The Insane World of Chinese Shlockbusters | Video Essay

Start your free trial at squarespace.com/accentedcinema and use code ACCENTEDCINEMA to get 10% off your first purchase.
Accented Cinema - Episode 99
Movie don't have to be good to be fun.
------------------------------------------
Support us on Patreon:
/ accentedcinema
Follow us on Social Media!
/ accentedcinema
/ accentedcinema

[@AccentedCinema]

Start your free trial at squarespace.com/accentedcinema and use code ACCENTEDCINEMA to get 10% off your first purchase.

[@tianwong152]

Isn't Siping a real place? It's the site of an early battle of the Liberation War were the Communist Lin Biao was beaten by Nationalist Sun Liren?

[@AccentedCinema]

@@tianwong152 It is a real place. But unless your movie is titled "The Battle of SiPing", the city probably has little marketing power. "SiPing Young People" could've been called "Youth Gang" and has the same marquee value. That's why I think the only reason for the city to be in the title is because the film was partially filmed there, and the people are proud of where they came from.

[@tianwong152]

@@AccentedCinema fair enough

[@tianwong152]

@khightofjustice2828 How would you not be? easy. They love them just like they love their government. There's nothing wrong with glorification of Nationalism, Hollywood does that all the time so why shouldn't the Chinese glorify their nationalism?

[@tianwong152]

@khightofjustice2828 Yes, they love their politics and they love monster films too. What's wrong with that? And yes, Chinese people do enjoy being told what to watch and what not to watch.

[@MnMPryoBanana]

No matter how bad a work is, if it is made with passion, it will have soul. It may or may not be enjoyable, but it deserves respect for the love that was poured into it.

[@nikosaronim]

It's funny because the story can be insanely ridiculous. But combined with that passion, the cinematography becomes artistic somehow. It's amazing

[@joshchu]

That's why I enjoy things like Ed Wood films 100x more than any Uwe Boll, Bay, and McG films. if a creator is gonna f**k around, atleast go f**k around with their own IPs.

[@volcanicviper5984]

who killed captain alex

[@aznthy]

No.

[@condorX2]

Not me lol I'm not interested in the monster movies because of unrealistic and bad story telling. You can't have both. The only film that got me through the end was the monkey king films. I like the untamed Sandy, Piggy and 3 eyes guy. The ending was a tear jerking for the three eye guy film. I like how the character building in that movie, until the end I realize the main character neglected his magical weapon, who turns out to reincarnated as a woman. I feel like any film that can make a critic cry is good movie in my book.

[@spvn]

As a chinese singaporean that grew up with movies and shows from HK, Taiwan and USA, I just want to thank you for this entire channel and shedding light on the asian cinema scene from your own unique perspective. Words cannot describe how much I've enjoyed every single one of your videos. Especially in recent years with the growth of the Chinese cinema scene it's been so interesting to keep up with its growth through your channel. I dearly hope to see you continue to grow this channel.

[@condorX2]

Aye. I'm not interested in the monster movies because of unrealistic and bad story telling. You can't have both. The only film that got me through the end was the monkey king films. I like the untamed Sandy, Piggy and 3 eyes guy. The ending was a tear jerking for the three eye guy film. I like how the character building in that movie, until the end I realize the main character neglected his magical weapon, who turns out to reincarnated as a woman. I feel like any film that can make a critic cry is good movie in my book.

[@BenPaul-ge6nn]

​@condorX2 Oh yeah, so american movies are realistic . Take your racist attitude and go somewhere else

[@calvinl5726]

These movies look like ass and in from singapore

[@TheGrifCannon00]

China is literally going through the Hollywood 70's monster movie/giant creature phase. A lot of great future directors could come from this period. Its great to see another cultures cenematic history in real time.

[@fletchkeilman2205]

Have you ever seen the HK film, Infra Man? If not, do so today!

[@Sam--506]

This reminds me of a Russian phenomena of Yakutian movies. While everyone knows about Moscow and St. Petersburg third city that makes most movies - Yakutsk with population of 350.000 ppl, where winter goes down to -60c, and making movies in native language, managing to win awards in Cannes and German film festivals. They are exactly as you said - "by us for us." Authentic with a mystic flare of wildly unknown Siberia.

[@AccentedCinema]

I mean... I don't know if any of these would go to Cannes, but I'm sure the filmmakers appreciate the compliment ;)

[@Sam--506]

@@AccentedCinema It all started a low budget authentic stories made by passioned people who had vague idea about "proper" stile of filmmaking and made what they loved. Seeing the internet movie phenomena makes me glad on how many people want to see authentic and passioned projects rather than yet another generic cash grab. The passion of those who started, lives on in those who follow their footsteps.

[@ametkemalidinov738]

@@AccentedCinema you should watch Spirit of Itchi and The Lord Eagle (especially the latter), these are great Yakut movies. I'm sure there's a lot more of stuff worth watching there. Yakut cinema is a very strange thing, in a way that I can't believe it exists, it's very distinct from Russian cinema, it's made by very few people, and it's actually good!

[@andrewgalbreath2101]

I love seeing localized culture in movies. Many American films go out of their way to not give a location, but when the story is intertwined with a place that has its own characteristics, I find that so much more endearing and captivating, even if it's not where I'm from. And when it is does take place where I'm from, that makes me love and remember the movie for years to come

[@GiantGeekGuy]

I always have this theory: When a studio (especially Asylum) wants to make a low budget B-movie, they immediately think "Giant monster. It can be an animal, preferably a reptile or a shark. Specifically those two. And they have to be abnormally big for no reason or they're mutated. We need to make a giant monster movie, f the budget." And that's how we got the Sharknados, the Komodo vs Cobra, and Mega Shark vs Mecha Shark movie. These titles are all real, btw. I have seen them, and some are way worse. The movies in this video have piqued my interest as well. Edit: Had to come back here since Accented Cinema showed this comment in his 100th video! Thanks again AC!

[@AccentedCinema]

I watched many Asylum movies as well, but never enjoy them as much as I enjoyed Chinese B movies. This is purely a subjective experience and a hunch, but I'd guess making a movie for Asylum must've grind people into dust. Asylum movies may be ridiculous, but never quite as sincerely made as a lot of the films I talked about today.

[@GiantGeekGuy]

@@AccentedCinema I guess that's true, based on your take on these movies. The western side primarily want to make a profit (or profit from an existing movie, hence the term mockbuster), while the films you reviewed for this video seem to exude passion for filmmaking, to some degree. I'd take these effects over Asylum's in a heartbeat.

[@quak823]

Can’t forget the movie with giant piranhas

[@XcaptainXobliviousX]

@@GiantGeekGuy assylum is for the birds, toss the whole lot out. if you want heart, its all at Troma. Lloyd Kaufman is a shoestring budget visionary.

[@Sapreme]

COCAINE BEAR!!!!!!

[@onezerotwo]

2 things. 1. thank you so much for bridging the gap between China cinema and the English speaking world, it's basically impossible for an outsider to work their way around Chinese cinema imo. 2. Any man or woman with the absolute pure BDE to name their film simply "Big Octopus" probably needs more opportunities to make films "Coming this winter from Stephen Spielberg and ILM, starring Dakota Fanning and Channing Tatum, with academy award winner Meryl Streep, and Andy Serkis a film to terrify and tantalize the entire family: Big Octopus."

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

I suspect the translation into English loses a lot of the poetry in the title, and it definitely strips out a lot of nuance.

[@terrainrecords6038]

@@DrBunnyMedicinal Nah it's just called big octopus in Chinese.

[@onezerotwo]

@@terrainrecords6038 this answer made me laugh :D

[@eltontan4340]

growing up during the 2000s I always love these type of movies,y'know, giant monsters with bad special effects from either Syfy or Asylum, they're not overly long,and cheesy af but really entertaining to me as a kid,used to watch these all the time when I had nothing to do,Dinoshark,Poseidon Rex,Dinocroc etc,I actually watched 'Snake',dont remember much of the plot and characters ,but I had a good time,recently even Taiwan started to make some of this type of movies(thought I find them taking their film too seriously than I would liked) if one thing I hope these Chinese giant monster films can improve is to have more crazier and creative monsters and go all out with it cos now they actually had the market and budget for crazy with it,imagine 'Yunnan Skorpion Crocogator valley雲南蠍鱷谷' or 'Mecha Ptero-Rex機翼暴龍 ' (maybe I should send these ideas to the makers of these films lol)

[@AccentedCinema]

Please do. I'm already craving a Chinese Kaiju movie.

[@Thristanity]

I'd like to see one where someone attempts to revive the extinct Chinese river dolphin ala Jurassic park. And mayhem ensues

[@torshavnnewell]

If I could get those characters on calligraphy scrolls. I'd rather have those names rather than 安 富 or any generic aspirational thing

[@Henle_]

Accented Cinema I don't know if you realize just how valuable you are to YT. One of the only, and if not the best, Asian-American cinema and philosophy channels. If someone wants insight into the world of Asian cinema but doesn't know where to begin, you are the man. If someone wants to dive deep into it further, your videos are serve that well. Btw with you skill, if you're into it, I'd love it if you release your own short film or even show

[@SteelRaven11]

My friends and I try to have a Bad Movie Night at the end of every month, it is enjoyable to watch dumb movies for a good laugh with friends and some times surprisingly inspirational to see something cobble together with almost no budget that is actually good. This is how allot of talented people got their start so the more the better.

[@somebodysaidmurica8140]

Boy o boy, thanks for mentioning Siping Youngsters!. I spent my first 20 years in Siping and I was quite embarrased when Brother Hao kept churning out all these schlocks. Until last year, out of boredom I watched one of them and boy, it was pretty authentic local culture, stripped from most of the common propaganda, just an ordinary movie (which is a rare thing itself). It doesn´t really take itself seriously, is intentionally campy with tropes. Well, do you remember there was a time when TV drama series made in Jilin and Liaojing (马大帅，乡村爱情，刘老根) hit the market like bombs? The Siping Youngsters franchise is basically one of those drama series on steroids and more drama.

[@elvishassassin1]

I have 2 questions. 1. Why is your English so good considering you grew up in China? 2. Where can I find movies about Wuhan? I really wanna see my hometown on screen. Tired of feeling like my people don't exist lol. Btw I grew up overseas in case you were wondering.

[@somebodysaidmurica8140]

@@elvishassassin1 Not sure there is a Wuhan themed movie. 浮城迷事 Is an art house type of movie shot in Wuhan.

[@VodeniMedved]

I love listening your opinion on this type of movies. It gives me a new perspective. I was watching a big budget blockbuster for years and for a long time didn't get satisfaction that I need. Recently with an appearance of a simple story such as "John Wick" and similar stuff I started to enjoy movies more because I miss the storytelling style. I miss cliche stories and simple characters so I totally understand popularity of these web movies. Buy the way, first time hearing that something like that exist. Thanks for pointing it out. Will check on it. Also, I started watching more of Chinese animation which is lower quality than a Japanese anime, but the simplicity of the stories and return of the old "hero saves the day and gets the girl" get my attention regardless of the look of the animation. It bothers me only first five minutes of that, than I got used to it and accept it as a regular program, often an enjoyable one.

[@oniplus4545]

to be honest, many old "shlockbuster" chinese movies are actually quite decent(especially the ones about vampires and kung fu masters, they are funny as shit and you can love them even if you are not used to these kind of movies), while the ones nowadays kinda feel lackluster in comparison, they are still good to watch nonetheless because as you said, things made with passion will have a soul in them

[@josiezhou5454]

I'm Chinese and living in China right now but I never watched any of those, not even aware of such a "monster wave" in web movie. It really open my eyes.

[@Sabocat]

I always enjoy your reviews but then you come along with something like this that's going to change my life. I love this type of movie. I had no idea so many existed.

[@jim-jamjamilio1709]

I already love your channel, and now after this video I feel like a whole new landscape of movies awaits! Thank you for this

[@makotoichimatsuo9895]

Chinese web movies seem to be predominantly monster flicks and martial arts/action movies. Would love to see your take on the latter.

[@jeannecaelum5167]

These sure sound like something i could need right now, thanks for showing that youtube channel! I love watching movies that wear their passion and creativity on its sleeve. Im glad to hear the market for these movies is thriving ^.^

[@fredgerd5811]

Thanks for making this. As an enjoyer of campy B movies, I look forward to watching more of these. My favorite I've seem so far is Vampire Cleanup Department. Its like a mix of Ghostbusters, Blade and Warm Bodies with hopping vampires and amulet magic.

[@jweinrub]

Great video there dude. I will say this, when you see the soul and passion, behind the film, you can't help but to enjoy it. I have seen films where something is missing, but I can't stop watching it cause it had that soul and passion. I have been to a b-movie event where I met a handful of directors whom you can tell they have a passion and can't stop making films cause they love the thrill of it. I will say this, there are handful of films ,here on KZbin where, if they have an idea, they will film it, just like you said about the Chinese b-movie filmmakers.

[@SheilaTheGrate]

OMG, this looks entertaining as hell!! I am so happy that I know this exists. Thank you for making this video. I love all of your content, but I feel like this video was made personally for me. 🤣🤣🤣

[@javidaderson]

I want one of these movies and it genuinely looks like everyone was having fun making it and being in it.

[@interwebkaiju]

Loved the video. Going to write down some of these to check out later.

[@euansmith3699]

Thanks for yet another entertaining and educational video.

[@MatthewGhirardi]

Thanks for introducing me to these movies, I enjoyed them a lot

[@linternamagica100]

You can feel the love to movies all the way down; You, sir, are a truly cinephile.

[@zali13]

YES! Water Monster is so good! Thanks for including it!

[@CevicheGato]

Hong Kong cinema used to rival Hollywood cinema generally. Like they were the second largest cinema industry in its history. Now the mainland Chinese cinema has expanded and evolved into its own thing. Apparently merging the Hong Kong films with the mainland versions

[@lazkennedy]

Thanks for sharing this cinema trend with all of us, Accented Cinema! I love a good schlocky monster movie from time to time and to see that there's such weird and campy creativity coming form China is so cool. Though I may have to skip Kherpi, I'm really squeamish about roaches and just seeing those swarms of them sitting motionless on walls made my brain go "NOPE!". While I'm probably missing out on some good content, I'll say they're doing something right if I'm too creeped out to look at those CGI bugs!

[@gettinbattered]

Can you do a video on the evolution of Hong Kong as a movie city? Growing up watching HK cinema I fell in love with HK through cinema. Visited there when I was 29 and was surprised at how different but familiar it felt

[@Broken_Orbital]

I hate that some people can't recognize that some movies you're just meant to shut your brain off and enjoy the spectacle, not everything has to have a deep philosophical meaning or even a terribly deep story, so long as the events in the movie are tied together enough to get from A to B.

[@1ittlegs]

Everything in this video leaves a smile on my face seeing independent creators and/or low budget production houses making an impact on their cinematic environment and be able to find success within this untraditional path of making web movies, is there any chance you could take a look at Folk Cinema on KZbin, the west's Web movies and the differences between them two?

[@crimsonfirewill3717]

I remember two times I checked a Chinese web movies on youtube and was quite disappointed. This video made me consider watching them again.

[@AccentedCinema]

Certainly not all of them were great, and when they are great, not every part of it is good. I love Khepri, but that movie has the absolute worst VFX out of all the listed movies outside of Crazy Spider. If you are willing to overlook some flaws, the creativity can impress.

[@LeonYuL]

The Chinese web films feel like low budget Bollywood products in Chinese in a sense while the mainstream "big hits" are constrained by the Chinese government sometimes even getting taken down and censored. Tbh I have no hope for the Chinese film industry but I'm glad to see some film makers are still holding their grounds and a few lights shine here and there occasionally

[@thefilthycasual516]

I'm glad someone finally noticed the wonderful world of Youku schlock (if it was gonna be anyone I figured it would be you). I just watched their obvious rip-off of Enemy at the Gates (which is a terrible movie already) and couldn't decide which was more hilarious: the 2004 CG, the incoherent editing, the numerous stunt mistakes, completely inappropriate slow-motion shots or characters dodging bullets in real time.

[@arsouille1367]

thank you as always for sharing this culture to the western world, especially that segment about people making movies about their very specific region/culture(and this can get reaaaalllly deep in china, i feel like a lot of people forget or just don't understand how big and diverse china is!) and "regular" people wanting to feel represented when going to the theater. These day there's a really strange divide that's growing, the industry side of cinema is eating up the art side, people get more and more alienated to movies being made, feeling like they should pick a side between "dumb super hero/action" or "pretentious artsy-fartsy", and feeling represented by neither of them. We should remember that what really matters is the aesthetic emotion, how we relate and empathize with a film, and no amount of disney market research or snobbery and contempt can replicate a good team of genuine, passionate people! :) So it's super inspiring to see that, on the other side of the planet, everyday people are making movies for everyday people to enjoy!

[@SlapstickGenius23]

In other words, we LOVE the schlock.

[@Xomage999]

A couple years back I remember watching 'kung fu traveler'. It was surprisingly watchable and kinda hilarious by the end from a westerner's perspective. It broke zero ground, but did everything decently enough. It's the kind of movie you could watch with some friends, and now I learn that it is basically part of a much larger movement in chinese cinema. Neat.

[@pills-]

Knowing how to critique a movie is itself an art style. It's easy to just slam a movie one doesn't like (many, many of KZbin's critiques are like that). To write the whole thing off because one part wasn't done well. But appreciating a movie for what it is, the good and the bad, takes skill and heart.

[@ToToSEAL]

I watched your content when I'm still studying in university and now I can't believe movie I had a hand in showed up in your vids. 😂 I have done quite some VFX and animation works in the Big Octopus movie at my first job. (Including 10:24 ) I worked in chinese owned VFX studio in Thailand fouded to easier hire foreign artists outside China. For us foreigners, we too felt the movie we were making is very weird, but we do out best from what material and time we have. The boss is very nice and I got quite good pay. At first I do the dynamic simulation. (CG Explosions, Water, smoke and sand) Mid way through the project, I was called to help out animating because we didn't have enough animators. Well, I guessed I'm re-learning animation in 1 weeks haha. AND THEN we don't have enough compositor so I also had to help cleaning green screen and color grading. Everybody was at max capacity even the student intern. No matter what people say about the movie, I actually pround that we finished that project with the time and manpower we got. 😤

[@jacobpdeleon2747]

Keep up the good work on your videos and remember to take a good rest too

[@lurkerrekrul]

I like low budget movies. They may not be great, but they're often fun. I haven't watched many Chinese movies, but I've noticed that quite a few of them are set 200-400 years ago. When I watch action scenes from these films, I'm always left wondering when exactly humans lost the ability to fly. I mean it seemed to be a pretty common ability in ancient China.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Humans naturally cannot fly, but most birds do. I watched a crapload of old Wuxia movies and reviews. But I haven’t read the novels behind them all really.

[@lurkerrekrul]

@@SlapstickGenius23 Humans couldn't fly? You could have fooled me! I saw a scene from one movie where a character gave a little hop and instantly floated up about 10 feet to the roof of a building. Not even an actual jump, they just bent their knees 1/10 of the way and up they went. Another film had a character jumping off a 100+ foot cliff and safely floating down to the ground below. Still another movie had the hero and the villain floating from one rooftop to another as they fought in the air. I understand that movies often show unrealistic things happening, but the characters in a lot of period Chinese films straight-up defy gravity. Either that, or the gravity in ancient China was a fraction of what it is today.

[@Airwr3ck]

This is wonderful. Now I have almost unlimited things to watch with my friends :)

[@peterwang5660]

I like this new ending music, although the one you mostly use is an effective way of evoking sentimentality towards the subject of a video, I really like the upbeat feeling this new one gave.

[@a.t.9654]

It’s a good day when accented cinema drops

[@jl9156]

This is now my favorite video of yours. You’re doing the lord’s work lol 😂🎉

[@zerocalvin]

one of the reason why I enjoy western B movie, a lot of them might be bad, but they are also creative...

[@soumendramajumder13]

@accentedcinema you should make one episode on Bangladeshi Natok (Drama) Web Movies / Telefilms. They are a totally different genre than mainstream movies.

[@Jobe-13]

I love how wild and adventurous Asian cinema generally speaking is.

[@ulysseschang129]

Hahaha 吐嚎影院 is one of my favorite movie "distillation" channels.

[@ITCamefromthePage]

I am going to watch all of these and have a great time.

[@tallhorseproductions3838]

Just watched Khepri today at your recommendation. It was schlocky and had terrible cgi but I had a great time! All the characters fit into an archetype and a plot we've seen a million times before but this was still super fun and easy watching in the background while doing my work. It was good the plot is simple so I didn't have to rewind the movie too much or focus on the english subtitles since I got the gist of the plot. Also the end game plot twist and the psa tlat the end took the cake for the cheesiness for me.

[@12Tecpatl]

These movies might lack in many aspects but they are all so charming

[@henhen7890]

I know you don't typically do reviews on specific movies but i would love to see your taake on 'Return to Dust'

[@HoopleBogart]

You had me at "like Sharknado."

[@KusunokiSG47]

This is very similiarly the reason why Uganda films are loved around the world

[@PeanutStrawberry]

3:00 I just find it fascinating they went with the "World War Z" pile up when rats are sooo good climbers they can in fact climb brick walls easily. 😝 I know because: a) I had pet rats, so I know first hand their climbing skills; b) I witnessed rats run up a wall a couple times when I lived in Vietnam. My step mother found it hilarious when one rat just dashed past my foot, climbed a plank on the wall, then climbed the rest into a small hole in the corner of the ceiling and I was all panicky "Chuot! Chuot!" lol 😂

[@jackmclean4120]

Babe wake up, new Accented Cinema video

[@noiJadisCailleach]

Schlickbusting movies are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better to finish the night after a long day at work though.

[@juanjarrin249]

Neat vid, just when I needed something new to watch

[@djpanaligan1775]

hard to believe that this are "low budget" while here in the Philippines the biggest production's can't even get to that quality 😝

[@MorganVsTheInternet]

My mom loves shlockbusters 😅 especially the ones with giant monsters. I’ll show her some Chinese web movies this weekend.

[@samprice1302]

I was sold on watching Rat Disaster from the title alone

[@EsquedaDouble]

I'll watch these just for the insane posters TBH

[@THATGuy5654]

A lot of these do look like fun!

[@shidanslair]

The best worst movies are the ones that are not intentionally bad. That's what differences The Room from Sharknado.

[@gelinrefira]

You know a film industry is "there" when it can produce these kind of over the top, campy satires.

[@Runningtail]

That hobgoblins mst3k joke has got to be one of the funniest of the series

[@ritawilbur7343]

My 9yo discovered these movies on KZbin, and he loves them. Next time I need to sit down and watch with him. I do love me a good b movie!

[@JustPlainLuckyTV]

thank you for introducing "shlockbuster" into my vocabulary

[@amber4sw]

Definitely wanna check out that Siping Young People movie... Danny Lee is in it!

[@myliege8197]

I misread the "Mutant Python" movie as "Monty Python" LOL.

[@chaosli9040]

The Chun Li kick x2 was hilarious

[@mileshill7196]

Interesting that a movie about cockroaches would reference the scarab beetle god khepri of ancient Egyptian myth, yet have absolutely nothing to do with any of those things. That being said, I am an avid consumer of both high art cinema and “good” schlock. I am always happy to see more of both, especially from other cultural perspectives,

[@x64hitcombo]

A small note but i find it interesting that the twem Yokai is prevalent enough in your english audience that youre able to use it (a japanese term) an an analog for a chinese concept

[@ZephirumUpload]

I wonder if this an ignorant argument, but it popped up in my head: stories of monsters have often been allegories for societal woes, but the monster being used as a stand-in for that anxiety which has also, very often, been used as a sort of way to discuss commonly known but taboo subjects (like how Victorian books on vampires were about sexual deviancy, or Frankenstein's monster describing the othering of people as the actual evil). In America, there was a huge uptick in 'worthless' horror movies in the 50's, 9 times out of then the story being al allegation to possible Russian invasion. Is there any chance that some of these movies, besides from being wonderfully ridiculous and no-mind popcorn film, are also or can also be a way for people to express certain concerns they have either from the international- or the national stage, without being overt about it?

[@empatheticrambo4890]

Those Web movies remind me of KZbin sketches with special effects in around 2010-2015

[@D_Antagonist]

I don't know if 2005 Seven Swords would fall in this category but I really liked it.

[@cpt.mcn00b36]

China's getting it's own Tromaville and I'm all in for it!

[@darththew]

Water monster is surprising well made and solid

[@RyanParreno]

Even a few decades and continents away, you can totally smell the Roger Corman/Bert I Gordon/Samuel Arkoff off of these Chinese monster movies. It's so perfect LOL

[@realeala]

Kinda wish they used more animatronics and puppets for some of the creature features

[@GLIEPNIR]

Honestly, I have seen only what I could find on Netflix, so there's many more movies like these that I wish I could access... And yet I've loved that small number of options I had available. These movies are really good at fulfilling their purpose, to entertain. There's never been a movie of this kind that made me feel bored and that is something I can appreciate :)

[@JRock424]

All the movies he talked about are available on KZbin for free with at least English subs. Even the killer roach movie.

[@liquidchato]

Great video

[@sunnywung6395]

it's actually the same reason why people still root for movies franchise like fast&furious. once in a while ur brain just need to go airplane mode and enjoy wtv is on the screen. it's what we call popcorn movies.

[@antzerobooks]

my backlog is a bit too much to watch any of this, but i'm glad to know there are still good movies out there from china, unfortunately none of this seems likely to ever be available on theatre

[@SNLx2]

Love the fact you included Red Letter Media!

[@jbard9892]

That wasn't actually Mike Stoklasa, it was an actor from China. i was confused at first also. When he said there were psychotic cockroaches controlling a rotting corpse in the movie, I thought, "Mike Stoklasa is in this?" But he meant the actor was portraying a rotting corpse full of cockroaches who think of humanity as garbage.

[@fran3835]

NGL some of the CGI in those movies looks better than half of the CGI for DC movies

[@jamesbessant9290]

I would watch so many of those movies.

[@AceMoonshot]

I would also add these type movies have always been really popular with kids. They don't need great acting, fine tuned scripts or flawless effects. Mainly because their imaginations haven't atrophied yet. Nor have they become world weary and cynical to the point their sense of disbelief is ingrained into their souls yet.

[@igodreamer7096]

Now I want to make my own horror movie based in a folk tale too! xDDDD

[@hermanos1ai]

1:05 lol, I knew I wasn't crazy when I first saw it

[@meteorplum]

I feel like Tai Chi Zero and Tai Chi Hero sort of belong in this category. (Found out about them when watching the trailers on the Dragon Blade disc.)

[@KMO325]

So someone in China saw Sharknado and thought, “I will build a whole film genre empire from this!”😆😆 Can’t knock the hustle behind it. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the entertaining video-I can’t wait until episode 100 arrives because I know it’s going to be amazing.

[@christianmanka3884]

When I have a bad day, I watch Chinese Monster movies on Tubi

[@vjara94]

The cg and cinematography in some of those movies looks actually good, miles ahead of some cheap direct to Amazon USA movies

[@bobbenson6825]

These remind me of the 50's B monster movies I loved, like Black Scorpion, Kronos, Fiend Without a Face, X the Unknown...low budget (sometimes extremely so) but most of them had at least one sequence that hit. And unlike SciFi channel's crap, those movies mainly tried to treat their stories straight.

[@squidgameman441]

Hello Accented Cinema, tks as always for great and insightful videos. Was wondering if you'd consider a video essay on one Korean film: Coast Guard (2002) by Kim Gi-duk. I consider it to be a good film exploring the contradictions within Cold War mentality on the Korean peninsula, and how the Korean military never truly exited that terrifying, traumatising period into democratic society, unlike the rest of the country. Would love to see what your thoughts are.

[@StrangerHappened]

*DID you do* an essay about Indian blockbusters? They are also out of this world. With crazy CGI, epic scale and everything.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Unfortunately, Indian blockbusters are also ridiculously censored by the Indian censor board. Yeah.

[@StrangerHappened]

@@SlapstickGenius23 The same happens in China and in the USA (the CIA and Pentagon do the censorship for decades, as documents show).

[@smartsolutionz6711]

Is there any way you could comment a list of all this awesome movies? Would love to watch them! Greetings from your fans in germany!