This is the classic example of a pretty interesting, somewhat intelligent plot that goes to waste because of poor execution. The problem isn't the directingthat was very well-donebut because of the pacing and immersion. Instead of either thrilling the audience with action or drawing it in with atmosphere, Reincarnation just tells the plot through stale storytelling.
Let me put it this way: I can count the amount of directors who can write interesting dialogue on one hand. When you're working for any of the genres that aren't based in strait-up dramasuch as action, thriller, and horrorthere is no reason for endless scenes of dialogue that could be summed up in 2 minutes if necessary. That's the major, fatal reason Reincarnation simply isn't that interesting. The director, Takashi Shimizu, takes his blessed time by making characters repeat the same things over and over again for no reason whatsoever. It simply isn't interesting. By the time the characters realize what we've known from the first trailer, the movie has 15 minutes left. In essence, the majority of the movie is downright pointless. The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes are the only parts of the movie that make any difference whatsoever to the plot. The rest is just dull talking scenes and cliché ghost-scare scenes that Asian cinema is parodied for. It just adds a layer of typicality to an otherwise semi-original plot, and that is just sad.
People are complaining this movie really isn't scary or tense, but other than Ringu, what Asian movie is? I've seen the majority of what Asian horror has to offer, and none of them are scary. They repeat the same tired clichés to the point of idiocy. Anyone who honestly believes the lie that "Asians are the only people making real horror" really needs to sit back and actually watch an Asian horror film. They're all the same.
Reincarnation follows the stereotype I just made. Though the plot is interesting, the movie as a whole is nothing you haven't seen before. Ghosts, little girls, dollssame old stuff. I've heard one person put it like, "The plot is so much more interesting than the actual movie!" and that's the perfect way to express it. Instead of doing what The Shining did and take an interesting ghost plot, then throw out every genre cliché, Reincarnation does the opposite.
The final 15 minutes reveal another layer of depth to just how intricate everything is, and it's very cool and all, but by that point I just didn't care. I had been bored to tears, annoyed by the clichés, and it would take the greatest ending of all time to make me even give this a semi-positive reviewand the ending really wasn't THAT great, anyway.
In the end, all I can say is: do Asians realize how much they repeat themselves, or is it just the Americans who notice it? Or let me put it another way. Maybe it's only the SMART Americans who notice it, while the others flaunt in mindless acclaim for something that is just a copy of a copy.
5/10
Let me put it this way: I can count the amount of directors who can write interesting dialogue on one hand. When you're working for any of the genres that aren't based in strait-up dramasuch as action, thriller, and horrorthere is no reason for endless scenes of dialogue that could be summed up in 2 minutes if necessary. That's the major, fatal reason Reincarnation simply isn't that interesting. The director, Takashi Shimizu, takes his blessed time by making characters repeat the same things over and over again for no reason whatsoever. It simply isn't interesting. By the time the characters realize what we've known from the first trailer, the movie has 15 minutes left. In essence, the majority of the movie is downright pointless. The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes are the only parts of the movie that make any difference whatsoever to the plot. The rest is just dull talking scenes and cliché ghost-scare scenes that Asian cinema is parodied for. It just adds a layer of typicality to an otherwise semi-original plot, and that is just sad.
People are complaining this movie really isn't scary or tense, but other than Ringu, what Asian movie is? I've seen the majority of what Asian horror has to offer, and none of them are scary. They repeat the same tired clichés to the point of idiocy. Anyone who honestly believes the lie that "Asians are the only people making real horror" really needs to sit back and actually watch an Asian horror film. They're all the same.
Reincarnation follows the stereotype I just made. Though the plot is interesting, the movie as a whole is nothing you haven't seen before. Ghosts, little girls, dollssame old stuff. I've heard one person put it like, "The plot is so much more interesting than the actual movie!" and that's the perfect way to express it. Instead of doing what The Shining did and take an interesting ghost plot, then throw out every genre cliché, Reincarnation does the opposite.
The final 15 minutes reveal another layer of depth to just how intricate everything is, and it's very cool and all, but by that point I just didn't care. I had been bored to tears, annoyed by the clichés, and it would take the greatest ending of all time to make me even give this a semi-positive reviewand the ending really wasn't THAT great, anyway.
In the end, all I can say is: do Asians realize how much they repeat themselves, or is it just the Americans who notice it? Or let me put it another way. Maybe it's only the SMART Americans who notice it, while the others flaunt in mindless acclaim for something that is just a copy of a copy.
5/10