I'm a sucker for anything Japanese, it's heartening now that there is an emerging genre of U. S made horror movies set in Japan using the much tried and tested fish out of water device and adding the J-Horror signature of spooky jumps, strange children, foreboding music and strange Japanese folk lore to repurpose the old fashioned three young and beautiful idiots go into a forest routine.
These particular idiots make a point of seeking haunted temples, deliberately not heeding massive warning signs and still managing to keep their "ere what's going on here look", all over their beautiful faces. The Japanese setting is crucial to this story, and to be fair the Japanese locales are authentic and serve to add a sense of other worldly menace to the story. You can see that the director knows his Japan, and uses it to extract every ounce of tension.
The acting, as mentioned is good, the actors all keep a straight face, looking suitably jaded and confused as three Americans would if they stumbled into a J-Horror movie, and the director keeps the tension tight, never going too far into silliness, but keeping enough intrigue to make you wonder where this will all lead.
It's a genuine scare flick, with its heart and hand firmly on its chest, with an intriguing premise that really does pull you in. Don't be too put off by the score here, it's much better than the reviews would make you believe.
These particular idiots make a point of seeking haunted temples, deliberately not heeding massive warning signs and still managing to keep their "ere what's going on here look", all over their beautiful faces. The Japanese setting is crucial to this story, and to be fair the Japanese locales are authentic and serve to add a sense of other worldly menace to the story. You can see that the director knows his Japan, and uses it to extract every ounce of tension.
The acting, as mentioned is good, the actors all keep a straight face, looking suitably jaded and confused as three Americans would if they stumbled into a J-Horror movie, and the director keeps the tension tight, never going too far into silliness, but keeping enough intrigue to make you wonder where this will all lead.
It's a genuine scare flick, with its heart and hand firmly on its chest, with an intriguing premise that really does pull you in. Don't be too put off by the score here, it's much better than the reviews would make you believe.