Nightmare Cinema’s release schedule continues this month with its Japanese debut on July 19, complete with promotional art that incorporates elements of the US poster with striking details of its own.
In place of the demon from Ryuhei Kitamura’s “Mashit” segment, the Japanese poster features the face of a sleeping woman, head cleaved above the eyes to serve as a bowl of cinematic nightmares. Spiraling up and out of her skull is a length of film displaying many of the images included in the US poster. Look closely, and you’ll see Fred the welder from “The Thing in the Woods,” Ron the janitor from “This Way to Egress,” and Mr. Stitches from “Dead.” Look to the right of the movie marquee, and you’ll see the demon from “Mashit” that dominates the poster for the American release.
The design also includes a movie theater, though not the one from the film. Here, the Rialto’s facade is replaced by a composite that includes the marque from the Comanche Drive-In (Buena Vista, Colorado) and the haunted façade of the abandoned Filmtheater Cinema (Dresden, Germany) — an intriguing combination of images that reinforces the international aspect of Nightmare Cinema.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the poster is the film’s Japanese title マスターズ・オブ・ホラー. That translates as “Masters of Horror,” which just happens to be the title of the Mick Garris’s anthology series that ran on Showtime from 2005-2007, the very series that paved the way for film Nightmare Cinema.
Nightmare Cinema makes its Japanese debut this weekend on July 19.
The film is currently available in the US via video on demand from iTunes, Amazon, and FandangoNow. It releases on DVD and Blu-Ray editions on September 3.
Images:
Poster for Nightmare Cinema‘s Japanese release — Eigia.
Comanche Drive-In Marqee — Cinema Treasures.
Filmtheater Facade – Dissertation Reviews: Cinema in Theatre, 1915-1927.
Screencap from the Japanese trailer for Nightmare Cinema — YouTube.
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