A Japanese horror film that deals with the after effects of isolation and loneliness in modern day Japan.
The story takes place at The Sunny Plant Sales in Tokyo where teenagers Junko (Kurume
Arisaka), Michi (Kumiko Aso) and Yabe (Masatoshi Matsuo) work with Taguchi
(Kenji Mizuhashi). When Taguchi didn't come to work one day his colleagues got worried and Michi decided to go to his apartment to see
what is going on.
When Michi arrived at Taguchi's apartment, she found him alone and behaving
strangely. As Michi was searching for a computer disk that she needs at
work, to her horror Taguchi hanged himself in the next room. Michi got
out of there with the disk without knowing what is on it. A few days later
Yabe got a phone call pleading for help from Taguchi's apartment but when
he went there Yabe found only the empty apartment with some oily black
smear on the wall. One by one Michi's friends start to have similar experiences
and some of them started to commit suicide when they got connected to
a web site about ghosts.
As the suicide
becomes epidemic, one of the university students Ryosuke Kawashima (Haruhiko
Kato) installed some software on his computer and then his computer takes
on a life of it's own. Scared, Ryosuke started to ask other computer students
for help, but they couldn't find a valid reason for what is going on within
their circle. Find out more about this mysterious computer ghost.
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa skillfully narrates a modern day ghost story
with great psychological resonance. His choice of internet as the conduit
for spreading the evil spirit is really smart. He explores many of the
social problems like depression, suicide and loneliness that is wide spread
in the modern Japanese society. Even though he couldn't suggest any remedies
for these problems, it is really courageous on his part to put some light
on the dark side of the society as a whole. Beautifully crafted movie
has stunning cinematography, great acting and shocking visuals. Basically
every scene has the ability to scare you and keep you on the edge throughout
the film. He is trying to deliver a message to the modern world
that the human race is abusing the technology and getting away from the
real world and the real people.
The film is filled with many lonely souls and most of them disappear during the course of the
film. Even with all the technological advances, Japanese society as a whole is facing severe
problems of depression and suicide among many of their lonely citizens and government is giving
a blind eye to these desperate people. Hopefully this movie will open the eyes of the authorities
and make them act before it is too late.
We rate this movie GOOD.
