Piercing

The novel by Ryu Murakami was billed as being a shocking work of horror, reminiscent of his horror masterpiece, Audition. I thought that by watching the film, I would get an idea of what the story in the book might entail. This movie, however, was not scary and it was not anywhere near the brilliance of Audition. It was a stylish modernized neo-noir thriller, disguised as a character study, disguised as a horror movie. This movie has no solid identity, and to call it a straight horror film would be incorrect, just like calling it a thriller would also be. What it is is a movie that tries to do many things, but the only thing it succeeds in being is being pretty. Personified, this movie is like a runway model who has no other talents. Very nice to look at...but that's it.

We have the lead, who is as unlikable a character as you can get. We barely have to time to get to know him, and I immediately disliked everything about him. He's mousy, frail and weak; everything a leading man shouldn't be. He has a dangerous fetish, and is trying to go through with it by using a call girl.

The call girl is as crazy as you expect, but she is also unlikable. She is also mousy and frail, looking as if she would tip over if you breathed on her. She has no redeemable qualities, and makes you not really care about her disposition.

Side characters are not given enough screen time to matter, and flashbacks don't have the impact they would have if you cared about anyone in the movie. I would liken watching this movie like sitting through a home movie of a group of people I disliked. I struggled to care, I was a bit shocked at what was going on, but in the end I was left with a resounding, "That's it? MEH!", which a movie should NEVER do.

The Japanese language has many nuances that don't really translate well to English. This is probably why there hasn't been a truly exceptional American film that was made from a work of Japanese literature. I am going to read the novel to see how it holds up to the film, and I really hope that it is nothing like this movie.

I was looking forward to the follow up of one of my favorite horror movies, "The Eyes of My Mother'. I could not be more disappointed.

What a shame.

This is a pretty solid little thriller/horror flick. It has enough disturbing imagery and uncomfortable themes to keep even the most hardened of genre-fans entertained and captivated from start to finish. It boasts some solid performances and some inspired direction, and in the end, it provides a creepy enough atmosphere for me to recommend it to people I know are horror fans.

Enjoyed it... just the right length ... this type of film always brings out negative commentors because it really isn't for everyone. If you like quirky, and you are not super conservative or squeaminsh then give it as shot.

6.4

A darkly comic, unnerving and occasionally chilling depiction of the sadistic psychopath inside. A man named Reed (Christopher Abbott) is happily married; a wonderful family life with a newborn baby. It's made clear in the opening frames that he has a desire to hurt and to kill. He loves his family too much to exploit them so plans a pretend business trip in which he actually is going to rent a hotel room and book a prostitute to murder. A lady of the night named Jackie (Mia Wasikowska) is hired and upon a dispute the two have, she locks herself in the bathroom. What follows on from there is better left unsaid to provide the best viewing experience as I only knew up until this point going in and it's one hell of a twisted ride. First thing to say the two leads are fantastic! Wasikowska is terrific; she's created such an interesting film career starting with Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland to more adult darker territory with works such as Park Chan-Wook's Stoker and Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak. She portrays sexuality no matter how fetishistic with such dignity and delicacy that is really refreshing to see in modern cinema and she is a real talent; really fleshes out her characters. Abbott is also brilliant and portrays a man on the edge really well; confusion and morbid fascination all wrapped up in a neurotic package. It's a slow burning film and definately gets better on more watches; becoming even funnier once the intense first watch is complete and you know what is to happen. There is a certain drug influenced scene that genuinely made my skin crawl and is really creepy. The soundtrack is great and writer/Director Nicholas Pesce conjures a very taut atmosphere and adapts the material well from Ryu Murakami's novel of the same name. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea and I'm sure the ending will frustrate some; it's pretty abrupt and I wasn't sure about it upon first watch but it makes more sense on a second watch. Overall, it will divide opinion but I think it's pretty damn good and worth a watch for those intrigued by darker material

I like the 70s style to the film and the send off of Hitchcock but not the substance of the plot and the failure to ultimately deliver, especially the ending... although there were things to be admired about this film