Karuto

I have no idea what the hell I watched but stuff was entertaining as hell. 10/10 no cap. Neo carried the movie though. Also I'm just tryna get the 150 character cap so I can post this. I gotta appreciate the work put into this.

It feels like that this movie tried so hard to be on par with the excellent 'Noroi'. Koji Shiraishi, wanted to exploit Cthulian horror again, but he really ended up with a 'wannabe-Noroi'.

Adding a K-pop protagonist, and reducing the horror to worms, which this time are visible, not ectoplasmic, and tangible, extinguishes the scariness of this movie, unlike the lurking Lovecraftian entities in 'Noroi' and 'Occult', the 'bakemono' is now material.

However, despite the tangibility of the demonic entity in this movie, I like - which I hope is true - the disparity of the techniques used to show both human and demonic subjects.

I believe that this deliberate use of what-is-being-criticized-for-being-bad-special-effects, actually serves a purpose. This being that it sets a contrast in between what is real and preternatural.

This out-of-placeness of the supernatural object allows the mind to strongly reject their presence in the setting, which is why I feel, people were reacting so vehemently against the CGIs used in both 'Occult' and 'Cult'.

Nonetheless, the self-plagiarism feeling was very off-putting: the theme, the tone, the characters, the direction, the colouring and lighting effect, hell even the SCORE felt borrowed, from his previous movie.

It sucks that Koji could not exploit the 'Kami' myths/stories/legends/folklore which his country so abundantly offers.

Three young actresses are hired to help a documentarian film an exorcism at the house of a young girl and her mother. Cameras are set up everywhere as the supernatural events start to unfold.

Numerous exorcists are brought in to help but the problem only seems to get worse as everyone is drawn into a nightmare of demons and curses.

This Japanese found footage entry is a refreshing take on the sub-genre as some original elements are introduced that take a different direction from the Paranormal Activity franchise. There is a bit of humour injected into some of the characters which makes the experience a bit more enjoyable.

Some of the effects are a bit hokey but others are original and creepy and atmospheric. There are enough twists and turns to keep the viewer's attention as the tension escalates.

The three girls get a little annoying at times but do a passable job in their roles and some of the secondary characters really stand out.

All in all an interesting and refreshing Cult movie from Japan.

1. This film has no Gore. If you are into that skip it.

2. I enjoy the understated nature of this film. Some argue that is a weak argument for poor writing. I disagree.

3. I have seen so many horror films it is difficult to scare me. I watch these films to see the story unfold. So I can't speak to how scary it is.

4. I enjoyed the interaction between the actors especially the guy who shows up mid movie. His indifferent behavior and rudeness kind of reminded me of a manga character. In a good way.

5. I thought the way the spirit was portrayed was both bizarre and strange and seemed realistic to me. If you actually met an evil spirit I mean really met one it could look like that. You don't know.

6. I disliked the strange faces in the beginning they looked like stock image.

7. I disliked that they never really explain Ed why the girls were taking on such a strange job. Maybe i missed it. Or maybe they were just broke needed the money and didn't ask.

8. It left a number of unanswered questions at the end. I wasn't sure if that was a deliberate cliff hanger and there is to be a sequel or not but I wanted a more solid end. But based on my theories about the male character it could make sense.

All in all I think you should watch it if you like found footage style films, don't need blood in your horror, and aren't annoyed with not full closure endings. I can't compare it to Noroi because that is a different movie on a different level. I also think his films get lower reviews because everyone compares it to Noroi and you shouldn't do that I mean that's like comparing two different kids.

Shiraishi's Occult movie and Noroi managed to impress me, those movies were found footage classics, but I couldn't get that energy in this movie, the movie progresses very monotonously and after a point, I got into the mood of watching Ghostbusters, I couldn't devote myself to the movie and create a solid character in the second half of the movie. Even though he tried to fix it, it wasn't enough, the dialogues were very strange and there were constantly shouting elements, even though it got into the subject, it was literally like a comedy, and even though it included mythological elements and the cult issue, I couldn't hold on to the movie.

I don't know if you can still watch it to give Shiraishi a chance, but try it anyway, I couldn't hold on to it very well.

3/10.