Japan’s ‘master of horror’ Kiyoshi Kurosawa highlights ‘B-movie’ appeal

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, cinema’s “master of horror” and recipient of the Busan International Film Festival’s Filmmaker of the Year Award, said on Thursday he’d like to see more Japanese artists explore genre cinema.

Celebrated Asian filmmakers including South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho, the Oscar-winning director of “Parasite,” admire 69-year-old Kurosawa, whose works are renowned for their keen observations and psychological depth. Kurosawa received the BIFF Filmmaker of the Year award on Wednesday, joining previous winners such as renowned Hong Kong actors Tony Leung and Chow Yun Fat.

Genre-bending director Bong said in a video message he was a “long-time, diehard fan” of Kurosawa and recited a long list of films he has admired for years. Film experts say Bong’s work, particularly his 2003 crime thriller “Memories of Murder,” has been heavily influenced by Kurosawa. Jason Bechervaise, a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, cited Kurosawa’s 1997 horror movie “Cure” for “its extraordinary atmospherics and intensity.”