Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21820 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-01-24
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Synopsis
On returning home to Shikoku, Hinako discovers that a number of strange events have occurred, including the drowning of a childhood friend. As she investigates the mysterious circumstances, she uncovers an ancient myth that has the power to return life to her friend.

Customer Reviews

Strange
I do not know whether my particular copy was slightly faulty, but the picture was very unsteady in places, almost as though the director wanted to make the viewer feel as though he was watching a home video. If nothing else, the unsteadiness of the picture contributed to the unsettling effect of the film.
The film is set in rural Japan, which perhaps sets it apart from other Japanese horror films which I have watched. As a result, the way of life seems unfamiliar to a Western viewer. Although there is a sense in which all Japanese horror films can be regarded as exploring certain aspects of Japanese spirituality, this film does so in a more traditional sense in that Japanese temples play an important role. I have no way of knowing whether the events which take place in the temples are authentic or not. The unfamiliarity of the setting and the religious practices contributes to the viewer's feeling that he is having a new cinematic experience. The heroine is a sympathetic figure. Unfortunately, she is surrounded by people who are not all they seem. Although the basic premise of the film becomes apparent about halfway through, the ending is not clear, so the viewer is sufficiently interested to watch the film until the end. This is psychological horror; it is definitely not a "slasher" movie.

Spooky and interesting!
This is a very well made horror film based on a best selling novel and oddly similar to the theme of the highly acclaimed Japanese movie "Ring". It's about a woman called Hinako who returns to her childhood home called Shikoku from Toyko and finds out that strange things have been happening there, including her childhood freind has died in odd circumstances. Also she discovers an ancient mysterious myth that involves the dead being able to return through ritual means. Overall the plot is exciting enough to keep you tense, nervous and the performances by the actors are very good, especially the one who plays Hinako. The only draw back is that the DVD doesn't have movie notes or information on the plot, apart from a series of interviews with the director and the cast, which doesn't give much light on the original book as well as the writer. Still it's worth buying or renting!

Spooky
This is probably the closest I've seen to a traditional Japanese ghost story on DVD.
It delivers nice little tingles every time Soyori appears in her earlier ghostly scenes, but she becomes this tragic, desperate figure once her mother's magic works.

I love this to bits.

9/10 - if only for not really explaining how Soyori can break people's backs.