Marebito
(2004)
Picture:
C Sound: B- Extras: C Feature: D
Original Grudge director Takashi Shimizu
returned in 2004 with the supernatural thriller Marebito, about a cameraman who becomes obsessed when he captures a
sad, sick suicide. He becomes obsessed
with fear, death and self-destruction that lead to unexpected
consequences. Will he discover a deeper
truth and will it destroy him?
Well, to
say the film cannot begin to deliver on this premise is an understatement,
thinking that being haunted by “the other” in a shallow way is sufficient for
the Horror to work. Shimizu is one of
those directors who got lucky once and does not seem to know where to go from
there. The quick editing that adds up to
nothing, the degraded images and other lame flashes of light are lame and
annoying. There is nothing we have not
seen here before and nothing scary about any of it. The actors either have the “shocked” or
“possessed” face and if this were remade and/or had been a big U.S. hit, a
fifth Scary Movie installment would
have tore this one apart. A
disappointing curio at best.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is weak, in part because of the video
used, then add the degraded and color-drained images and you have a total
disaster. The DTS 5.1 is not so great
either, with the Dolby Digital being even weaker. Extras include trailers and three separate
interviews with Shimizu, actor Shinya Tsukamoto and producer Hiroshi
Takahashi. A dud all around.
- Nicholas Sheffo
