Aru yasashiki satsujinsha no kiroku

Maintaining the appearance of being a single, unbroken shot, A Record of Sweet murder is almost like a very bloody stage play. The real-time device brings to mind Hitchcock's Rope, with some cleverly hidden edits and sparing, but effective, special effects shots. The bulk of the movie really seems to happen all at once, drawing the viewer in to it's compelling and unusual story.

A Korean reporter brings a Japanese cameraman to meet a serial killer, who also happens to have once been a childhood friend. The killer traps them and, nervously wielding a knife, begins to explain that he needs them in order to enact some grander plan, an insane-sounding conspiracy theory. He explains that he needs them to wait for two other characters to show up, and when by some miracle they do, things start getting really crazy.

A Record of Sweet Murder has some fine performances, leaning into an odd, slightly surreal tone as it maintains its hyper real structure. This was something writer/director did very well in his horror classic Noroi: The Curse. While Sweet Murder is smaller in scope, it has a thematic energy, creates an interesting dialogue about fate and madness and the struggle between good and evil.

Found footage movies have a tendency to end abruptly or fall apart in the end and, thankfully, Sweet Murder brings it all back together and sticks the landing. A treat for foreign found footage fans and a thoughtful horror art film.

Seriously that was my reaction to several scenes in this movie. At the end, I felt as if my IQ levels have dropped drastically. That's how dumb this film was.

Now where to begin? Let's start with the plot of the movie. Whoever wrote the script was definitely high on something.

In the first place, you cannot have all your characters being phenomenally stupid and/or taking several decisions which are highly dangerous to their lives. But that is what every character in this film does, right from the start till the very end.

If the main character had an iota of self-preservation instinct, she would not have gone alone (OK she takes a cameraman with her) to interview a crazed serial-killer in an unknown location. And if she had refused then this movie would never have been made. But Koji Shirashi wanted to make this movie, so that is how it starts. And then it goes downhill in a spectacular fashion.

The lead character keeps provoking and challenging the crazed lunatic serial killer and pushing him over the edge. Basically it is shown as if she is trying to talk some sense in him. And she is supposed to be a trained reporter.

Then two extremely unlikely characters enter the fray and the absurdity of the plot plummets further by several notches. The movie then disintegrates in an orgy of sex and violence, which is so surrealistic that I wondered if I had slept off and was experiencing a strange dream. Everybody kills each other as if it is no big deal at all. It is extremely disgusting and voyeuristic, not to mention unrealistic.

The ending was good. That is the only positive thing that I can say about the film. One star for that.

It's an interesting basic idea, but it was not enough to keep me captivated. I got bored rather quickly. Part of it was that pretty much the entire movie takes place in one room. This can work, but it has to make up for it with really great acting and some extra riveting dialogue and plot. Unfortunately, this one was just mediocre.

Journeying together with her cameraman, a Korean reporter finds herself tasked with following a former childhood friend who's now a ravenous serial killer leaving a trail of bodies behind him in his quest to conduct a specific ritual in order to bring back a childhood friend of theirs.

This one was quite an enjoyable effort. One of the better features here is the fact that there's a strong storyline at play here which brings a lot to the table. The familiarity they have with each other from their past gives them a rather strong and unique connection for her to be sought out for his rampage and has a big starting point to the point of his rampage. His intent with the rampage, to kill a select number of individuals in order to carry out a special prophecy told to him in an asylum, is told rather well and is quite original in the realm of following lunatics on a seemingly divine message. That plays a large part of what makes the middle of the film so intriguing. Knowing that he's intent on finishing his quest, the fact that his manic outbursts and psychotic ramblings about the need to follow the seemingly random clues he sees in the magazine article provide a grounding for that story that gets utilized here. When the clues in the story start to emerge and he forces them into more dangerous situations, the story becomes somewhat more intriguing and uncomfortable with what he puts them through later on. That the tables are further turned in the encounter when the final piece of the puzzle is revealed offers up a solid finale that makes this one get wilder in the finale offering up plenty of stellar gore and a crazy finish that's patently unpredictable. These here manage to hold this one up considerably over the few flaws as there are a few issues to be had with the film. The main problem is the seemingly random bit in the final half where the new couple involved in the events are way too eager to have the killer seemingly think they're under his control but instead turn the tables on him. While it's indeed a stellar surprise to have the couple become their true selves with their perverted nature egging him on to rape the girl for his delight, it's another thing entirely to have them all sit around listening to the entire story about his rampage and the intent behind it without voicing any objections about it and just going along with it. That's entirely unrealistic, especially after all the damage he had inflicted upon them earlier in the day which is rather tough to believe. Along with some goofy banter that makes this one somewhat difficult to follow at times, there's not much else really wrong here.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity, a sex scene and a rape scene.

So, I went in thinking this was going to be a "found footage" style movie were someone is recording the actions of another person, and largely, it is. The cameraman was tasked with recording everything that transpires. It's a basic setup, with a sparse location and a pretty small cast (for much of the film, only 2 people are actually seen, ending in about 4-5 depending on how far along you are in the movie). It's a very simple setup for film, and for the most part it works. You have an insane killer who has asked his childhood journalist friend to document his actions, becasue his actions are going to herald something great. "God" told him it would.

The movie is basically him jumping into the deep end, ranting and raving about how his actions will lead to an event that will change history. Like I said, the rantings of a Loon? Or are they....?

Then, something happens. I'm not going to spoil it, but the movie was definitely more than I expected. It actually gave me goosebumps towards the end, and it's very rare for a film to illicit that kind of reaction from me. I actually started to care about the characters at one point, although you aren't really sure if you should be rooting for any of them.

Overall. This movie was definitely in the unexpected category of films, as I had no clue it was going to end the way it did. In a way, I am happy it ended the way it did. It made what transpired throughout the movie that much more interesting.

Although I really enjoyed this film, I deducted several stars simply due to the Japanese actors. Who told him to ham it up that much? I understand that Japanese actors can be a bit...animated, there is no excuse for that dude being so damn extra. It was like watching a man figure out how to emote in an improv class. Totally unnecessary and actually detracted from the movie.

Overall, if you like a film that has lot more going on than it lets on, give this one a watch.