Pieter-Jan Van Haecke
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Pieter-Jan Van Haecke is a Belgian critic currently living in Japan. He solely focusing on Japanese cinema and provides in-depth reviews from a unique psychoanalytical perspective.
Hibotan Bakuto: Hanafuda Shobu (1969)
EDIT
“With Red Peony Gambler 3: Flower Cards Game, Tai Kato delivers an impressive visual experience that develops the themes of the series in a meaningful way. ” –
Psychocinematography
Feb 6, 2026
Full Review
Rental Family (2025)
87%
EDIT
“Rental Family re-affirms Hikari’s talent for creating uplifting and touching filmic experiences.” –
Psychocinematography
Feb 2, 2026
Full Review
Muromachi Outsiders (2025)
EDIT
“With Samurai Fury, Yu Irie delivers a samurai narrative that, while not able to match the masterpieces of the genre, offers everything fans have come to expect from the genre.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 29, 2026
Full Review
Rainy Blue (2025)
EDIT
“With Rainy Blue, Asuna Yanagi does not simply deliver a heartwarming coming-of-age narrative, but also a work that has the potential to inspire young people.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 22, 2026
Full Review
Blazing Fists (2025)
EDIT
“While the use of voice-over in film can be quite controversial – a sign of weak writing that complicates visual storytelling, it works extremely well in Blazing Fists.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 22, 2026
Full Review
Dollhouse (2025)
EDIT
“Yaguchi’s Dollhouse is as great as conventional J-horror can get.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 16, 2026
Full Review
Demon City (2025)
55%
EDIT
“With Demon City, Seiji Tanaka delivers a good action experience. He delivers many pleasing moments of action and violent brutality for the spectator to savour, yet struggles to craft an emotionally potent backbone.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 14, 2026
Full Review
Under Ninja (2025)
EDIT
“Under Ninja offers what it sets out to offer in spades: entertainment.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 14, 2026
Full Review
Bullet Train Explosion (2025)
67%
EDIT
“Bullet Train Explosion is a competent sequel that will please audiences. Higuchi utilizes all the necessary ingredients to deliver a cinematic experience that puts the spectator on the edge of his seat and succeeds in touching him emotionally.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 10, 2026
Full Review
Faceless (2024)
EDIT
“Faceless is a great thriller that beautifully shows the destructive role the image can play within the societal field.” –
Psychocinematography
Jan 5, 2026
Full Review
Lumberjack the Monster (2023)
60%
EDIT
“Lumberjack The Monster is a great example of a filmic experience that is helmed by a director that is uninvested in the narrative material of the story and, consequently, merely does his bare minimum. ” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 29, 2025
Full Review
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
99%
EDIT
“Godzilla Minus One is not only a triumphant return of the most beloved Kaiju of all, but also a deeply emotional experience that re-assessing the themes of the original Godzilla in a refreshing way.” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 23, 2025
Full Review
Exit 8 (2025)
97%
EDIT
“With Exit 8, Genki Kawamura delivers an engaging and visually arresting psychological horror narrative. ” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 18, 2025
Full Review
Golden Kamuy (2024)
100%
EDIT
“With Golden Kamuy, Shigeaki Kubo reaffirms that he has the skill and talent to bring action-driven narratives to life in a satisfactorily way. ” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 18, 2025
Full Review
Undead Lovers (2024)
EDIT
“Ai Mikami delivers a surprisingly layered performance as Rino Hasebe.” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 12, 2025
Full Review
A Girl Named Ann (2024)
EDIT
“A Girl Named Ann offers the spectator one of most upsetting confrontations with the way the societal and familial Other can fail the subject.” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 8, 2025
Full Review
Cloud (2024)
93%
EDIT
“With his thriller Cloud, Kurosawa delivers a biting critique of way capitalism and consumerism has transformed our subjectivity and the way we interact with others.” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 8, 2025
Full Review
Renoir (2025)
87%
EDIT
“With Renoir, Chie Hayakawa delivers an incredible moving experience that succeeds in exploring the difficulty for the subject to deal with death and the loss it introduces.” –
Psychocinematography
Dec 3, 2025
Full Review
Happyend (2024)
98%
EDIT
“HappyEnd is an incredible tour-de-force that hits home.” –
Psychocinematography
Nov 22, 2025
Full Review
My Sunshine (2024)
88%
EDIT
“Okuyama charms the spectator with a visual fabric that elegantly emphasize the beauty in wintery landscapes as well as the warmth of human interactions. ” –
Psychocinematography
Nov 19, 2025
Full Review
The Gesuidouz (2024)
EDIT
“The Gesuidouz offers the spectator a barrage of quirky twists and light-hearted absurdities.” –
Psychocinematography
Nov 13, 2025
Full Review
Teki Cometh (2024)
EDIT
“Teki Cometh offers the spectator a vivid and mesmerising experience.” –
Psychocinematography
Nov 13, 2025
Full Review
Evil Does Not Exist (2023)
91%
EDIT
“With Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Evil Does Not Exist offers a highly meditative exploration of the position of violence within the natural real and the human symbolic.” –
Psychocinematography
Nov 7, 2025
Full Review
The Valiant Red Peony Part 2 (1968)
EDIT
“Norifumi Suzuki delivers with Red Peony Gambler: Gambler’s Obligation another Ninkyo classic.” –
Psychocinematography
Nov 4, 2025
Full Review
The Young Strangers (2024)
EDIT
“Uchiyama delivers a masterpiece that does not merely grab the spectator by his throat, but confronts him with the fundamental importance of the signifier in a heartrending way.” –
Psychocinematography
Oct 28, 2025
Full Review
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