divemaster13
Member: Rank 4
Reincarnation (2005)
J-horror by the same guy who did the Ju-on movies. (Takashi Shimizu)
@ebossert loved this. His 8/10 review on IMDb conveys what he appreciated about the film. It was a good read (I only read it after I watched the film), and I admire the passion. It ended up in my Netflix queue, so I assume he mentioned it here, or someone else did.
I, however, did not love it. Didn't even like it. Let me count the ways.
It did not make sense to me, and it was not interesting. The DVD said it was part of a "Horrorfest" of "8 films to die for." I would amend that to say it was part of a "Snoozefest" and one of 8 films to die of boredom for. :) I don't particularly like slasher/horror or gore/horror for its own sake, although as a part of a clever movie, it's okay. But Reincarnation could be PG-13 I think. That's not the reason I didn't like it or found it boring, I'm just pointing it out.
According to Shimizu's interviews on the DVD, he acknowledged that the themes of re-incarnation would probably be better received in Japan, as that society has more of a cultural framework to appreciate the movie's themes. He even said that he doubted that Reincarnation would do well in the U.S. and he hoped that a U.S. director might see it and remake it in a way more relatable to Americans.
I'm by no means the myopic "ugly American" unable to enjoy Eastern themes, but so much of this movie did not make sense to me. The set-up is that a director (I'll call him JD) wants to make a movie about the murders at a mountainside resort hotel. About 35 years prior, a professor took it upon himself to murder (knife/stab/hang) 11 other folks (guests and staff), including his own small children. In fact, the only survivor was the professor's wife, who he left for dead. After the murder spree, the professor kills himself. Oh, and he filmed the entire thing on 8mm.
So JD casts the movie to replay the events. By some amazing coincidence that I did not understand, every single one of the cast members was a reincarnation of the people in the hotel that day. The main focus of the movie is a college-age actress who is playing the role of the professor's young daughter, who was about 5 or 6. (JD "aged up" the role to be a teen for his movie.). But then there's another college girl who seems to be a reincarnation of that day also. What she's doing in the film, I'm not sure. She's not associated with JD's "movie within the movie" being made.
So JD takes the whole cast/crew back to the now-abandoned hotel to get them in the mood and to film some scenes. (He also makes a mock-up set in the studio). Our main girl sees ghosts. Who sometimes act like zombies. Sometimes they seem sad and frightened, but then sometimes they kill people. Like some random girl in the library, who was not involved in JD's movie but was apparently also a reincarnation of someone at the hotel who was hanged. Somehow the numbers aren't adding up. And if all these souls were reincarnated, then why were they still ghosts? Or zombies? I'm thinking it's because Shimizu wanted to create a scary mood and scene.
Now, let me digress. Ju-on didn't have much of a coherent plot and didn't hardly make a lick of sense either. But it was one of the most effectively creepy movies I've ever seen. I loved Ju-on. Perhaps one of my main issues with Reincarnation is that it seems to try so hard to plot itself...and failed. Even Shimizu admits this. In one of the interviews/commentaries he says that the more he tried to explain things, the less sense the movie ended up making. I get the feeling he was frustrated with how the plot developed. That frustration could not help but be picked up by this viewer.
And the actors/actresses...how to put this...I'll focus on the girl. She spends most of the movie terrified. Both "acting" as her role in the recreation AND really terrified as she sees all the ghosts and stuff. The actress plays "scared" very well. Wide eyes, shaking, knees wobbling, gasping. Yep, she's terrified. However, nothing on the screen is all that scary. Shimizu utterly fails at translating the character's fear into the viewer's fear. It's hard to get into the movie when the person on screen is quaking with fear, and you're not feeling it. Like if someone is laughing hilariously...and there's no joke.
Ok, so the ending. I get the major twist. Because the movie was not captivating me, my mind wandered a bit playing out different ways the movie could end. So, the "twist" I did figure out about an hour into it. That part was actually well done. But the very end? With the surviving wife? And that...room? Are we to accept that a person who has the misfortune to be re-incarnated gets eternally punished for something he didn't do? All this person did was just be born. Not their fault. And that gets them "the treatment"? Yeah, someone got their revenge, but...but... Well, it hardly seems fair.
Sorry so long-winded. Anyone who saw this and would like to tell me how misguided I am, please do! Get some discussion going!
2 stars. And that's being generous.
J-horror by the same guy who did the Ju-on movies. (Takashi Shimizu)
@ebossert loved this. His 8/10 review on IMDb conveys what he appreciated about the film. It was a good read (I only read it after I watched the film), and I admire the passion. It ended up in my Netflix queue, so I assume he mentioned it here, or someone else did.
I, however, did not love it. Didn't even like it. Let me count the ways.
It did not make sense to me, and it was not interesting. The DVD said it was part of a "Horrorfest" of "8 films to die for." I would amend that to say it was part of a "Snoozefest" and one of 8 films to die of boredom for. :) I don't particularly like slasher/horror or gore/horror for its own sake, although as a part of a clever movie, it's okay. But Reincarnation could be PG-13 I think. That's not the reason I didn't like it or found it boring, I'm just pointing it out.
According to Shimizu's interviews on the DVD, he acknowledged that the themes of re-incarnation would probably be better received in Japan, as that society has more of a cultural framework to appreciate the movie's themes. He even said that he doubted that Reincarnation would do well in the U.S. and he hoped that a U.S. director might see it and remake it in a way more relatable to Americans.
I'm by no means the myopic "ugly American" unable to enjoy Eastern themes, but so much of this movie did not make sense to me. The set-up is that a director (I'll call him JD) wants to make a movie about the murders at a mountainside resort hotel. About 35 years prior, a professor took it upon himself to murder (knife/stab/hang) 11 other folks (guests and staff), including his own small children. In fact, the only survivor was the professor's wife, who he left for dead. After the murder spree, the professor kills himself. Oh, and he filmed the entire thing on 8mm.
So JD casts the movie to replay the events. By some amazing coincidence that I did not understand, every single one of the cast members was a reincarnation of the people in the hotel that day. The main focus of the movie is a college-age actress who is playing the role of the professor's young daughter, who was about 5 or 6. (JD "aged up" the role to be a teen for his movie.). But then there's another college girl who seems to be a reincarnation of that day also. What she's doing in the film, I'm not sure. She's not associated with JD's "movie within the movie" being made.
So JD takes the whole cast/crew back to the now-abandoned hotel to get them in the mood and to film some scenes. (He also makes a mock-up set in the studio). Our main girl sees ghosts. Who sometimes act like zombies. Sometimes they seem sad and frightened, but then sometimes they kill people. Like some random girl in the library, who was not involved in JD's movie but was apparently also a reincarnation of someone at the hotel who was hanged. Somehow the numbers aren't adding up. And if all these souls were reincarnated, then why were they still ghosts? Or zombies? I'm thinking it's because Shimizu wanted to create a scary mood and scene.
Now, let me digress. Ju-on didn't have much of a coherent plot and didn't hardly make a lick of sense either. But it was one of the most effectively creepy movies I've ever seen. I loved Ju-on. Perhaps one of my main issues with Reincarnation is that it seems to try so hard to plot itself...and failed. Even Shimizu admits this. In one of the interviews/commentaries he says that the more he tried to explain things, the less sense the movie ended up making. I get the feeling he was frustrated with how the plot developed. That frustration could not help but be picked up by this viewer.
And the actors/actresses...how to put this...I'll focus on the girl. She spends most of the movie terrified. Both "acting" as her role in the recreation AND really terrified as she sees all the ghosts and stuff. The actress plays "scared" very well. Wide eyes, shaking, knees wobbling, gasping. Yep, she's terrified. However, nothing on the screen is all that scary. Shimizu utterly fails at translating the character's fear into the viewer's fear. It's hard to get into the movie when the person on screen is quaking with fear, and you're not feeling it. Like if someone is laughing hilariously...and there's no joke.
Ok, so the ending. I get the major twist. Because the movie was not captivating me, my mind wandered a bit playing out different ways the movie could end. So, the "twist" I did figure out about an hour into it. That part was actually well done. But the very end? With the surviving wife? And that...room? Are we to accept that a person who has the misfortune to be re-incarnated gets eternally punished for something he didn't do? All this person did was just be born. Not their fault. And that gets them "the treatment"? Yeah, someone got their revenge, but...but... Well, it hardly seems fair.
Sorry so long-winded. Anyone who saw this and would like to tell me how misguided I am, please do! Get some discussion going!
2 stars. And that's being generous.
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