Existential quandaries meet expressionist monsters in Takahide Hori’s dystopian world
Envisioning a dystopian future where humans inch closer to immortality while losing the ability to procreate, Takahide Hori’s stop-motion adventure journeys through a gloomy, dilapidated universe filled with exquisitely strange creatures. Considering that the film is mostly a one-man operation – Hori pores over nearly every technical aspect himself – the worldbuilding details are simply extraordinary, bringing to mind the nightmarish virtuosity of Phil Tippett’s Mad God.
Seeking a solution to a diminishing population, a human scientist plunges into the subterranean domains inhabited by the Magarins, mutants whose labour powers the running of the city above. After an accident obliterates his physical form, the mind of our wandering protagonist is transferred into a succession of mechanical guises, blurring the difference between his humanity and the clone workers.
Envisioning a dystopian future where humans inch closer to immortality while losing the ability to procreate, Takahide Hori’s stop-motion adventure journeys through a gloomy, dilapidated universe filled with exquisitely strange creatures. Considering that the film is mostly a one-man operation – Hori pores over nearly every technical aspect himself – the worldbuilding details are simply extraordinary, bringing to mind the nightmarish virtuosity of Phil Tippett’s Mad God.
Seeking a solution to a diminishing population, a human scientist plunges into the subterranean domains inhabited by the Magarins, mutants whose labour powers the running of the city above. After an accident obliterates his physical form, the mind of our wandering protagonist is transferred into a succession of mechanical guises, blurring the difference between his humanity and the clone workers.
- 4/19/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Third edition of a film that started as a thirty minute short 7 years ago, and now sees the light of day in the production level Takahide Wori wanted it to be, with his work as in storyboarding, writing, directing, designing, lighting, shooting, making the costumes, the SFX and voicing the stop-motion film (with the help of a few specialists) reaching its ultimate form.
“Junk Head” is screening at New York Asian Film Festival
In the distant future, mankind has attained longevity through gene manipulation. However, in exchange, the ability to reproduce is lost. Clones were built to maintain the dwindling workforce, but 1200 years later they rebelled, eventually inhabiting the lower depths of the world. The humans, suddenly finding a need to understand their subterranean-dwelling creations, launch an ecological study. What they discover is that the clones have transformed into a vast array of absurd and terrifying monstrosities, although the humans themselves have also changed much.
“Junk Head” is screening at New York Asian Film Festival
In the distant future, mankind has attained longevity through gene manipulation. However, in exchange, the ability to reproduce is lost. Clones were built to maintain the dwindling workforce, but 1200 years later they rebelled, eventually inhabiting the lower depths of the world. The humans, suddenly finding a need to understand their subterranean-dwelling creations, launch an ecological study. What they discover is that the clones have transformed into a vast array of absurd and terrifying monstrosities, although the humans themselves have also changed much.
- 8/19/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Guillermo del Toro once referred to a short film titled “Junk Head 1” as a “one-man band work of deranged brilliance” with “monumental will and imagination at work.” In 2017, after seven painstaking years, “Junk Head” was released as a feature and was a surprise hit at the Fantasia International Film Festival that year. Now, the film is being re-released with a new theatrical edit. An existential work both dark and humorous with a classic sci-fi atmosphere, first-time director Takahide Hori’s stop-motion epic is a cult classic in the making.
Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation, humans are losing the ability to reproduce. And with a virus epidemic that has killed over 200 million people, they decide to descend below to an underworld dominated by artificial lifeforms known as Marigans. Created by humans as labor to develop this mysterious workers’ city, these beings have found fertility...
Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation, humans are losing the ability to reproduce. And with a virus epidemic that has killed over 200 million people, they decide to descend below to an underworld dominated by artificial lifeforms known as Marigans. Created by humans as labor to develop this mysterious workers’ city, these beings have found fertility...
- 8/2/2021
- by Sara Clements
- DailyDead
Unquestionably America’s biggest and best-curated showcase of contemporary Asian cinema (with a choice handful of classics sprinkled into the mix for good measure), the New York Asian Film Festival has become a cherished institution among local cinephiles eager for a peek at the annual plethora of killer movies that may never screen again in the United States. If you want to see masterpieces like Li Wu’s “Buddha Mountain,” giddy kung fu throwbacks like Clement Cheng and Derek Kwok’s “Gallants,” or a programmer dress up as a cow to moo-ingly introduce a Huang Bo tragicomedy about a man and his livestock, Nyaff has long been the best game in town.
Last year, in the face of a pandemic and the rising swell of anti-Asian violence that came with it, Nyaff took bold steps to ensure that locked-down American film-lovers would still be able to celebrate the latest and...
Last year, in the face of a pandemic and the rising swell of anti-Asian violence that came with it, Nyaff took bold steps to ensure that locked-down American film-lovers would still be able to celebrate the latest and...
- 7/21/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival got an early 25th birthday present in the form of James Gunn’s “Suicide Squad,” which will receive a special screening on Aug. 4, the day before Fantasia officially kicks off with the world premiere of Julien Knafo’s zombie thriller “Brain Freeze.” Gunn is a long-time friend of the fest, having first attended in 1997 before later returning for the Canadian premiere of his Marvel blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Fantasia also unveiled its second wave of features participating at this year’s festival, joining a raft of titles announced in May, and will announce the rest of its slate in late July along with details on several virtual events and this year’s juries.
New world premieres, joining the a six-pack announced last month, include Ruth Platt’s “Martyrs Lane,” Anna Zaytseva’s feature debut “#Blue_Whale,” Jonathan Rhys Meyers-starrer “Yakuza Princes” from filmmaker Vicente Amorim,...
Fantasia also unveiled its second wave of features participating at this year’s festival, joining a raft of titles announced in May, and will announce the rest of its slate in late July along with details on several virtual events and this year’s juries.
New world premieres, joining the a six-pack announced last month, include Ruth Platt’s “Martyrs Lane,” Anna Zaytseva’s feature debut “#Blue_Whale,” Jonathan Rhys Meyers-starrer “Yakuza Princes” from filmmaker Vicente Amorim,...
- 6/23/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Japanese film industry has been relatively quick to recover from the pandemic, despite the slow rollout of vaccinations in Japan. So industry leaders are bringing lineups to FilMart packed with titles that will hopefully play to packed theaters at home in the coming months.
One is Gaga Corporation, which is bringing “Junk Head,” a first feature by stop-motion animator Takahide Hori that has won kudos around the international festival circuit. Set in a future where clones live in their own subterranean world while the humans who drove them underground trundle toward extinction, it is a quirkily imaginative blend of sci-fi, fantasy and comedy. Release in Japan is set for March 26.
Meanwhile, Toei has brought “Last of the Wolves,” Shiraishi Kazuya’s highly-anticipated sequel to his 2018 cops-and-gangsters actioner “The Blood of Wolves,” which won a shelf of awards, including an Asian Film Awards best actor prize for star Yakusho Koji.
One is Gaga Corporation, which is bringing “Junk Head,” a first feature by stop-motion animator Takahide Hori that has won kudos around the international festival circuit. Set in a future where clones live in their own subterranean world while the humans who drove them underground trundle toward extinction, it is a quirkily imaginative blend of sci-fi, fantasy and comedy. Release in Japan is set for March 26.
Meanwhile, Toei has brought “Last of the Wolves,” Shiraishi Kazuya’s highly-anticipated sequel to his 2018 cops-and-gangsters actioner “The Blood of Wolves,” which won a shelf of awards, including an Asian Film Awards best actor prize for star Yakusho Koji.
- 3/14/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
My trip to the unknown paths of Asian animation, courtesy of Fantasia, continues with a Japanese stop-motion animation, from a man whose bio includes the following terms: painter, sculptor, doll-obsessed model-maker, director of the studio Yamiken and rising talent of stop motion animation.
“Junk Head” screened as part of the Asian selection at Fantasia International Film Festival
In the distant future, mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation. However, in exchange, the ability to reproduce is lost. Clones were built to maintain the dwindling workforce, but 1200 years they rebelled, eventually inhabiting the lower depths of the world. The humans, suddenly finding a need to understand their subterranean-dwelling creations, launch an ecological study. What they discover is that the clones have transformed into a vast array of absurd and terrifying monstrosities, although the humans themselves have also changed much.
In that setting, the story revolves around one of those “explorers,” who finds...
“Junk Head” screened as part of the Asian selection at Fantasia International Film Festival
In the distant future, mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation. However, in exchange, the ability to reproduce is lost. Clones were built to maintain the dwindling workforce, but 1200 years they rebelled, eventually inhabiting the lower depths of the world. The humans, suddenly finding a need to understand their subterranean-dwelling creations, launch an ecological study. What they discover is that the clones have transformed into a vast array of absurd and terrifying monstrosities, although the humans themselves have also changed much.
In that setting, the story revolves around one of those “explorers,” who finds...
- 7/11/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s that time of the year and here at Asian Film Vault, we decided to have our first ever poll regarding the best films of the year. The votes were cast and counted and we came up with 18 films from 2017, that we consider the best of the year. And although Japan has the lion’s share in the list, we feel that we covered a large portion of Asia with our picks, since the titles include films from India, Thailand, Hong Kong, S. Korea, and Indonesia
Without further ado, here is the countdown.
(By clicking on the title of each movie, you can read the whole article)
Jagga Jasoos
As a musical with younger target audiences in mind, “Jagga Jasoos” lives up to the expectations and ends up as a visual treat through a brilliant performance of the protagonist. (Sankha Ray)
Kodoku Meatball Machine (Yoshihiro Nishimura,...
Without further ado, here is the countdown.
(By clicking on the title of each movie, you can read the whole article)
Jagga Jasoos
As a musical with younger target audiences in mind, “Jagga Jasoos” lives up to the expectations and ends up as a visual treat through a brilliant performance of the protagonist. (Sankha Ray)
Kodoku Meatball Machine (Yoshihiro Nishimura,...
- 12/8/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
My trip to the unknown paths of Asian animation, continues with a Japanese stop-motion animation, from a man whose bio includes the following terms: painter, sculptor, doll-obsessed model-maker, director of the studio Yamiken and rising talent of stop motion animation.
In the distant future, mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation. However, in exchange, the ability to reproduce is lost. Clones were built to maintain the dwindling workforce, but 1200 years they rebelled, eventually inhabiting the lower depths of the world. The humans, suddenly finding a need to understand their subterranean-dwelling creations, launch an ecological study. What they discover is that the clones have transformed into a vast array of absurd and terrifying monstrosities, although the humans themselves have also changed much.
In that setting, the story revolves around one of those “explorers,” who finds himself found by three strange creatures that get him to their boss, a doctor who transports his head into another body,...
In the distant future, mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation. However, in exchange, the ability to reproduce is lost. Clones were built to maintain the dwindling workforce, but 1200 years they rebelled, eventually inhabiting the lower depths of the world. The humans, suddenly finding a need to understand their subterranean-dwelling creations, launch an ecological study. What they discover is that the clones have transformed into a vast array of absurd and terrifying monstrosities, although the humans themselves have also changed much.
In that setting, the story revolves around one of those “explorers,” who finds himself found by three strange creatures that get him to their boss, a doctor who transports his head into another body,...
- 12/4/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
After finding acclaim with stop-motion animated short Junk Head 1 in 2014, writer/director/animator Takahide Hori decided to expand its science fiction-infused world to feature length. The result is a two-hour adventure following one man’s descent through a subterranean infrastructure built by clones entitled simply Junk Head. It takes place centuries into our future and centuries more since the clone work force we created rebelled and disappeared underground. Both they and humanity have since evolved into forms neither would recognize, mutations proving to be man’s sole avenue for pushing forward after losing the ability to reproduce. So this expedition into the depths of the unknown isn’t taken lightly. If mankind’s emissary doesn’t return with the correct genetic material (from a creature photographed as still having a penis), our future is lost.
It’s a wild ride pitting the living against the alive as we meet humans,...
It’s a wild ride pitting the living against the alive as we meet humans,...
- 8/7/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Prizes to Bulgaria, China and Canada as Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival draws to a close.Scroll down for full list of winners
This year’s Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival has wrapped with an outlook that juxtaposes the gloomy with the optimistic.
During the closing night ceremony of the world’s biggest shorts festival, Jean-Claude Saurel - the president of organiser Sauve qui peut le Court Métrage - took the opportunity to lament the continuing cuts in budgets for French culture and cultural organisations and urged people to help protest against the current policies of the French administration.
However, with audiences for the festival at approximately 160,000 (up more than 5,000 from the previous year), there was still a sense of cautious celebration for the state of short film in France and beyond.
The festival’s International Grand Prix went to Bulgarian/German co-production Pride, Pavel Vesnakov’s powerfully acted story about a retired grandfather who finds...
This year’s Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival has wrapped with an outlook that juxtaposes the gloomy with the optimistic.
During the closing night ceremony of the world’s biggest shorts festival, Jean-Claude Saurel - the president of organiser Sauve qui peut le Court Métrage - took the opportunity to lament the continuing cuts in budgets for French culture and cultural organisations and urged people to help protest against the current policies of the French administration.
However, with audiences for the festival at approximately 160,000 (up more than 5,000 from the previous year), there was still a sense of cautious celebration for the state of short film in France and beyond.
The festival’s International Grand Prix went to Bulgarian/German co-production Pride, Pavel Vesnakov’s powerfully acted story about a retired grandfather who finds...
- 2/12/2014
- ScreenDaily
It took Takahide Hori four years to complete his 30-minute film Junk Head 1 and thanks to the power of the net, he gets to show that labour of love to the world. As a big fan of stop-motion I have to say this is pretty amazing to see.
If you are impressed with what you see, be sure to suppose Hori's indiegogo campaign, which is raising funds for a sequel.
Synopsis:
In the distant future, humanity is hurtling down a path of ruin. Global environmental destruction caused by chemical contamination, radioactive fallout, and Uv rays coming through the patchy ozone layer, has lead to deterioration of the human genome.
In an attempt at escape, humans expanded their sphere of daily existence underground, but they [Continued ...]...
If you are impressed with what you see, be sure to suppose Hori's indiegogo campaign, which is raising funds for a sequel.
Synopsis:
In the distant future, humanity is hurtling down a path of ruin. Global environmental destruction caused by chemical contamination, radioactive fallout, and Uv rays coming through the patchy ozone layer, has lead to deterioration of the human genome.
In an attempt at escape, humans expanded their sphere of daily existence underground, but they [Continued ...]...
- 1/9/2014
- QuietEarth.us
Viral Video Ryan Lambie 9 Jan 2014 - 08:23
A Japanese artist spent four years of his spare time making the animated film Junk Head 1, and it's stunning. Take a look for yourself...
Grotesque, atmospheric and unpredictable, the half-hour stop motion film Junk Head 1 would be an impressive piece of work even from an established animation studio. But remarkably, Japanese artist Takahide Hori made it almost entirely by himself, creating all the characters and sets and shooting it one frame at a time.
This painstaking process took four years, and even more astonishingly, Hori held down a full-time job while making it - what you see below is the product of many, many late nights and busy weekends.
Set in a future where genetic aberrations scurry about in underground caverns, its story is told through the eyes of a human who's exploring this unfamiliar world for the first time himself.
A Japanese artist spent four years of his spare time making the animated film Junk Head 1, and it's stunning. Take a look for yourself...
Grotesque, atmospheric and unpredictable, the half-hour stop motion film Junk Head 1 would be an impressive piece of work even from an established animation studio. But remarkably, Japanese artist Takahide Hori made it almost entirely by himself, creating all the characters and sets and shooting it one frame at a time.
This painstaking process took four years, and even more astonishingly, Hori held down a full-time job while making it - what you see below is the product of many, many late nights and busy weekends.
Set in a future where genetic aberrations scurry about in underground caverns, its story is told through the eyes of a human who's exploring this unfamiliar world for the first time himself.
- 1/9/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
We all have dreams, but most of us never achieve them because we let life get in the way of pursuing our goals. That’s not true of Takahide Hori (known online as Yamiken) – an office worker in Japan by day and stop-motion animator after hours. Hori’s dream was to become a filmmaker and the fledgling director has spent the past four years meticulously crafting a sci-fi adventure entitled Junk Head 1. You can see the fruits of his labor below. Hori is hoping the 10-minute short film will intrigue people enough that they watch his full 30-minute cut when he releases it later this month or early next year. That version will hopefully convince investors to help fund an hour-long sequel that he will eventually attach to the 30-minute cut, creating a full 90-minute...
Read More...
Read More...
- 12/6/2013
- by Mike Bracken
- Movies.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.