Liverleaf

A bullied girl seeks to avenge the deaths of her parents, grievous injury of her sister and the fire that destroyed their home.

This was a ...meh film for me. There was some effort put into most of the characters and that's always a big thing for me. The acting was decent but the pace was a bit slow.

I've seen some reviewer's commenting on the level of gore but I wasn't impressed. I watch a lot of horror though and I may be a bit desensitized from over exposure. It just wasn't as gory as I expected.

It's not awful so, I say check it out.

I liked the progressively more violent and gore turn of this movie. The scenes are really pleasant and aesthetic and the plot itself it's interesting. It talks about bullying but takes it to an exponential level of caos, along with some nice unexpected turns.

One of those movies that you are expecting a boring movie about teenagers been bullying but this was an existing one for all of those like me that enjoy Japanese manga incredible and unexpected.

Before the movie even gets 15 minutes in, it is already difficult not to feel bad for Haruka. The bullies are relentless, and the teachers do nothing to help as the school will be closing in one year, and they want to "maintain the peace".

Her parents are absolutely disgusted by this, and try to console her, and keep an eye out by going to look for her if she doesn't get home at her usual time. They even tell her she can quit attending the school as the burden has grown so intense. Haruko's parents are very loving, as is her sister who always keeps an eye out for her. When offered the opportunity to quit going to school, she accepts it, but this only ends up shifting the bullying to another person.

After a few days of being away from school, Haruko and Mitsuru, the only person who stands up for her at school, go out together. During which time, the person who has now fallen victim to the bullying sets her house on fire, killing her beloved parents, and injuring her sister greatly.

That is essentially the synopsis and beginning fleshed out, after that, the story truly begins. As you can imagine, the rest of the movie is a complete revenge flick once she truly snaps.

When she does snap, it is something that makes the viewer think, "you go Haruka!". The antagonists were written for us to hate them, for us to side with Haruka. Morals go out the window when you are dealing with things this intense, and that is probably why the writers wrote the antagonists to be such easy to hate characters.

While she was essentially a very caring, compassionate, and strong young woman prior to this all, once this happened she became a truly intense force with no intention of stopping until she has exacted her revenge.

There are a few surprises in the movie to say the least, despite how straightforward the plot is. One of the twists is a bit smaller, but still interesting and explains some things, and the other twist is much bigger. This twists ends up leading to an even more unexpected ending. These kinds of movies obviously don't have happy endings, so don't expect to be smiling after this is over!

Revenge horror films are not uncommon in any country. There are plenty of them made in many countries, but Japan can really take it to the next level with revenge flicks usually. I mean, realistically many J-Horror are revenge flicks in a sense given that even in ghost movies it is for revenge. Revenge and vengeful spirits plays a major role in Japanese horror and psychological movies.

Gore wise, it does get fairly gory at some parts, but nothing too intense like certain another movies...

As for the acting, most of the actors did pretty good.

Cinematography wise, the element of snow and blood went quite nicely together, but the snow in general made it more atmospheric.

There could have definitely been more atmospheric setup if some music was implemented...That part in particular is a let down, because some unsettling music would've really helped to make the atmosphere more intense. The music is very subtle and almost nonexistent. Honestly, I'd probably give this 9 stares if there had been a more of a soundtrack. Like I stated, it really has very little music, and none really serves to highlight the intensification of the story.

It is a good movie, but I'm not sure how soon I'll be re-watching it! As you can imagine, such films are ones you have to be in the mood for, or just checking out, or showing to someone else, etc. If I am ever in the revenge flick mood though, this will probably be on the list of what to watch!!

I haven't read the graphic novel on which this film is based so I am judging on its own.

The film contains the usual Japanese-style over-the-top bordering psychotically cruel bullying. Until one day the little cretins tormenting main character Nozaki cross the line and payback time comes around.

While the movie is graphic and gory enough to prevent a slip into boredom, viewers not used to Japanese cinema will have to really grit their teeth to stick with it, as the characters' reactions to violence and pain is characteristically Japanese: whether poked, prodded, or stabbed, they react with mute astonishment and passive inaction. Who stands and screams when they know they're next up on the chopping block? Answer: only people in Japanese movies. The only thing that saves it is the unrestrained gore.

But even the bloodbaths in the movie don't prevent it from testing your patience. At this running length, it really overstays its welcome. I had to repeatedly jump through snooze-inducing parts where a character is walking in the snow or reminiscing over good old times or just having a pointless conversation.