Kiyoshi Kurosawa Horror Part Two

LOFT

(2005)

Overall: MEH

Though it is beautifully photographed, has a handful of noiselessly eerie moments, and largely evokes the identical, lethargic mood that all of his horror films utilize, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Loft makes some puzzling choices along the way.  Speaking of the filmmaker's deliberate, tried and true pace, the near two-hour running time is less forgiving here.  This is due to a script that is both barren in large parts, then silly and incomprehensible in others.  The first two acts are largely void of narrative movement and the third becomes monotonously confusing.  In this regard, a good twenty to even thirty minutes of screen time seems like it could have been removed to streamline everything.  Especially in the finale, it becomes curious as to whether or not Kurosawa was even going for some kind of avant-garde humor, which obviously clashes with the rest of the meditative, dour tone.  Ultimately, the story is not that interesting and when romantic music sweeps in and characters start talking like they are reciting Hallmark greeting cards, it is all a bit head-scratching as to what the takeaway is supposed to be.

 

RETRIBUTION

(2006)

Overall: GOOD

 

In 2006, Kiyoshi Kurosawa provided his entry into producer Takashige Ichise's J-Horror Theater series with Retribution, (Sakebi).  Actor Kōji Yakusho is in all of Kurosawa's supernatural tales and he is quite effective here as a psychologically stressed Tokyo detective who is unraveling before our eyes.  Speaking of eyes, the lovely Riona Hazuki makes an effectively haunting presence as well.  Kurosawa generally takes his leisurely time with not only the scares but the story as a whole and this is a textbook example.  Cliches are regularly bypassed as well, with specters ignoring the rules and showing up in the daylight, sticking around to have meaningful, (be it still cryptic), conversations, and usually having no stock, creepy music accompanying their appearances.  Even when utilizing such things as jump scares and electricity not working though, the tranquil tone remains unchallenged.  The director's ability to equally convey dread and thought provoking ambiguity by the film's end is on par here as much as ever, making this one of his many triumphs.

CREEPY

(2016)

Overall: GOOD

 

The domestic thriller Creepy, (Kurīpī: Itsuwari no Rinjin), sees filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa returning after ten years to his horror aesthetics even if the movie technically does not fit into said genre in a conventional sense.  Based off of the novel of the same name by Yutaka Maekawa, Kurosawa spins the common, "disturbing neighbor" motif in his always singular way, utilizing long takes and sparring incidental music to create his usual understated tone.  Though the entire cast is quite good, the film largely hinges on Teruyuki Kagawa's performance as a mysteriously disturbed eccentric who manages to be aloof, charming, terrifying, and pathetic often within the course of a single scene.  There are a few curious plotting moments where plausibility is stretched; character's not explaining concerning behavior to each other, police not catching on to the bad guy far sooner, a silly monologue near the end, etc.  Yet just when it seems like such issues will undue the otherwise tightly controlled presentation, interesting surprises spring up that seem to set things back on track.  It is still an odd story to be sure, but it is also one that is  ideally suited for Kurosawa's abilities behind the lens

DAGUERROTYPE

(2016)

Overall: GOOD

As the first non-Japanese speaking, (or cast), film from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Daguerrotype is an unmistakable change of locale for the filmmaker yet it attains many of his hallmarks.  The mood is persistently understated and the pacing is as deliberate as ever.  Thankfully as well, Kurosawa's penchant for staging his select yet impactful, supernatural moments in broad daylight and without the use of virtually any derivative horror cliches is just as unwavering and strong.  The tone still carries the bulk of the weight, but the material allows for Kurosawa to indulge in far more contemplative and romantic ideas than usual.  With the feel of a period piece, (even though it is set in the modern day), and a narrative that seems like it was based off of a novel, (even though it is solely from Kurosawa's own pen), it showcases a boldness that is quite admirable to say the least.  Performance wise, it could not be better with the almost entirely French cast fitting effortlessly into the director's well-honed aesthetics.  There are some plot points that may seem a bit too sparse, yet the film's ambiguity appears to be intentional so in this regard, it is an effectively challenging end product.

2000s Asian Horror Part Two

DARK TALES OF JAPAN
(2004)
Dir - Yoshihiro Nakamura/Norio Tsuruta/Kōji Shiraishi/Takashi Shimizu/Masayuki Ochiai
Overall: MEH
 
The made-for-TV anthology collection Dark Tales of Japan, (Suiyô puremia: sekai saikyô J horâ SP Nihon no kowai yoru), was originally broadcast on a TBS program and is of interest for featuring some notable J-horror directors behind the lens.  While none of the segments are memorable and the television presentation neuters any gore or otherwise explicit content let alone any intense scare tactics, the collection runs an agreeable ninety-minutes and has a couple of oddball ideas to work with.  Yoshihiro Nakamura's wrap-around bit with an old lady persistently asking people on a buss if they want to hear a scary tale is pointless, but his opening "The Spiderwoman" is a fun urban legend romp with a ridiculous monster creature that shows up.  Norio Tsuruta's "Crevices", Kōji Shiraishi's "The Sacrifice", and Takashi Shimizu's "Blonde Kwaidan" all fail to capitalize on their otherworldly premises, but at least Shiraishi's entry has a giant disembodied head that inexplicably shows up for effective "WTF" purposes.   The closing "Presentment" by Masayuki Ochiai is the most predictable and straight-forward, but it has a nice frantic performance from Teruyuki Kagawa as an embezzling office worker who gets trapped in an elevator with some unwanted guests.

KAIDAN

(2007)

Dir - Hideo Nakata

Overall: GOOD

 

The only J-Horror Theater entry to be a period piece, Hideo Nakata's Kaidan was based on the ghost story "Shinkei Kasanegafuchi" by Enchou Sanyutei, which was also adapted in the 1957 film Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi.  Set in feudal Japan and largely adhering to a more tranquil, traditional Japanese horror tone that harkens back to paramount works such as Ugetsu and Kwaidan, the vengeful spirit story still lends itself fittingly to the filmmaker who brought us the Ring.  As one of J-horror's most prominent voices, Nakata still manages to utilized a number of modern day scare tactics and visuals.  Sadly these include enormously poor CGI snakes and blood splatters, though thankfully such things infrequently appear.  Though it runs for two hours and presents a relentlessly dour chain of events, the film never feels too laboriously long or monotonous.  This is due to a well-maintained atmosphere which is benefited by effectively haunting music and well-grounded performances.  The movie is not particularly scary and the plot follows a rather foreseeable, tragic ghost story logic, but it is an effective, quasi-throwback all the same.

 

YOGA HAKWON
(2009)
Dir - Yoon Jae-yeon
Overall: MEH

The to-date second of only two films from writer/director Yoon Jae-yeon, Yoga Hakwon, (Yoga, Yoga School, Yoga Academy, Yoga Class, Yoga Institute), is well-shot and pulls no punches with some viscerally unsettling set pieces, yet it also fails to properly string its narrative components together.  Delving into the disturbing lengths that pressured women will go to in order to achieve empowerment and elongated beauty, (which the latter can be seen as an essential component to the former here), it mostly takes place at a mysterious yoga sanctuary where a small handful of students are taken on at a time in order to train under an even more mysterious former actor who may very well be immortal via supernaturally dubious means.  It plays in a similar league to Dario Argento's Suspiria, yet it is visually more grimy and contemporary even if it has its own fairy tale allusions that help permeate an otherworldly tone.  Highlighted by wonderful cinematography and solid performances, unfortunately the third act shits the bed by abandoning a side arc all together and indulging in monotonous, sluggish mood setting that leads to a messy payoff.  Lumbering instead of suspenseful, it is therefor only partially successful as a whole, yet genre fans may enjoy the diabolical effort all the same.

2000s Asian Horror Part One - J-Horror Theater

YOGEN
(2004)
Dir - Tsurata Norio
Overall: MEH

Modern-day J-horror has had a well defined trademark of the utilization of technology and/or appliances themselves going all evil and haunted like. A VHS tape in Ringu, computers in Kairo, everything in a bathroom in the Silent Hill video game series,etc.  Switching premises merely to the printed word, Yogen is based on the magna Kyoufu Shinbun, which translates to "Newspaper of Terror".  Somewhat silly on paper then, (har, har), a few moments become unintentionally humorous in an over-the-top fashion as well.  By and large though, the film is largely uninteresting until the finale when the roller coaster of psychological torment befalls the main character.  The end result is both detrimentally bombastic and effectively so, but the whole thing leans heavier in the mediocre department unfortunately.

RINNE
(2005)
Dir - Takishi Shimizu
Overall: GOOD

The sole J Horror Theater entry by Ju-on creator and filmmaker Takishi Shimizu, Rinne, (Reincarnation), fittingly features such familiar  supernatural and narrative tropes.  Creepy little girls with their long-haired heads hanging down move at a snails pace and spastically twitch their limbs very loudly on the soundtrack, pale faced,-wide-eyed ghosts pop up everywhere in general, and mostly female protagonists are the ones getting swept up in the middle of it all.  These kind of genre-pandering attributes are more amusing than scary, but the film manages to be enjoyable do to its borderline avant-garde structure. This is essentially Shimizu's quasi-version of The Shining, with a "film within a film within another film" tag thrown into the mix to help differentiate it more.  The editing is highly unique, utilizing dream, flashback, and present sequences that morph seamlessly together.  Certainly ambitious from a stylistic standpoint, it manages to elevate its somewhat silly and would-be stale ingredients to become memorable enough in its own right.

KYOFU

(2010)

Dir - Hiroshi Takahashi

Overall: MEH

As the final entry in the J-Horror Theater series, Hiroshi Takahashi's Kyōfu is also easily one of the strangest.  This is not so much in a typical “Japanese movies are inherently weird” way, but more in an odd, “the filmmakers do not appear to even be trying” way.  Head-scratching oddities clutter up the story at a ridiculous rate.  A girl appears as a ghost even though she is not really dead (kind of), people walk into each other's dreams (maybe?), two sisters run into their mother once they are grown and maybe they had not seen her in years or something, one sister is into suicide and dated some doctor who was in on some sort of experiments, and that same sister turns into another actress as does another character who eats raw meat from a bowl and gives birth to the afterlife.  This happens even though there are repeated monologues about how there is no afterlife and that is why vampires scream a certain way.  So, whatever that is all about.  The tone and atmosphere stay right on track, maintaining typically solid, ghost story-like suspense.  The performances are an interesting combination of dream-like and intense as well, but the end result is undoubtedly messy and far too hilariously nonsensical to take all that seriously.