Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Japanese Horror Anthology: Underworld
Japanese Horror Anthology: Underworld
Original title – Inagawa Junji no Senritsu no Horror
Dir. Inagawa Junji
Left Behind in the Mountain
Original title: Yama no Naka no Wasuremono
山の中の忘れ物
A young man increasingly meets a variety of young woman for first dates involving a long drive into the mountains to enjoy refreshing scenery. When they all fail to "put out", his anger causes him to routinely leave the girl at the remote spot. But what happens when one of his abandoned dates returns…
Review: Okay. This guy was the absolute epitome of everything that a woman detests, and then some. I watched the entire thing just waiting for him to get what was coming to him. Is it possible for a horror movie to leave you with a sense of triumph? Yes. I now believe that it is. This aside, the film was extremely successful in giving you an utterly loathable antagonist for a change.
-Latoya
Tattoo
A young woman looking for a racier expression of herself decides to get a tattoo from a mysterious shop. The tattoo seems to carry with it some bizarre characteristics and soon the girl is regularly having nightmares of a bloody and brutal killing.
Review: This was a chilling work, and at one point reminded me of the sort of trippy films one might expect from the sixties. I don’t mean to rant but there is definitely a social criticism to be gotten from this, especially at the beginning. Even none horror fans are bound to enjoy the strange psychological play this movie displays.
-Latoya
Viewfinder's Memory
Original title: Findaa no Kioku
ファインダーの記憶
Three high school boys enjoying a summer vacation encounter a beautiful young woman who quickly takes a liking to them. As they enjoy each others' company on the beach, one boy peers through the video camera he had brought along to capture the memories. The memories projected on his screen, however, are startlingly different from the ones he expects…
Review: This story was perhaps my favorite of them all for the sheer fact that it could have followed the painfully expected stereotypical-horror-genre route of, “and then everybody dies” and yet it just doesn’t let you know what will happen. I don’t want to give too much away but know that it will satisfy both thrill-seekers and those who are inclined to touching movies as well. Extraordinarily bitter sweet.
-Latoya
Guardian Angel
Original title: Dareka ga Miteiru
誰かが見ている
After squandering her grandmother's inheritance on the foolish business ideas of her runaway boyfriend and being hounded by increasingly boisterous creditors demanding their money, a young woman contemplates suicide as the means of escape. Try as she might, however, her attempts are always thwarted by a mysterious force inside the house.
Review: I think that what I enjoyed the most in this short film was its ability to make you hold your breath every single time she goes to kill herself. Even once you get the trend (or read this review) and you know she is going to fail, you still hold your breath. And here again, Junji reveals his apparent fondness for plots about no-good boyfriends and its nice to see a benevolent apparition every once in a while.
-Latoya
Mortuary
Original title: Reianshitsu
霊安室
A new hospital intern is asked to bring the body of a young boy recently killed in an auto accident down to the hospital's morgue. Once in the quiet morgue, the child's mother arrives to inquire about the fate of her boy.
Review: Right off the bat, there will be one scene in this movie where you will audibly show you were startled—it is that out of nowhere, in your face. Viewers will likely relate/sympathize the most with the fumbling protagonist who no one believes and alone has to experience the tormenting visions of the dead.
-Latoya
Original title – Inagawa Junji no Senritsu no Horror
Dir. Inagawa Junji
Chain Mail
Original title: チェーンメール
A small group of high school girls receive picture text messages on their cell phones purportedly from the girl who committed suicide shortly after a horrendous bullying from them. The messages recommends that each girl pass along the message to three companions lest they themselves suffer the same fate as the girl in the photo.
Review: This one really resembled the plot of Chakushin Ari [One Missed Call], though instead of hearing yourself die, you get to see it in picture form! While Chakushin Ari is a little more horrific with that inexplicable creature-person and those gruesome death scenes, this one does not rely so heavily on that sort of imagery. It focuses more on the fact that this seems endless, no matter what the poor heroine (the tag-along friend of the bullies) seems to do. It made me wary of my ringtone for the rest of the day.
-Latoya
Original title: チェーンメール
A small group of high school girls receive picture text messages on their cell phones purportedly from the girl who committed suicide shortly after a horrendous bullying from them. The messages recommends that each girl pass along the message to three companions lest they themselves suffer the same fate as the girl in the photo.
Review: This one really resembled the plot of Chakushin Ari [One Missed Call], though instead of hearing yourself die, you get to see it in picture form! While Chakushin Ari is a little more horrific with that inexplicable creature-person and those gruesome death scenes, this one does not rely so heavily on that sort of imagery. It focuses more on the fact that this seems endless, no matter what the poor heroine (the tag-along friend of the bullies) seems to do. It made me wary of my ringtone for the rest of the day.
-Latoya
Left Behind in the Mountain
Original title: Yama no Naka no Wasuremono
山の中の忘れ物
A young man increasingly meets a variety of young woman for first dates involving a long drive into the mountains to enjoy refreshing scenery. When they all fail to "put out", his anger causes him to routinely leave the girl at the remote spot. But what happens when one of his abandoned dates returns…
Review: Okay. This guy was the absolute epitome of everything that a woman detests, and then some. I watched the entire thing just waiting for him to get what was coming to him. Is it possible for a horror movie to leave you with a sense of triumph? Yes. I now believe that it is. This aside, the film was extremely successful in giving you an utterly loathable antagonist for a change.
-Latoya
Tattoo
A young woman looking for a racier expression of herself decides to get a tattoo from a mysterious shop. The tattoo seems to carry with it some bizarre characteristics and soon the girl is regularly having nightmares of a bloody and brutal killing.
Review: This was a chilling work, and at one point reminded me of the sort of trippy films one might expect from the sixties. I don’t mean to rant but there is definitely a social criticism to be gotten from this, especially at the beginning. Even none horror fans are bound to enjoy the strange psychological play this movie displays.
-Latoya
Viewfinder's Memory
Original title: Findaa no Kioku
ファインダーの記憶
Three high school boys enjoying a summer vacation encounter a beautiful young woman who quickly takes a liking to them. As they enjoy each others' company on the beach, one boy peers through the video camera he had brought along to capture the memories. The memories projected on his screen, however, are startlingly different from the ones he expects…
Review: This story was perhaps my favorite of them all for the sheer fact that it could have followed the painfully expected stereotypical-horror-genre route of, “and then everybody dies” and yet it just doesn’t let you know what will happen. I don’t want to give too much away but know that it will satisfy both thrill-seekers and those who are inclined to touching movies as well. Extraordinarily bitter sweet.
-Latoya
Guardian Angel
Original title: Dareka ga Miteiru
誰かが見ている
After squandering her grandmother's inheritance on the foolish business ideas of her runaway boyfriend and being hounded by increasingly boisterous creditors demanding their money, a young woman contemplates suicide as the means of escape. Try as she might, however, her attempts are always thwarted by a mysterious force inside the house.
Review: I think that what I enjoyed the most in this short film was its ability to make you hold your breath every single time she goes to kill herself. Even once you get the trend (or read this review) and you know she is going to fail, you still hold your breath. And here again, Junji reveals his apparent fondness for plots about no-good boyfriends and its nice to see a benevolent apparition every once in a while.
-Latoya
Mortuary
Original title: Reianshitsu
霊安室
A new hospital intern is asked to bring the body of a young boy recently killed in an auto accident down to the hospital's morgue. Once in the quiet morgue, the child's mother arrives to inquire about the fate of her boy.
Review: Right off the bat, there will be one scene in this movie where you will audibly show you were startled—it is that out of nowhere, in your face. Viewers will likely relate/sympathize the most with the fumbling protagonist who no one believes and alone has to experience the tormenting visions of the dead.
-Latoya
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