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Title: Exte (aka Hair Extensions)
Director: Sion Sono
Year: 2007
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Exte is a highly anticipated horror movie.  It has so much potential to be a really great movie: huge name actors and actresses, an excellent director, and a plot theme that can be as scary as any other.  Most of all, the combination of all these part can and do make the film a very fresh genre film to the dying genre of J-horror.

J-horror has suffered from stereotypes, poor spinoffs and sequels, and horrible Hollywood remakes.  It seems like there is little hope for true originals like Ju-on and Ringu to arise in this atmosphere.  Rather than focusing recycled products, Exte has become the gem in a crop of potatoes.  There are many things that are just done right in Exte, even if not genre-shattering, that make the film very watchable and enjoyable to fans of horror.

One may watch this movie to see Chiaki Kuriyama play a lead role (and try to figure out whether she will die by the end…. I won’t tell you).  It’s not a bad one to pick up for this reason as well.  She does a great job acting, as usual, and you can tell she’s having fun with the movie.  Her character is quite innocent and has a fairly typical personality.  It’s definitely fun to follow her through the movie and root for her.

Exte is a horror movie in the classic J-horror sense, but there really is no plot connection to other movies like The Wig.  Rest assured, you won’t feel like you’ve seen this movie already, even for veterans of asian horror.  Long, straight, black hair has been a major element in many asian horror movies, and has been done to death.  [pun]  I don’t know how, but Exte is not at all fatiguing in its use of hair.  Maybe it’s the volume..

Rating: 3 /5

Title: Imprint
Director: Takashi Miike
Year: 2006
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: Film and Bluray

Having seen Imprint twice, once in a small theater in Tokyo and once on bluray at my own place, I can honestly say the second viewing is just as powerful on the second viewing.  Imprint is probably a movie that will be overlooked by all but hardcore Miike fans and those who just happen to watch it in order to complete the whole Masters of Horror series.  This is unfortunate, but probably is the best audience for the film.

The Masters of Horror series was great for horror fans, although the films were hit and miss, which I’ve also heard said about Miike’s own filmography.  Don’t let the fact that Imprint was “made-for-TV” turn you off.  The movie is long enough at 63 minutes (in fact, any longer may feel too long) and has enough plot elements and twists to keep you interested all the way through.  Nor does the made-for-TV status limit it’s gore or horror.  In fact, that’s half of the reason it was never released on TV.  The other is the other weird part of the movie, which would be a spoiler.

All of the actors speak English in this movie, though only one of them is a native speaker.  This gives Imprint authenticity plot-wise, but often times pulls the viewer out of  the movie.  I would bet many people won’t even understand several spoken lines.  Nevertheless, some scenes do not need words.  And the horror, which is better classifies as torture, will not be forgotten.  You’ve been warned.  If you’ve seen Audition, I’d say this movie is the closest thing to that torture scene than anything else.  Although the motives are not as powerful this time (Audition‘s strongest feat), the torture scene is done much more aesthetically.  The visuals of Imprint can be stunning, especially on a good media.  Stunning in a more ways than one.

Imprint delivers for those who are already interested in it.  And for fans of Audition, this and Strange Circus are two next two movies that you should see.  Each one takes one of the things that Audition is known for and does them separately: torture and reality.  If you only liked one of those themes, then here’s your chance to watch one without the other.  Even on Showtime, I’m not sure if you’d like to accidently turn this movie on while channel surfing… you should be ready for it before you start.

Rating: 3 /5

Title: Strange Circus
Director: Sion Sono
Year: 2005
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Whether you’re coming to this film a newcomer to Sion Sono’s work or having seen Suicide Club or Noriko’s Dinner Table, you may have heard it classified a horror movie.  But if you know either of those movies, it’s hard to say they were horrifying in a typical horror sense.  There were no ghosts or demons in either of them.  In fact, if you watch all of Sion Sono’s work, you begin to wonder: just what is horror?

The most horrifying aspect of Sono’s movies are the characters.  What’s curious about them is their duality of being super realistic, yet so far from the norm.  Each one has a main character who is trying to find their place in the world.  This is certainly a huge theme Sono’s movies, but for most other directors “trying to find your place” is a premise for a happy or bittersweet ending.  Strange Circus is the ultimate and complete opposite.  What lies underneath the characters of Strange Circus is indeed horrifying.

The story has a lot of plot twists… think Audition.  Unless you were really paying attention, you might not know what is real and what is fake.  This all adds to Sono’s objective as a story-teller to make the audience question their perception.  The characters are unique and have genuine motives.  They could care less if their story was being told, as they are serious about accomplishing what they put out to do.  What’s the point of doing it if you don’t go all the way.  Clearly Sono has taken his own piece of advice in making horror film!

While it certainly can be accessible to a wider (emphasis on the “er“) audience, you have to be able to tolerate some taboo themes (to Americans – which isn’t saying much) and some slightly gross-out moments.  I’ve seen worse in a horror film.  But if you can do that and really pay attention, you will certainly be rewarded at the end of this film.  It is rich, deep, powerful, and at it’s best, horrifying.

Rating: 4 /5