Shikoku

This has an interesting story based on the shinto-religion. The island Shikoku has 88 temples and every year the priest go to each one of them in a certain order to make sure the people will prosper the following year (or similar), one priestess who lost her daughter walks the route the opposite way the same number that her daughter was old in order to resurrect her.

It begins very creepy when a woman returns from the city to visit her childhood village. It then turns into a mystery investigation delivering something else than what was promised. Recommended for horror fans.

Really liked this movie, throughout it of course I was saying, "who is she? I've seen that actress before!" At the end of the movie, found out it was Go-Go Yubari from Kill Bill Vol. 1. This movie, like most Japanese horror movies was quite strange, but was also quite picturesque and well done. I kept expecting some sort of wild twist in the movie, but it never really came. There was a lot of guesswork as to who did what to whom, but the story was actually quite a bit simpler than that, and by the end, almost sweet. I highly recommend that you go to the foreign section of your video store and see if they have this movie. Although its quite old (1999) they may have the newly released DVD in stock. I can see why Chiaki Kuriyama has had so many film roles since this one, she definitely deserves it. (you can also find her in Ju-On, aka The Grudge, I believe she's the crazy girl in that one...)

There are many Ring knocks off around and I bet there are even more in Asia I bet. But I got along to watching this flick without knowing nothing about it but I feared what it might be. So I put it on and from the opening I knew this film was different. It was more than a horror movie, it's more a classic ghost story and drama about 3 people. It's a weird mix because a lot of the film is about faith and the question of "when you die do your feelings die too?" So through out the film, it plays out more standard, there are no BOO scares, and limited killing. This isn't about a killing ghost it's about a ghost that still wants to live and a mother who won't let go. You can't help but to be dragged into the film and care about the characters because you understand them and why they are they way they are. Warning: If you one those moderen Hollywood horror movie fans than this movie isn't for you. But if you want something new than watch this film.

i just finished this movie and really enjoyed it. i have never been a fan of American horror movies, however the latest batch of of horror movies from Asia such as the eye, phone, a tale of two sisters etc. have been great.

if you want a scary movie do not get Shikoku go watch phone or something else, this movie was a good drama dealing with the death of loved ones, and tragic love the supernatural aspects of this movie were mearly a back ground to provided loss and broken dreams. In my opinion this movie and the eye are not horror but Dramas with supernatural aspects

Teenage girl Hinako returns to her home village on the Japanese island of Shikoku (which she left for Tokyo with her parents when she was a little girl) for the first time. Back then, a girl named Sayori and a boy named Fumiya were her best friends. Now Hinako meets Fumiya again, but Sayori died when she was 16. Hinako soon discovers that strange things are going on. Sayori's mother, a priestess, wants to bring her daughter back from the dead. 88 temples circle the fog-shrouded island as a seal to protect its inhabitants from the dead. But by traversing the temples in reverse order for every year of a deceased person's life, the seals can be undone and the dead person will come back to life. And Sayori's mother is about to travel the temples for the 16th time...

Shikoku is the smallest of the four big Japanese islands (the others are Honshû, Kyûshû, and Hokkaidô). Written in Kanji, "Shikoku" means "island of the four lands", but the title of this film changes the first Kanji - you still read it "Shikoku", but now it means "island of the dead". This island is still a remote place far away from the great Japanese cities, there are large, fog-shrouded forests and mountains and it makes a great setting for an eerie ghost story. The film was released together with Hideo Nakata's "The Ring 2" and produced by the same company, Asmik-Ace Entertainment. Beautifully filmed and filled with atmosphere and some very spooky moments, this is a highly recommended modern "shinrei-mono" (ghost story).