What happened to this year’s New York Asian Film Festival main competition slate? For the last 17 years, the NYAFF has prided itself on being one of the most unusual, unpredictable, and daring festivals not just in New York but in America, thumbing its nose at traditional standards of artistic propriety and scheduling the boldest, the strangest, and the most uncomfortable films Asia has to offer. This year is no exception—from odd meta-horror comedies to steroid-chugging actionsploitation, their program is a veritable smorgasbord of the odd and fantastic. But little of that energy seems to have been put into curating their picks for their annual Jury Prize. This year’s competition films are among the dullest, blandest, and safest of the entire festival.