This film was not great. It was a direct-to-video film, expect no better. Having said that, there are several reasons why any Juon fan MUST SEE this movie. First of all, there's Yûrei Yanagi of the Ring series fame. Though his performance is not exceptional, his mere presence brings the film out of the gutter. Other highlights include getting to see the original scenes that were borrowed almost shot-for-shot for the American re-make. This film also goes into more depth about Kayako's family's back-story. My favorite scene, which I liked so much I rated this movie a 7 in spite of it's faults, is a scene including Takeo and a dead fetus. The most mention this scene got in any of the theatrical releases is the acknowledgment that Takeo died unexplained in the streets. This scene alone is worth watching the movie for. It is one of the best death-scenes I have ever seen. Maybe I'm being over-enthusiastic, but dammit, I really liked it! In conclusion, don't buy it if you don't want to, but see it. It's not optional. Watch this film or Kayako will come and eat various important parts of your anatomy. Parts you will miss....
Reviews
3 Reviews
Crazy Lips
(2000)
Unlike anything I've ever seen... ...In a good way.
25 December 2004
Crazy Lips is every sick and twisted thing you could possibly fit in a two hour movie, jumping from genre to genre without missing a beat, and it's all the better for it's apparent senselessness. It's billed as being "from the makers of Ringu, Juon and Audition", but don't expect a haunting ghost story. This film defies classification, and must be seen to be believed. My only warning is that this movie is very graphic and perverse. I recently held a screening of this film for some friends, and though many walked out before the end, those who stayed laughed hard and long. If sick and twisted are adjectives that have been used to describe you, be sure not to miss Crazy Lips.
Dark Water
(2002)
One of the great J-horror films.
11 November 2004
I think it's unfair to say that this film was similar to Ring without pointing out that it was written AND directed by the writer and director of Ring. You think our horror movies are original? I would argue that Dark Water is deeper than it at first appears. You have Yoshimi, a single mother trying to make it on her own in a patriarchy. She's constantly being brushed off or belittled by the men in her life (her ex-husband, her apartment manager, etc.). On top of that, she's being haunted by a ghost child with whom she identifies strongly because of her own childhood abandonment. This film speaks to single mothers everywhere. It's an existential horror in which the scariest part is that a group of people that is growing larger by the day (single mothers) don't have any place in a patriarchal society. If we were all as critical as we pretend, we'd see Dark Water as a haunting and touching multi-layer epic that cannot be coded binarily as "scary" or "not scary". Luckily for viewers who don't want to have to think about film, there's an American re-make on the way.
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