FadedBlue_net

Title: Uzumaki
Director: Higuchinsky
Year: 2000
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Uzumaki is quite an old horror movie in the context of J-horror that has made it’s way to North America.  In fact, it was in theaters years before Ringu, Ju-on, or even Kairo came out.  So you can’t very easily say Uzumaki rips off other J-horror movies or their styles.  As a cult film, Uzumaki is quite unique among Japanese horror and is somewhat refreshing to watch for those sick of scary little kids.

Although it doesn’t necessarily follow J-horror conventions, Uzumaki has a style similar to Tetsuya Nakashima’s seen in Memories of Matsuko: off-the-wall close-ups and poor acting in some parts.  This was my biggest complaint of the movie.  Uzumaki certainly isn’t going for the straight horror, but rather a weird and almost quirky feeling.  Often times gruesome, but still not too heavy.

The horror aspect of Uzumaki is fine and it’s plot is interesting enough to hold your attention.  If not, then snail people will.  Let’s just say that some images in Uzumaki may very well be never duplicated again.  That’s probably the biggest reason to watch this movie.  It’s so strange that you’ll never forget it, although it’s probably best suited  for hardcore fans of asian horror.

Rating: 2 /5

Title: Onibaba
Director: Kaneto Shindo
Year: 1964
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: Film

The rich history of Japanese film can be overlooked these days, due to the prevalence of remade 90’s and 00’s J-horror movies which have over-saturated the American market.  It may seem that Japanese film has only had one type of horror: your long-haired little girl, or pale-paced boy that seems to teleport to the scariest location right behind you.  Although I believe a lot of this imagery stem from more ancient Japanese folk ghost stories, which can be seen on scrolls in some Japanese museum, there is a lot of original stuff out there, old and new.  Onibaba is a great example of a very unique horror movie with a straightforward plot, a deeper message, and haunting silent imagery.

To even start to talk about the plot in Onibaba would tell you most of the story.  Not too much happens in the movie overall, though this isn’t to be meant as a fault.  A mother and daughter live in a field of tall grass (seen in the poster) during wartime between samurai, and they live by trading dead samurai’s equipment for food.  Along comes a neighbor who is looking for company from the daughter, but the mother doesn’t want him to split up the mother-daughter living arrangement.  She has to find some way of keeping her daughter from running away to him.

Like most Japanese horror, the horror of Onibaba doesn’t come from thrills of killing, but rather from a chilling atmospheric presence of inhumanity.  This is really where the black & white color scheme actually is a complement to the film.  Silent, still shots of scenes by the river contrast with sloppy and frantic close up shots of running through the fields.  Slow-motion, flowing grass seems to characterize some sort of unknown life in the night.

The simple and slow-moving horror that builds through the night scenes climaxes with a horrific realization about the mother.  Themes of sin and punishment, as well as war and humanity run throughout the plot, and the audience is left with a situation where one ultimately decides their own fate.  Onibaba is a commentary on how little one often understands those consequences.

Rating: 4 /5

Title: One Missed Call 2 (Chaku-shin ari 2)
Director: Renpei Tsukamoto
Year: 2005
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Oh great, another sequel to a J-horror flick, right?  While One Missed Call 2 is obviously the successor to the hit and well-liked One Missed Call, it actually departs from the formula in the first movie quite a bit.  Rather than being a gory anticipation game, OMC2 is actually more of a detective movie.  There really aren’t any gross-out moments, and deaths are quick, fairly bloodless, and not very inspired.

So whether or not the movie is enjoyable is up to your open-mindedness.  At first, I was turned off by the fact that not many people bite it in interesting ways (one of the most important parts of an asian horror movie), but after I started to see the direction OMC2 goes, I changed my mind.  You can’t blame the writers to go in a different direction, since J-horror sequels and spin offs have become so ubiquitous that a straight-forward sequel would get lost in the mix.

What’s good about this new direction?  Well not really that much.  I mean the acting is sub-par to the point of being a little annoying, and the emotions are a little cliche.  That said, I still found myself caught up in the story.  I think the never-ending anticipation of the premise that OMC has built around killer cell phone messages is legit and it goes to show how interesting an idea it really is.  So to keep the same basic principles and change the audiences’ vantage point allows for a sequel that is less dull than some others, considering the arguable over-saturation of the J-horror market.  I guess it’s more the pace of the story that is different, since we are still following a main character who is trying to solve her own case of living longer than her voicemail.

The step from OMC to OMC2 is very similar to Ju-On to Ju-On 2.  The first was very fresh, interesting, and viewable to non J-horror fans, but the sequel is really only going to be liked by close followers to the genre.  To end on a positive note, the ending of OMC2 is satisfying for viewers who make it that far and makes up for a lot of its faults.

Rating: 2 /5

Title: The Great Yokai War (aka. Yokai Daisensou)
Director: Takashi Miike
Year: 2005
Genre: Children’s Movie/Fantasy/Adventure
Format Reviewed: TV (Sundance Channel)

Let’s get it out of the way first: this is going to be a love/hate review.  If you have ever seen a Miike (pronounced: “mii-kay”) film before, you probably either thought he was insane, awesome, and most likely both.  Unfortunately, it’s a little harder to see the awesome side in The Great Yokai War.  It’s hard to judge this, though, since it is so obviously meant for a child similarly aged as the protagonist.  There are certainly good elements in the film, but the average movie goer (and especially for the Western audience) isn’t going to enjoy it at all.  It’s so bizarre and cheesy at points, at times I was just laughing at the fact that this was even a movie.

So what’s up with this movie?  It’s got an incredibly talented director.  Most of the actors do a fine job, though they tend to purposefully stick to their superficial role in the movie.  Probably a choice made to simplify things for its younger audience.  Speaking of young, there’s no denying Chiaki Kuriyama (you’ll know her from Kill Bill or Battle Royale) taking on yet another semi-evil, semi-awesome role.  I think fans of Kuriyama already have enough to see this film.  She doesn’t disappoint with her usual type of character and spot in the story, as well as some sexy poses.

The story itself is kind of what makes the movie blow up.  The formula for this film is a little bit of Japanese folk lore, a little bit of obviously evil guy, a kid who has to swing a sword, a million absolutely bizarre creatures, and a puppet cat that is probably left-over from Labyrinth.  Specificially, our hero is chosen at a Japanese festival and is hesitant to participate in some great battle, which may or may not be linked to some guy in a business suit?  Yeah, we really don’t get too much of the pieces to fit it all together, but there are a few things we do know:  cats need to be saved, swords can apparantly be broken and mended perfectly, and the bad guys need to bite it before things get too out of hand. Not too crazy for a child’s fantasy movie, right?  Even for a child, this movie may be a bit too scary and gory, though.  Again, it’s a touch of Miike, but nothing like what you’re used to with his work.

On paper, The Great Yokai War, might have been alright, if you forgive it’s dumbing down and slap-stick humor.  But no.  Yokai suffers from horrible special effects (though really, this is standard for mainstream Japanese movies), useless characters, and a lack of focus.  All-in-all, I don’t think anything actually changed from the beginning to the end of the movie.  On the other hand, Miike has a select few scenes where you can really see his great use of camera, horror, off-beat comedy, and seductive villians.  These are great for the fans of his work, but I just don’t think it’s enough to label Yokai even worth watching for them.  It looks as if Miike is making a very slight message about environmentalism and garbage waste, but it is so dilluted and set aside the minute it comes up that there is no focus for it either.  If you’ve got to see everything Miike has made or Kuriyama is in, then go right ahead… but don’t expect anything that makes the film itself good.  Because in the end, it’s just a superficial children’s story with a lot of make-up, costume, and a handful of laughs; though, you may be laughing at the movie, and not with it.

Rating: 1 /5

Alright, another year of free, great Japanese cinema courtesy of yours truly’s alma mater. I’ve been going to these series (summer and fall) for several years, since I took a Japanese Cinema course at UofMichigan. I highly recommend viewing of any and all of these if you happen to be in the area. I’ve seen half of the films on the list for this summer, and will include my rating for them on the side.

I will really be looking forward to seeing the ones that I haven’t seen yet, and am always up for seeing Kairo again. Don’t be fooled… it’s not the junky American version of Pulse! Retribution was not bad, and Audition is a must-see for any serious fan of film, horror, or Japanese film.

===========================================

Summer 2008 Film Series: “Summer Chills: Japanese Horror Films”

Friday, July 18th ~ PULSE (KAIRO) – Rating: 5/5
Friday, July 25th ~ ONIBABA
Friday, August 1st ~ KWAIDAN (KAIDAN)
Friday, August 8th ~ HELL (JIGOKU)
Friday, August 15th ~ RETRIBUTION (SAKEBI) – Rating: 3/5
Friday, August 22nd ~ AUDITION (ODISHON) – Ratin: 5/5
Link: UofM Ann Arbor – Center for Japanese Studies

Title: Bright Future (aka Akarui Mirai)
Director: Kurosawa Kiyoshi
Year: 2003
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: TV (Sundance Channel)

Is there no wrong that Kiyoshi Kurosawa can do? Certainly there has to be one movie in his past that doesn’t live up to the hype. Or so I thought going back to this lesser praised (but still praised) work. In the Kurosawa filmography, Bright Future is placed between Kairo (I’ve seen) and Doppleganger (haven’t seen). It’s fun to watch an auteur like Kiyoshi, because you can see different sides of the same world that his mind must work in. Clearly Bright Future builds upon the social loneliness and meaninglessness of life, or so is felt by the main characters, that is present in his other movies, but it is not quite as polished or apocalyptic as Kairo. But since I view Kairo as possibly the best horror movie ever… I won’t judge it solely on it being worse than that!

Indeed, I like Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s movies because they have a distinct realism of everyday life and a purposeful silence in conversation; a point where Bright Future excels. The protagonist is as well-rounded as you’re going to get from a Kurosawa film. That is to say that he doesn’t often work very hard to show background in his characters, or many of their motivations, and at least you see a few different sides of Nimura. Some other classic techniques of Kiyoshi present include the normal moving and looking post-death ghost, on screen in the first shot and invisible in the second. Suicide and general illegal activity is portrayed as the end result of being pushed into some limit by one’s situation, as well.

So what makes it different than a typical Kiyoshi film (if there were such a thing)? Well, for one, the ending. I feel that the ending is really quite satisfying compared to others that he has done. It kind of takes the feelings from throughout the movie and puts them aside… releasing your thoughts onto present life rather than pounding remorse or loneliness into the viewer, as I’ve found Kurosawa to do sometimes. I suppose Bright Future lives up to its name then, as it does seem to give hope in a world without any. And while it’s not as clear as the messages in his other films, he seems to provide some solutions for society, rather than just the cause of despair.

Rating: 4 /5

cultural note: there is a visual reference to the Japanese Obon festival in this movie. If you don’t know what that is… look it up first!