X-Cross

On the one hand, the premise is very promising, recalling international classics from the 70s. On the other hand, even within the first five minutes we're greeted (and not for the last time) with small choices of stylization (e.g., a sparkling effect on metal, and on the title card) that raise a skeptical eyebrow. On the one hand, we're readily treated to absolutely outstanding, creepy production design and art direction, readily inviting an unsettling atmosphere that evokes Christophe Gans' 'Silent Hill,' or the essential masterpieces of John Carpenter. On the other hand, Fukasaku Kenta's direction quickly tends to feel gauchely forthright if not also overcharged, with a further apparent predilection for stylization, that (a) does not pair well with image quality and production values that are intermittently and irregularly bare-faced and glaring, and which (b) run contrary to the atmosphere the picture otherwise aims to conjure. Within a fraction of the total runtime (one-sixth) 'X-cross' begins to feel like a mixed bag, and we must hope that the scales will come to tip in a favorable direction.

Unfortunately, I don't think the situation improves. I don't know where the responsibility lies, though I suspect it's split between director Fukasaku, writer Oishi Tetsuya, the source material of Joko Nobuyuki, and producer Kondo Masatake. The fact is that what sounds like a fantastic concept, and which boasts some fine contributions in various capacities, is less than fully convincing. In all regards - the plot and its development, scene writing, dialogue, characterizations - the writing is so blunt and straightforward as to be gawky, ham-fisted, and off-putting. There is no subtlety or nuance in the conjuration, seemingly stemming from the novel as much as the adaptation, and frankly, despite good ideas the storytelling is just flimsy. Blame the writing as one will, however, Fukasaku's direction doesn't do much to impress either. Elements and moments that should be striking and delightfully twisted - a character being startled, a strange village elder, a distinct sound effect - are presented in such a curt and flat manner that all their power is forfeit. Even the climax struggles heavily. Furthermore, his direction indeed remains consistently overzealous, and tactless, and the embellishments of stylization continue to plague the proceedings, too. All the feature needed to do was to tell a story, but it goes overboard in so many ways trying to be Extra, and in so doing, it stumbles.

Ike Yoshihiro's music tends to suffer from these same problems. So do the costume design, hair, and makeup. Even the shot composition, cinematography, editing, and sound design come across as overwrought, as if the folks involved thought themselves to be more clever than they are. All aspects may bear some good ideas, by all means, but these only get us so far when the execution leaves so much to be desired. Granted, it's not all bad. I maintain that the production design and art direction are strong, and the filming locations are splendid. Even the lighting is swell in helping to summon that atmosphere, and many practical effects and stunts are very good. But too much of the acting does just as much to earn one's ire, and the gaudy flourishes that are so profuse in these ninety minutes wear thin swiftly. Case in point, someone thought very highly of themselves as the plot development adopts a "non-linear" structure - but here that notion is terribly cheapened with rapid rewinding or fast-forwarding of scenes we've already watched so as to shift to concurrent events focusing on another character from the point of where a given scene left off.

Further consider some extra over-the-top dialogue, props, or scenes, and one character who seems to be present for no particular reason at all, and the esteem one may be inclined to bestow drops significantly over time. I believe there was real potential in the concept, but some ideas clash - sometimes trying to be an earnest horror-thriller, sometimes unabashedly leaning into the approach of a pure fun-loving romp - and some are just plain bad. The definite strengths are all too few, the possible strengths are highly variable, and the shortcomings and faults are entirely too numerous. Part of me feels bad about being so critical, but time and again as I watched I recognized dubious creative choices that robbed the movie of all its impact, and the end product is ultimately just rather vexing and tiresome. There are far worse ways to spend one's time, certainly, yet with so much else that we could be watching in the first place, be it wild lark or chilling thriller, why would we spend our time here? I'm glad for those who enjoy 'X-cross' more than I do, but I somewhat wish I had spent ninety minutes more wisely.

I watched this movie as a part of the "Focus Asia Nights" Film festival weekend in Stuttgart in autumn 2007. And although you kinda can tell that this will be over the top (Horror/comedy), I never felt that it hit the right notes. Not that it was completely bad (turkey), but it just missed out on a few things ... not to mention the craziest plot changes and "surprises" up til the end.

On the other side, it had some great (funny) ideas, that worked. Sometimes as a running gag, sometimes just one good laugh or action scene. But while the movie couldn't decide which direction it'll take (action, Horror, Comedy), you might get bored a little (especially if you get to see things that happened twice)! The plot is so crazy that it really wouldn't be a spoiler to say anything about it (it's not about the plot anyway), but I'll leave you with a word of advice: Don't watch the movie, if you're not prepared for something completely "different"

"X-Cross" sort of surprised me, as I had assumed it would be another one of those countless gory splatter movies that have made it out of Japan in the recent years. However, "X-Cross" was far from it. It was actually a really great suspense/horror movie.

The story is about Shiyori (played by Nao Matsushita) and Aiko (played by Ami Suzuki) who travel to hot springs located at a very remote village. But things are not all as they seem; not in the village, not with the people, not with the friendship. Shiyori and Aiko find themselves stranded in a remote village with no one but themselves to trust, or can they?

I found the story to be really great because it builds up the suspense so nicely, letting the story brood and seep in, then flash back and show you other sides of occurring events. Now that was a thing I thoroughly enjoyed about the movie, it was so nicely done, and it really unravelled my theories by shedding new light on situations that I just saw in the movie. And the plot kept shifting, so it was not possible to predict what was happening or what was going to happen. The ending of the movie, well that was really bad, in my opinion. I didn't care for that ending at all. Actually the entire movie was great, but the last 20 to 30 minutes was sort of fighting an uphill battle, the movie started slipping during that time and becoming anti-climatic and just downright stupid.

The people they had cast for the various roles in "X-Cross" were actually doing good jobs with their given roles, and the characters were really fleshed out as believable and realistic. Well, what happened to Reiko was just a bit too much, it was so over the top that it stopped being realistic.

"X-Cross" has a really good mood to it, the environment was well used, and you sit with a sensation of being trapped and isolated out in the woods, so they managed to capture the right setting for the movie.

So looking away from the last 20 to 30 minutes of the movie, then I found "X-Cross" to be a really nice movie, and it was nicely build up leaving you guessing as to whom did what and who can be trusted, then only to completely unravel your theories as you are given new bits and pieces of information.

The IMDb genres labeled to this movie are action, adventure and comedy. That kind of makes me wonder, because I didn't find the movie to be that at all.

Came in with low expectations to find that this movie really works. It is sold as 'horror' but it's really not. Sure there's a village that wants to sacrifice these 2 girls to their god, but it's not really 'horror' at all. The movie unfolds as an action/suspense movie really as the two leads are separated minutes into the movie and then we have follow their survival paths and see where they continually almost link up. It sounds cliché almost, but really it works. There's no body count, no gore, just an old fashioned "who's betrayed me" plot while running from the masses. And I actually did NOT figure out whodunit and was nicely surprised when it all unfolded.

This movie is more of a action-comedy than horror. In fact, it's only scary for the first 10 minutes, then it turns into this action-packed survival game so outrageous that it made me laugh through the movie.

The plot is simple, a girl takes a female friend to a hot-spring resort to cheer her up from a breakup. It turns out to be the village of a cult-like tribe with a ritual that involves chopping off young women's legs. They also encounter a psycho Lolita woman seeking revenge for losing her boyfriend.

This movie is not meant to be taken seriously. The setting of this film is ridiculously unrealistic, but the sequence of events is uncovered and explained very well. If you look past the unlikeliness of the original setting, this movie's plot makes sense and there were no major plot holes other than Suzuki Ami's character being abnormally strong and villagers abnormally weak (but I guess that's intentionally done for comedy).

Suzuki Ami's action sequence against "the scissors girl" Reika was really exciting and cool. It really hit the spot for a huge Suzuki Ami fan like me. Matsushita Nao's acting has been extremely corny in every movie and TV dramas I've seen until now, but she seemed surprisingly natural and fit the role very well. She may have a hidden talent as a horror actress.

As a action-comedy film, this movie is really well made. Action/CG/SFX were all quite nice, and it was a really exciting suspense movie. Sit back, don't think, and enjoy the ride.