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An independent cameraman catches on film a man, surrounded
by police, forcing a knife through one of his eyes and into
his head. Later, studying his own footage in more detail,
he wonders at the terror on the man's face. What had he seen?
Returning to the scene of the incident, he catches a glimpse
of something strange scuttling though a hatch plate. He cautiously
follows, filming along the way, and finds himself in a vast
underworld catacomb beneath Tokyo, confirming the Japanese
urban myth. Here he meets the dead man he had filmed and learns
about the mysterious Deros. He eventually reaches the Mountains
of Madness, and finds a naked young woman chained to the rocks.
He takes her back to his apartment, intending to care for
her, but she has never known human company and refuses to
eat or drink. It is then that he discovers, by accident, that
she thrives on human blood...
Takashi
Shimizu, director of Ju-on: The Grudge, this time brings
us a tale which is eerie rather than frightening. It's a vampire
story with a difference. With amazing Japanese horror films
such as this one we are always given something in addition
to the standard plot. It's not uncommon for the viewer to
be uncertain as to what is real or fantasy within the telling
of the fictional piece. In this case, the entire structure
is not as it seems. The inference is that the protagonist
is suffering some sort of delusional mental state. The mysterious
woman following him is, according to her, his wife, and she
is concerned about their daughter who is being kept locked-up
and mistreated by him. He of course retorts that he has no
daughter, and kills her to feed the young woman her blood.
This
isn't one of the best East Asian horror films to have emerged
in recent years, but it exudes class from every frame. You
feel compelled to watch the action extremely closely, because
even when nothing is happening, something is happening. The
direction and pacing are top-notch. Okay, the Mountains of
Madness (openly stolen from the H.P. Lovecraft novel) consist
of a pretty standard-looking set painting; however, that can
be forgiven because it's only very briefly seen, and there's
a limit to what can be achieved in a studio. I liked the idea
of the mysterious and quietly threatening phone calls, presumably
from Deros. When you are given an alternative interpretation
near the end, even those phone calls can be seen in another
light.
It
strikes me as strange that such a visionary director as Takashi
Shimizu should be so friendly yet tedious to listen to in
an interview (we'll forgive him this once - he is rather put
on the spot!). Other interviews on the special features include
Shinya Tsukamoto (the key character), and Hiroshi Takahashi
(the producer). There's also a theatrical trailer. I would
very much liked to have seen a behind-the-scenes for this
one, but that's conspicuous by its absence. Don't let that
turn you off though. This is a very enjoyable film, which
followers of Japanese horror will lap up.
Ty
Power
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