Kurîpî: Itsuwari no rinjin

Good looking movie with an interesting story that unfortunately falls flat because of the totally stupid and irrational behaviour from every single character (main characters, detectives(!) and police) in every single move and decision they make, which is something that drives the movie from beginning to end. One single rational and normal act early in the movie, would've ended it in 10 min.

but oddly engrossing.

"Creepy", by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, is quite a strange movie, strangely entertaining and gripping, but that loses steam as its running time advances, ending weirder than weird. Probably, twenty minutes less would have improved the product.

Takakura is an university teacher, former police detective, specialized in serial killers and the like. He decided to leave his job after a bad experience and has moved houses with his wife, Yasuko. But one of their neighbours, Nishino, seems to be a little bit... strange. At the same time, one of his former colleagues gets him interested in a cold case.

Cue a plot development that is a little bit of a head-scratcher, especially when it comes to the behavior some of the characters have. One thing is having people scared, afraid or worried, insecure. Another is stretching situations because they help the tension and the plot develop, even if they are not very realistic or make little sense. Sadly, Kurosawa falls a lot into the second part, mostly close to the end of the movie, where plot development after plot development will make the viewer go from: 'no, don't open that door!' to: 'come on!' pretty fast.

And it is a pity because the direction is good, with a moody atmosphere, which makes the viewer feel they can't breathe. The music, the light, the camera work... all helps to make it a suffocating experience. The acting is really good too, with Teruyuki Kagawa being the highlight again as Nishino. Kagawa can play shady or sleazy in his sleep, and he does a great job here.

Too bad that the movie falls for the cheap shocks instead of caring more about what is happening and giving sense to the story.

"Creepy" sneaks up on you.

For anyone who likes Japanese horror films or psychological thrillers like 'The Gift', see "Creepy." For those who like films of all kinds, "Creepy" is worth a watch.

The lead antagonist in the film is spectacular. He is definitely "Creepy." And while the title seems a bit obvious, remember, it's from the Japanese, meaning...creepy, I think. Not only are the film, subject, and characters creepy, the tension, darkness and terror creeps up and into you as you watch the film. Creepy is terrifying in a way that obvious gorefests, like 'Saw', could never be.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, no relation to the film master Akira Kurosawa, does an excellent, if not perfect, job keeping the audience entranced in the mystery of Creepy.

Teruyuki Kagawa is amazing playing the complex Nishino, the next-store neighbor of a former police detective Takakira, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima. Along with his wife, Yasuko played by Yûko Takeuchi, they partake in a back and forth of ego, secrets, veiled threats and mystery that keeps the film moving. These actors, especially the neighbor, make this less than perfect film work.

What doesn't work in this film is that the characters far to often behave in obviously stupid ways and don't react in a timely manner to a threatening situation. I don't know how the police are trained, but when I get an open shot at a criminal that is threatening the lives of others, I take it. To sum: while the director is excellent at portraying the psychological tensions between characters and chooses shots and angles to enhance these tensions, the action scenes are awkward.

Rating: Pay Full Price.

Despite the faults in the film, the overall affect leaves one feeling and thinking something more than they did before seeing the film. That is what film at its best does.

Peace, Tex Shelters

I had some hopes and expectations to this movie, despite not knowing about it prior to finding it by sheer chance. I read the synopsis, and it sounded interesting, and thus I had some expectations to it. Plus the fact that Japan usually put some pretty good movies out there.

But "Creepy" (aka "Kurîpî: Itsuwari no rinjin") failed to deliver where it counted. Sure, it started out as a good enough movie and had potential, but then it just faltered, stumbled and never recovered from the blow that it took at the hands of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The movie just went downhill so fast that you could hardly blink.

The movie is about a retired police detective who has put the police life behind him and is trying to start over in a new place with his wife. But one day the neighbor's daughter tells him that her father is not actually her father, and a mystery starts to unravel, pulling in the retired detective.

Sure, the storyline had potential, but it just became a farce with the way that the story progressed and with some of the things that took place on the screen.

Actors Hidetoshi Nishijima and Teruyuki Kagawa were actually carrying the movie quite nicely, but ultimately lost the struggling battle against a poorly script. It seemed like the script was a first draft and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa didn't have time to wait for a re-written and more thought-through script and just went with the first draft.

There were so many things throughout the movie that just made little or no sense at all, and is something that you really should witness for yourself. And the plot of the story ended up being more of a laughable joke than a serious movie plot.

And I have seen some fast working drugs in movies and TV series before, but the potency of the drug used in this movie just took first place. It was just hilarious.

As much as I like Japanese movies and Asian cinemas, then it was just impossibly to overlook the flaws of "Creepy" and find something overly entertaining about it. My rating of this movie ends up at a very flat 3 out of 10 stars.

The cinematography is stellar and the music effective. Hidetoshi Nishijima hits the mark, he is to be forgiven. Unfortunately, the movie fails to deliver on the pledge it makes during its slow- burning yet mystically gripping first half.

Instead, it takes an erroneous right turn in Albuquerque and puts out nothing more your bog- standard horrorblah of cheapthrilly, jumpscary plothole extravaganza we've come to expect from the likes of all the Paranormal Activities out there.

Worth a watch? If there's nothing else on, go for it. Until then, reserve your nail-biting for something a little more composed and well-nourished; the atmospheric horror-noir 'Cure' by the very same Kiyoshi Kurosawa comes to mind.