Saimin

To be honest, I'm just not the biggest fan of Japanese horror movies because of the simple reason once you have seen one of them you have basically seen them all already. All of the genre movies are more or less being the same but every now and then they do something original and unexpected, with this movie as a great example of that.

In the beginning of this movie it's being quite unclear which directing the movie is heading toward. It began sort of good but formulaic and it only took a turn and different shape at about its half way point. After that moment the movie really took off and became a real great and fascinating one to watch. It's really not a typical horror movie, due to its original approach of the story.

I really like the concept of this movie and once Hollywood will start to notice this movie they will deem it interesting and original enough for an American remake, no doubt about that. It's really not a typical average ghost or killer type of story. The movie actually has lots of different horror elements in it, which all work out great together as well. It also helps to keep the movie an unpredictable one.

It's also really a very well made movie. It's a little movie, that without a doubt did not had an awful lot of money to spend but nevertheless it's a very good and highly professionally looking one. The directing is just great and the movie really manages to create a great dark and tense atmosphere. The build up in some of the sequences is just great.

The movie also has some very original killings in it. So horror lovers that are getting fed up with seeing the same type of- and unimaginative killings over and over again should be able to appreciate what this movie is doing with its killings. It's quite insane and of course everything is far from likely but I was absolutely loving it all.

An unexpectedly great and enjoyable original movie with its genre.

8/10

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Despite an involving opening and an intriguing premise, the film was undermined by choppy editing which left me wondering at times what the heck was going and on and which of the many characters was I watching. Despite getting scarier as it proceeded, the final revelation left me with more questions than answers. Perhaps I need to view it again -- but not today or tomorrow!

After a three unrelated suicides occurs in Japan, a middle-aged detective along with young psychiatrist starts to puzzle the case. A very 90's Japanese horror film which go into many direction, but it's ok.

In traditional JHorror fashion not much in this movie is explained and you are left with many questions. As you get started in this movie it seems like you are watching a thriller in the vein of silence of the Lambs or Seven, it is only in the second half of the movie that the JHorror aspects really start shining through. Unlike many of the other reviews here I was not really creeped out or unnerved by this film. In fact because of the not so believable acting of characters I was sometimes snickering and laughing. But I do have to give the film creators credit for coming up with a story that was interesting to watch and even though they were not able to fully effectively create it, I was still drawn in. And that is all that really matters.

SAIMIN

(USA: The Hypnotist /UK: Hypnosis)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo SR

Following a series of bizarre and apparently unrelated 'suicides', an experienced Tokyo detective (Ken Utsui) enlists the help of a young psychoanalyst (Goro Inagaki) who believes the victims were acting on a post-hypnotic suggestion. But their subsequent investigations reveal an even darker force at work, linked to a young girl (Miho Kanno) whose life has been blighted by sadistic abuse...

Based on a novel by Keisuke Matsuoka, this densely-plotted mystery takes inspiration from a variety of sources (Italian gialli, traditional Japanese ghost stories, etc.), though some of the images in the climactic showdown reveal a more immediate influence: The recent commercial success of Hideo Nakata's RING (1998). For all its ambition, however, SAIMIN is a routine potboiler which stumbles badly after a powerhouse opening (the 'suicides' are particularly impressive, despite some feeble CGI effects), though director Masayuki Ochiai - who co-wrote the script with Yasushi Fukuda - rallies proceedings for an extended finale in which the narrative's startling secrets are finally revealed. Ochiai is best known for his film adaptation of novel-turned-video-game PARASITE EVE (1997) - which also starred leading man Inagaki (a member of Japanese pop group SMAP) - and while SAIMIN echoes that movie's strong visual sense, it falls short as drama, and most of the characters are mere ciphers, undermining the storyline's emotional pay-off. Which is a shame, because the final half hour is galvanized by a series of dynamic set-pieces - most notably, a concert hall sequence in which Dvorak's 'New World' symphony is transformed into an instrument of murder! - and Ochiai is well-served by an excellent production team. However, those lured by the promise of gory carnage may be disappointed - the film is long on atmospherics and short on splatter.

Performances are varied, due to the script's limitations, but Kanno (TOMIE) is outstanding as a young woman suffering from multiple personality disorder - which, the subtitles on the print under review assures us, isn't recognized as a viable medical condition in Japan! - who falls prey to a sleazy TV hypnotist (Takeshi Masu), a prime suspect in the murders. Inagaki is bland in a one-dimensional role, and he's constantly upstaged by Utsui, a veteran performer whose career stretches back to the "Sûpâ Jaiantsu" series of the 1950's.

(Japanese dialogue)