New AD Vision Theatrical Premier

AD Vision’s translation of the live-action Japanese suspense/horror film The Hypnotist will premier at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema April 26 through May 7th. This gory and suspenseful thriller follows a police detective investigating a television entertainer that may be subliminally convincing his victims to kill themselves. The question is, is the detective already one of the hypnotist’s victims?

The Hypnotist may be part of the beginning of an influx of Japanese suspense and horror films into the US, a genre which has remained largely unknown and unrecognized in America beyond a small cult following. Japanese live-action horror ranges from intense suspense thrillers such as The Hypnotist, Angel Dust and The Ring, to ultra-graphic gore such as Evil Dead Trap & Junk, to the distinctly Japanese horror sub-genre of bio-horror which includes films such as Organ and Mermaid in a Manhole. Dreamworks Pictures was apparently impressed enough with the Japanese horror/suspense film The Ring to buy the rights to re-make the film for an American audience. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, don’t miss this opportunity to experience cinematic horror in a way that you’ve probably never seen before.