Haze

I went in with high expectations, and ended up feeling dizzy A fair warning to everyone, the camera shaking (intended I suppose) is so bad about 70% of the time that it was unwatchable for me.

I never had to stop watching anything or stop playing a game because of that, but here it's insane.

I had to look away half of the time and still felt very dizzy at the end.

So, maybe there's an average movie under the shaking (I didn't see anything special) but not worth watching at all, unless you like that kind of stuff.

Unfortunately this is a difficult movie to talk about without spoiling any of the details. But just know while watching the movie, it really makes you feel uncomfortable with its great display of isolation and claustrophobia.

'Haze' is also one of those movies that makes you think before, during, and after you see the movie. This is the type of movie where a lot of interpretation is left up to the viewer, and in this case, that's a good thing. I couldn't have been anymore engrossed by what was happening on screen during the movie.

90% of the movie the main character is in some super uncomfortable position and you can totally feel it, he's completely helpless, barely able to move. But where is he going? Who put him there? Will he get out? All of these questions lead the a brilliant finale. Haze is a just as much a psychological thriller as it is physical horror. It is an interesting take on an age old question (I'll keep that question hidden as to not spoil anything), and one of the more intriguing interpretations in my eyes.

Full Review at: http://www.simplefilmreviews.com/2014/05/haze-2005.html

This Japanese low budget horror movie is a true piece of postmodern eclectic movie-making. Instead of using Japanese movies as a source of inspiration (Like: the Ring, Grudge, Kill Bill), this movie consists of American horror movies. The movie starts with a scene of a wounded man who found himself in a very small place (ref. Cube). Soon this man finds out he's trapped in a maze and 'may be' used as a victim in a game of rich freaks (ref. Saw, My little eye). After this short introduction, the pain begins. If you have ever seen American History X (and you probably have), then the scene with the black man biting in the pavement, while Edward Norton kicks him to death, will still be in your memories. You can expect something like this, only ten times worse. Eventually he meets a woman and with her, he tries to find his way out. It won't take much of your time, since the duration of this movie is only 50 minutes, so you should watch it. If it is only for the homage (did the director ever seen that movie?) to American History X. A nice short horror masterpiece.

Coming close to completing my collection of all the Shinya Tsukamoto movies, and this one is pretty hard to explain. A man wakes up in somekind of a concrete space, hardly able to move, and notices he has an injury which is bleeding. It's very dark, and you only see his face for quite a while and hear him think to himself about what is going on. He begins to crawl through tunnels, or maybe a maze, and comes across a woman also trapped and bleeding. Different visions occurs, like a force knocking on a huge door which he can't seem to reach, and multilated bodies floating on the surface of a source of water in this space. They begin a conversation about life, dreams, death, and what is happening to each other, and how to escape. He wonders if the world is at war and they are prisoners, or some pervert has locked them away for whatever reason, or is it really a very nasty nightmare or are they in hell. That's pretty much what is going on, at least for what you can see, because the movie is pretty dark until the last 10 minutes or so. Although the movie is only around 49 minutes long, that is plenty long enough for this type of ambiguous narrative. Being a huge fan of Tsukamoto, this movie to me is like a terrible nightmare, and that may be what it is, you have to judge that because the movie doesn't help you along much at all. But what there is that is so Tsukamoto, is the superior use of music and sound effects, along with some disturbing visuals. Interesting movie to say the least, and a must-have of course for Tsukamoto fans.

The thing about Haze... First I have to say that the DVD costs about 20€, that's a bit expensive if you expect a full movie and in the end only get a short-film, BUT, the director once again creates a dark industrial set with a bit of organic flair. Just the way I like it! It's not as horrific as Tetsuo or Brutal as Tokyo Fist, it has more from his last movie Vital mixed with the craziness of his early films. In an interview he says himself that in his eyes the movie is between Tesuo and Tokyo Fist and I think thats not the worse description. All in all it's worth a look, but before you buy it for a high price better check out your next DVD-Rental-Store and have a look for yourself. About the German DVD release from rem (RapidEyeMovie) I can say that it has a beautiful but for the Label standard made Box with a Poster. The Extras on the DVD are okay, I think about 6 Trailers and an Making Of and an interview with the director ('bout 15 min). So Dude's check it out and have fun!