A Record of Sweet Murder

The genre is a bit overused, but this is a good one with an interesting twist. Some crazy things (reminding Sono's movies) in there, a bit over-the-top sometimes, but very recommendable.

A RECORD OF SWEET MURDER is a found footage horror film which tells the story of a journalist duo who are invited into an abandoned apartment in order to do an exclusive interview with an apparently mentally disturbed serial murderer who had escaped from psychiatric custody . Once there, he tells them that God told him to kill 27 people to bring back a dead childhood friend, that his count is 25, and and that he wants them to record his final two killings of a loving couple which will soon appear.

The film is very unusual for the found footage genre and takes a number of unexpected twists and turns while maintaining a good tension based on the audience not knowing whether the murderer is insane or whether there is genuinely some supernatural stuff going on, very much in the spirit of M. Night Shyamalan's KNOCK AT THE CABIN (2023).

Some of the twists and turns are more successful than others, but even the less successful ones can be enjoyed as a sort of dark satire, especially since some of the characters are reminiscent of the weird characters in Takashi Miike's satirical horror movies (I was especially reminded of the antagonists in ICHI THE KILLER (2001)).

One aspect I wonder about is whether the fact that some of the characters are Korean and others are Japanese is meant as an oblique commentary on the dark history between the two countries. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea as a colony and severely subjugated and oppressed the local population, something for which Japan has not properly apologized to this day.

Be that as it may, I like movies with highly original stories, I found it entertaining, and it ended in a way I did not predict, so overall I rate this as a good movie.

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.

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.