Museum

Keisho Ohtomo released his last film in Sitges Film Festival (Barcelona) and El Script También Cuenta had the great chance to be in the premiere and watch 'Museum', an intense psicothriller about a serial killer who turns his pursuer into his favorite prey.

Sometimes, imprudent apprentices eat more water lily omelet than their stomachs can hold up. They get ill and frogs, poor of them, see how their ecosystem is harmed. Climate change has also a word to be said in this horrible problem; but the issue is that these charming amphibious are forced to dive into the cold water of the pond, in search of other else ideas, because with no water lilies, there is no inspiration.

The frogs I mean are Ryôsuke Tomoe and Keishi Ohtomo, writer of the manga in which the film is based, and the director of that one. External influences are more than evident, significant points of the plot remember us of 'Seven' (1997), 'Saw' saga, 'Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of Fleet Street' (2007) or even the first chapter of 'Black mirror' (2011).

Although the story could be more original, the film is far away from being boring. Actually, it has the virtue of clearing all sleepiness sign, even when it's siesta time and you've watched a six hours movie marathon last night. Ohtomo shoots with accuracy action scenes, spectacular and credible.

He also shows brilliantly an impersonal and cold Tokio where it's difficult to be safe. White lights and clear colours contrast with the dark clothes, and the cool behavior of its characters describes an individualist city, where each person lives in his own bubble, the perfect scenario to put the crime into practice. The atmosphere is oppressive and unhealthy.

However, beyond the intensity and the ambiance, Ohtomo has not much more to offer. Many things are too similar to the most mediocre police series: a sweetened ending, more appropriate for a Disney production than for a violent thriller, a bizarre explanation about the aims of the villain that won't satisfy anybody, overactings and too many cries.

In summary, 'Museum. The serial killer is laughing in the rain' is a proper film for Sitges, with several contras and some lacunas, but a genre work with a lot of power, quite charisma and enough blood to please the audience of this unique festival.

The film will be released the 12th of November in Japan. We will have to wait a bit more to know new release dates, but we hope it will arrive to our screens soon.

The best: The presentation of the conflict. The worst: The last fifteen minutes.

Grade: 6/10

The whole film is ruined by Sawamura, the clumsiest detective of Japan (and probably of the whole world). Sawamura has more lives than a cat and is a sort of McGyver of dumbest, as his role in the movie is enraging viewers with his repeated mistakes. For 2 hours, Sawamura moves around like a drunkard. What a terrible lead character design, ruined a whole movie. Sawamura is the reason this movie sucks.

Imagine "Silence of the Lambs" remade with Inspector Clouseau as the lead detective -- except the film is supposed to be serious. Because that's what this is -- Japan's dumbest detective on the trail of a gruesome serial killer.

You could make a drinking game out this film by taking a drink every time the protagonist lets the killer get away. Wait, that might result in acute alcohol poisoning, so you'd better limit the game to every time the detective falls down in the street.

I understand why lazy filmmakers use contrivances to advance the plot, but this is taking it to the extreme.

Detective Sawamura (an efficient, I-need-a-shower, Shun Oguri) is going through a bad patch: his wife has left him with his son, he more obsessed with his job than his family. And then a serial killer appears: a mysterious person that is offing all the people related with a case where Sawamura's wife was part of. Sawamura will try to catch the killer before he gets to his wife and son.

"Museum" has an interesting enough idea that could have made for a great mystery, but the director and the plot go for the shock and gore, becoming a poor "Seven" in the process. The plot is simple as they come, with little originality or rhythm and the 'bad guy' is simpler still, with no deep or interest. It is your average 'I-have-decided- to-kill-people-just-because' character. The movie does a poor job in making the proceedings or the characters very interesting and the actors struggle with the material.

If "Museum" had gone for mood and atmosphere, with mysteries around every corner, it could have been a great movie. It ends being a cheap action movie, with little to offer to the viewer apart from a dark and gritty world.

First of all, I'm Japanese/American, so there is no language barrier when I watch this; I watch both American/Japanese films.

I watched this with my expectations low, and it was what it was...

This movie seems like it took every cliché in the book and included it in this film.

Clearly the movie is trying to copy the movie "Seven", "Saw", "Scream" (frog mask), "Oldboy"

It's just nowhere near the level of the movie "Seven" or "Oldboy". The production value seems high, but the film's flow is quite bad and messy.

There's just many cheesy moments like the suspect is nearby, runs away, stays around again, dumb car chases (Hollywood influence.... oh, this film is surprisingly produced by Warner Bros), sappy flashbacks...

The villain honestly is not scary and his motives are not interesting. The frog mask guy just comes up really goofier than scary.

The movie just always takes the typical cliché easy-way-out than what could have been more shocking and interesting.

The final ending abrupt "twist", where they tried to make it seem smart, but it's a bit of a corny ambiguous ending.

Well, this film is better than Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Creepy" film.

I agree with the other review, they tried to make it more like a cheesy action blockbuster than a more intellectual suspenseful movie.

A normal looking guy being the villain would be much scarier than an over- the-top goofy clown.