The reason I became a fan of Japanese cinema is largely due to my other obsession: Horror.
I grew tired of Western horror films a long time ago but I never grew tired of the genre. As I started branching out and finding new ways to satisfy my horror cravings I found myself at a midnight screening of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse. I was blown away. It was everything I was looking for in a horror film, it restored my faith in the genre and set me on my journey through the remarkable world of Japanese cinema.
In tribute I dedicate the following few posts to my favourite examples of Japanese horror cinema.
Enjoy.
10. Ring 0: BirthdayDirector: Norio Tsuruta
Year: 2000
Everyone is familiar with Hideo Nakata's Ringu series. It gave birth to the Japanese Horror boom of the 90's and spawned many imitations and American remakes.
For me the best in the series was not directed by Nakata. Norio Tsuruta's Ring 0 is a prequel, taking place 30years before the events of the original Ringu. The film follows the life of Sadako, the girl who later becomes the iconic spirit that curses whoever watches her videotape. The film does a remarkable job at exploring the origins of such a feared and mysterious villain.
Surprisingly, Sadako wasn't always evil. Ring 0 portrays her as a shy and confused teenager. She joins an acting troupe and falls in love with a fellow member. Though, It isn't long before Sadako's supernatural abilities surface. The troupe fear they have been cursed be Sadako and make it their mission to get rid of her. The story reminds me of Stephen King's Carrie, a teenage girl with powers struggling to fit in and lead a normal life. Everybody has their limit, and after severe mental and physical abuse, Sadako reaches hers. The final 20minutes of Ring 0 are truly terrifying. Fans of the series will love this film but it also works well as a stand alone entry.
9. Marebito
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Year: 2004
Marebito was a real surprise for me. I had grown to think that Takashi Shimizu was capable of nothing more than his Ju-on: The Grudge series. The Grudge never did anything for me, I thought it was a rather poor Ringu imitation that relied too heavily on shock tactics and not enough genuine scares. The story lacked originality and was overly predictable.
Marebito changed all of that. The direction is far more creative and experimental and the story is much darker in tone than The Grudge series. It is hard to believe Marebito was created by the same director.
Marebito is, for the most part, a horror film. yet it wont appeal to general horror fans. The horror expressed in Marebito taps deeply into our primal fears. Fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of insanity and the search for fear itself. The film moves at a slow pace and never gives to much away. It creeps into your mind and will stay there for weeks. An extremely bizarre film that works on every level.
8. Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Year: 1989
Made on a small budget and running a brief 67 minutes Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron man is an extremely graphic, high octane and surreal masterpiece. The film opens with a man cutting a massive gash into his leg only to shove a large rod of iron into the wound. The opening scene perfectly encapsulates the tone of grotesque eccentricity that’s found throughout the entire film. The narrative is sporadic and the plot is thin but that only reinforces Tetsuo's charm. How else could we enjoy "the metal fetishists" metamorphosis into a hulk of twisted metal?
Tetsuo is beautifully shot in 16mm black and white. This, on top of the experimental absurdity of the films content, often draw comparisons to David Lynch's Eraserhead. Its a highly original film that is still providing inspiration to many. The manic and chaotic visual style will keep you thinking long after watching. The hallucinations and disturbing imagery will keep you awake.
7. Ugetsu Monogatari
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Year: 1953
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi at the end (and peak) of his career, Ugetsu is the retelling of a traditional Japanese tale about a potter who is led away from his impoverished village and wife in hopes of selling his wares in the big cities. His hunger for wealth and a better life blind his judgement and he falls under the spell of a ghost.
It's a beautifully constructed film whose narrative is obscure and the surreal quality of the imagery often leaves the viewer poised between the world of the living and the dead.
As much as it is a ghost story, Ugetsu also deals heavily with the theme's of lose, greed and the monstrosities of war. Although Ugetsu takes place during the 16th-century, the social stigmas it dealt with reflected very strongly within the post-war 1950's Japanese public.
Ugetsu still stands today as one the most eminent ghost story's ever recorded on film. It's inspiration and impact on the genre is still clearly visible.
6. All About Lily Chou-Chou
Director: Shunji Iwai
Year: 2001
Not a horror film in the conventional sense yet the horrors it depicts create some of the most startling and disturbing scenes that even the most hardened horror fan will find hard to watch.
Set in modern day Japan, All About Lily Chou-Chou revolves around the lives of several 14 year-old students. The title is a reference to the fictional singer some of the characters are obsessed with.
The film delves into the lives of it's characters in an almost documentary style. The use of digital cameras and hand-held shooting helps reinforce the idea of reality. The film begins almost like a coming-of age/buddy picture before slipping into the dark realm of ijime. Ijime is Japanese for bullying, though ijime has declined in recent years it is still rampant in schools through-out the country. Ijime is one of Shunji Iwai's main themes in All About Lily Chou-Chou. Yet, it seems far more than just a theme. As you watch the film you get a strong feeling that Iwai is literally concerned and horrified about ijime and the devastating effects it can have on victims. All About Lily Chou-Chou contains some of the most heart wrenching depictions of cruelty ever recorded. The film leaves you with very little hope or resolve.
It's a bleak, emotional and profoundly disturbing journey through the dark side of Japanese adolescence.
5. Uzumaki
Director: Higuchinsky
Year: 2000
Adapted from the beautifully twisted manga by Juniji Ito comes Uzumaki, one of the most bizarre and unique horror films ever made. Based on the manga of the same name, Uzumaki is set in the small rural town of Kurouzu. It's generally a sleepy town that has little to offer in terms of excitement, yet the inhabitant's enjoy life.
Uzumaki is told from the view point of high-school student Kirie. Kirie starts to notice strange behaviour among the towns inhabitants. Whilst walking home she encounters a man recording the spiral on a snail shell, he appears almost hypnotised. It's not long until the whole town is becoming fatally and lethally obsessed with spirals. The spirals then begin to take on a malevolent life of their own. They enter and possess the townspeople, slowly and horrifically twisting and distorting their victims bodies and minds.
The other thing you'll notice about Uzumaki is the highly inventive visual style. The films heavily tinged green colour adds to the feeling of sickness that has enveloped the town. Higuchinsky employs a lot of experimental camera and editing techniques: POV shots; tracking shots; jump cuts and flash cuts; fades to black, white to red; fast motion and reverse motion. This compiled with the outstanding cinematography and eclectic soundtrack makes the audience dizzy but this visual hyperactivity only strengthens the horror and confusion Kirie is facing. We are being sucked into the spiral whether we like it or not.
Also, lets not forget that Uzumaki features some of the most horrific death scenes in contemporary Japanese cinema. You wont have seen anything quite like Uzumaki.
Right, that concludes this weeks post. Next week I will reveal the final 4.
Thanks for reading.
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