough information.
Read more about Dinner →
In-Digestion — Singapore, dir. Anna Lee
Two elf siblings find a glowing portal in a swamp and discover that the world on the other side is not as welcoming as it first appears.
Read more about In-Digestion →
Kiss Me Climax — Singapore, dir. Shara Tay
A video call, an arousing manga and a bedroom that begins transforming into something else entirely.
Read more about Kiss Me Climax →
Tainted Love — South Korea, dir. Youngho Gye
A vampire-human relationship becomes difficult when one partner has to keep donating the blood.
Read more about Tainted Love →
Magai-Gami — Japan, dir. Norihiro Niwatsukino
Two girls lost in a forest encounter creatures disguised as gods and must follow their rules if they want to escape.
Read more about Magai-Gami →
From 1970s Japanese disaster cinema to new horror, animation and genre filmmaking from across East and Southeast Asia, this year’s programme covers a lot of ground.
Come for the bullet train. Stay for the vampire relationship problems.
