frostbow

Shiraishi Kouji is a director of dozens of horror movies, both normal ones like Hell Girl, but also "found footage" films with handheld camera. His most famous such film is probably Noroi. This newer movie is also in the second category.

This time, the director himself appears on screen to present several short films from different locations, but with a red thread connecting them. These are rather amateurish films, often taken with handheld camera, and with only few cuts. Somehow, the result becomes a very scary and unique horror movie. There are several structural reasons for that: 1. In a long movie you can usually take for granted that the main character will be alive at least until near the end. When we get short films like this, there is no guarantee that the characters will not die and be replaced in the next video, so there is an extra sense of danger.

2. Many horror movies that are based on urban legends have well-defined rules for when and how characters will be killed. In contrast, this movie has no such rules.

3. Instead, it is very chaotic in that shocking things can happen at any time. Even such anomalies as unreliable narrators or breaking the fourth wall might happen. So there is a constant feeling of threat and insecurity at all times.

4. Not only are there spooky things, but the interaction between the characters is even more chaotic and uncomfortable to the degree that I almost could not stand the tension.

It is unclear if the actors are good or not. They seem amateurish and goofy sometimes, but are on the other hand able to create a special tension between them. Especially with so few cuts. Also, some of them are able to express certain emotions that I have not really seen before. The question is if this is skill or a coincidence. In any case, it is something unique that can probably never be replicated or remade.

Adding to this, the characters and relations are unusually complex and interesting psychologically. They were handled with respect, and not as vehicles for the plot.

Shiraishi Kouji himself makes a strong impression. Him talking directly to the audience creates a special connection to the material he is showing.

It is worth mentioning that he has a mythos of his own that his movies are based upon, and also a particular style of special effects, so that you can recognize them on sight. These special effects can look very scary sometimes, but they can on the other hand look cheap and goofy other times. In this movie they are used sparingly, which is good. I think they could even be used a little bit less, to reduce the risk of breaking the tension.

It is one of the scariest and most uncomfortable horror movies I have seen. It is also one of the most interesting character dramas. Of course, there is no guarantee that other people will find it scary. I think at least people who like found-footage horror movies can give it a try.

There are so many horror movies based on urban legends that we are running out of urban legends. Mary's Phone scraped the bottom of the barrel and found one of the least interesting ones.

We follow Minako and her friends in the karate club when they go to a training camp in the countryside. The karate is one of the appealing aspects of the movie, since we get to see the group doing karate exercises together. Unfortunately, they never use any karate in the action scenes, which is a waste of potential. The martial art just becomes an unused Chekov's gun.

Another appealing aspect should be the nature surrounding the hostel. They even take a run in the forest. Unfortunately, this possibility is not exploited fully. The garden and forest looks nice but bland, and there are only a few short shots of the surrounding mountains.

The plot is simple and mostly logical. It was a pleasant surprise to see that it deviated from the urban legend. Still, there is nothing new or unique.

The action scenes are low-budget and basic. The best thing to say is that they could have been worse. It was an intelligent choice to make them short and film them in darkness.

One of the best things about the movie really is that it is only just above 60 minutes long. I mean this seriously, because it was a good way of avoiding it becoming boring.

At least there is a nostalgic sense of adventure in going to a camp, and some coziness in the idea of breaking the rules to hang out with friends in the night.

After finishing the first two video games in the Trails in the Sky series, it was a pleasant surprise to find an anime based on it. It has two parts of about 40 minutes each, and I tend to call it a movie, even though it technically is a mini-series. Watching it soon after the game was a fantastic experience, and it became one of my favourite anime movies.

The anime begins with a short, narrated introduction to the world, followed by a music video where the characters are shown, to the song Silver Will, Golden Wings, which always hypes me up with its enthusiastic melody and lyrics like: "You make me feel my will silver Do believe me, all my heart" The story is almost exclusively from the first two thirds of the second game, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC. It follows the game, but of course in a compressed way and with a few critical changes, considering that it is a very long game compressed into an 80 minute anime.

This means that it doesn't have a conclusive end, but it is a good thing that it does not spoil the last part of the game. There will still be spoilers of course, which should be considered if you are looking to play the remakes of the games, starting to come out in 2025.

The anime also does not have the character introductions and story from the first game. I wish it had one or two more episodes, to make it more grounded, or show more of the detective work. Considering that the audience would be microscopic anyway, there was probably no motivation to spend more on it. The many nice details in how the locations and action is presented still implies that a lot of effort was put into the project.

The action starts in a terrible way at the worst possible point in time, with some dramatic scenes that we are thrown into without build-up. This continues to be a structural flaw throughout the anime, where many new characters show up without a proper introduction, because they are already known by the other characters, and are near to the end of their arcs. Imagine if the first appearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars was the scene where Darth Vader says "I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last." This creates a jarring experience of catching up, where we barely have time to learn about each character until next one appears. The worst example is the Sky Bandits, who are never explained, so prior knowledge is necessary to understand why they are even there. Only one character was introduced in a proper way, because it was unknown to the others present at the location.

Aside from that, the characters are correctly depicted and feel familiar from the games. The main character Estelle is well animated and voiced to get almost the correct personality. A couple of other characters are also missing a few important lines of dialogue.

Action scenes are faithful to the game, with recognizable spells and mechanics, that are sometimes called by name, and sometimes left as Easter eggs. One fight is particularly impressive, and has also given rise to a meme about Estelle being kicked by an antagonist.

After that, the high points are the drama, background revelation, and development of some of the antagonists, with emotional scenes. The slower pace and better flow makes it more and more immersive and enjoyable.

Worth mentioning are also the Easter eggs. For example the idyllic scene with the sheep crossing the road outside Elmo village.

Given the lack of backstory for characters, it is unclear if the anime can be recommended to non-players. Maybe the fantastic music by itself can make it worth watching.