Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: The movie version based off the, similarly titled, horror anthology TV show.
Review: Since there isn't a whole lot of information regarding this series, I'm guessing this movie was made a year or two after the TV show had premiered; we can safely say it was before volume 3. This time the tales are in varying time lengths, as opposed to the five minute time frame we're used to, but most remain relatively short. As far as the quality goes, I would say it kind of felt like a step down if you can believe that; there were some questionable effects to say the least. Other than that, I'd say this film works better to complement the series rather than standing alone. These aren't the best tales they could have featured, but a few are exceptionally well done. Essentially, for every interesting segment we have an equally bad or pointless story.
Night Watchman: To kick things off we have the tale of security guards looking after an abandoned building as it is prepped for demolition or something. One of the security guards goes about his routine without problem whereas the other is scared by his claims of seeing ghosts. The head of the security company references the fact that many of these night watchmen have quit in the recent months with each reporting strange sightings. It would appear the building is haunted by dozens of ghosts as we see the perspective of a few security guards, including the head of security himself and his main crony, as they encounter the ghosts. The ghosts are not scary looking and one looked like L from "Death Note" amusingly. The security guard that enjoys the job is able to pretend the ghosts aren't there and tries to tell others to do the same, but it's impossible to go about your business when ghosts keep coming at you. Eventually the head of the security company quits along with all the others before him after staying at the abandoned building. The story ends when he sees the other security guard in passing on the street and notices ghosts cling to the man. I can't tell if this was supposed to be scary or funny because it's neither. Now, that isn't to say this segment was bad, because it was decent, but it needed more focus. It also should have provided clarity on why this building was in need of security and what the hell went on in this building given the premise; why are there so many ghosts?
Wisps of Smoke: I don't know what the hell was happening in this story. Three whiny chicks get lost in the woods after bailing on a party. For some odd reason, the women pull over and hang out in front of a shrine. They hear a loud growling that appears to emanate from the forest itself (the smoke monster from "Lost?"), but then all of the sudden one of their friends is vaporizing...or something to that nature. After the woman fades into nothingness, the two remaining women run back to the car while giving the impression that they see something chasing them that the audience can't see. When the two are about to get in the car, the driver notices that the other woman has disappeared at that exact moment. Then the last woman sees, whatever this creature is, coming at her as the story ends. I mean, seriously, what is this supposed to mean? There's something about the women smoking...but uhh, okay? I swear, they forgot to add a creature effect to the segment, because there are pointless shots as if we're supposed to be seeing something. All I can say is they took a decent premise, tried to invent a unique monster, and then completely blew it by not explaining jack nor showing anything.
Gloves: A random woman is having a recurring nightmare where ethereal gloved-hands are choking her to death. When the woman wakes up from this nightmare there are marks on her neck from the strangulation that grow darker with each passing night. While this is occurring, the woman suspects it has something to do with an old boyfriend that has popped back in her life with an unknown reason. I'm assuming, since he's pondering marriage, he's considering his options? At one point the woman can see the face accompanied to the gloved-hands and that is the last night she is tormented by this phenomenon. An unspecified amount of time later, the woman receives a wedding invitation from that ex-boyfriend and the woman believes the bride was the one haunting her each night out of jealousy; when the marriage came, the bride had no reason to continue haunting the woman. Oh goodness gracious I hardly no where to start with this mess. First, the effect on the gloves looks terrible. Second, how is this bride able to do this shit? It's stupid and makes no sense. Third, this may have felt more dramatic if we knew anything about the woman and the ex-boyfriend; we have no context regarding what happened in their relationship. This is sloppy storytelling at its finest.
The Weight: This is the shortest of the bunch and arguably the dumbest as well. A woman and her son are sleeping when the woman wakes up with the sensation that something is on top of her. She tries to swipe at whatever is the source but her hands hit nothing. After using a clock as a weapon, the woman finds herself released from the pressure only to discover her arms are being held down. This time, the woman can see the cause of the problem as it is some ghostly man who doesn't look scary. When the son catches the ghosts attention, the woman tries to fight off the spirit and he momentarily disappears. The woman idiotically leaves to get a drink when she notices the ghost is sitting on top of the son. When the woman tries to intervene, the ghost spins his head around and jumps up on top of the boy as the segment ends. What? So a pedo-ghost decides to be annoying for no discernible reason and his means of attack is sitting on you? Lame as fuck. The only consolation is the woman is super milfy.
Full-length Mirror: This is an interesting tale since it was the basis for what would later become "Ju-on: Old Lady in White." And when I say basis, we're talking the bare bones of the plot. Two guys are visiting their old high school and decide to shoot some hoops. They allude to a haunted mirror that is in a supply closet and want to check it out since they claim they will never be coming back (ironic truth). One of the guys answers a phone call while the other stays behind to hear the basketball bounce toward him. Seemingly captivated, the guy moves close and sticks out his hand when it is suddenly grabbed by a ghost out of the mirror. The other guy returns to find the mirror is shattered and his friend is nowhere to be found. The guy picks up a shard of glass and sees a ghostly woman standing behind him in the reflection. Running away and shutting the supply closet door, the guy is deafened by a woman's ghostly laughter. When the laughter goes silent, the guy turns to see a Kayako-esque spirit charging him while carrying the basketball. Not bad not bad--a quick setup with effective scares while leaving you intrigued. You can see where the grandma ghost was established and the whole bit with the mirror from "Ju-on: Old Lady in White," so that was cool.
Line of Sight: When making a video about what she and her classmates want to do when they grow up, a girl notices a phantom specter lurking in the background. The girl's name is Yukari and she is played by Maki Horikita who I've already discussed regarding this series; the cute Ms. Horikita appeared to star in multiple horror films and TV shows before moving on completely (remember your roots my dear!). Yukari is supposed to be a bit on the dorky side which is hard to believe considering her kawaii factor. She shows the video to a teacher and they somehow determine the ghost is a specific nurse that died during WWII (yeah, I'm calling bullshit on that one) when the school was a military hospital. Two girls stumble upon Yukari's video and decide it would be a great addition to some school festival. At first Yukari doesn't think it's a good idea, but when the hype around the video grows so does her popularity. When the day of the festival comes, the students have set up a classroom specifically for the viewing of the video. A couple of girls ask for an early viewing and Yukari allows it thinking no harm will come from any of this. Listening on, Yukari hears the screams of the girls and overhears their discussion describing things that didn't happen in the video. Unnerved by this prospect, Yukari watches the video again herself and each time it would cut to the ghost, she changes position and gets closer to the camera. For some reason we see shots of Yukari being haunted by the ghost earlier, but I don't know what that's all about. Yukari takes the tape out of the player, but it's still playing and now the ghost is no longer in the footage. When she backs up toward the classroom door, Yukari is stopped by the ghost who says she will always be watching her. I think this is probably the best entry in the movie as it provides a cool story, good effects, interesting ideas, and moderate scares. Sure, there are hints of "Ringu" but this feels unique enough. This would have made for an excellent full-length feature.
The Promise: I guess this came before the segment from volume 3, but why did they repeat multiple titles? Anyway, a nephew is house sitting for his uncle who lives at a high end apartment. Besides the usual bullshit, the uncle tells the nephew that when his name is called he must answer. Obviously he's confused by this, but doesn't think too hard about it due to becoming mesmerized by the spacious apartment. Later that night, after indulging in the uncle's food and drink, the nephew hears a disembodied voice calling out to a "Kazunori." After responding "yes" to the, almost, mechanical voice, nothing happens, but this process continues through the nephew's duration at the apartment; if the nephew does not answer the voice, it repeats itself over and over. The day before the uncle is to come home, the nephew brings over some chick that he suckered into helping him clean up. When trying to kiss the girl, the voice repeatedly calls out to the nephew, but he's too busy to answer. The voice begins to repeat itself endlessly until it hurts the nephew's head and he answers back; the chickadee left during this event obviously. When the nephew thinks everything is okay he sees a large apparition that resembles the girl on the movie poster except dirtier. The nephew appears to survive the encounter as he greets the uncle the next day. We learn that the uncle's name is not "Kazunori," and the nephew suspects the uncle is in love with the ghost. When the nephew leaves he sees the same apparition on the street calling out to him as the segment ends. While the effects on the ghost were questionable, the story as a whole was interesting and original. You get the right balance of intrigue with the implication as to what's happening. These kind of weird, offbeat tales are what I love the most about J-horror; they aren't afraid to experiment with ideas.
Hisao: I've discussed in the past how notorious anthology films are for ending poorly--guess how this one ends. That's right, completely retarded! To be fair, it's not the worst tale from this film, but that's not really saying much. All that happens is some mom is mopping up water that her son is dripping around the house as she indirectly explains to the audience something we knew right from the start: the son is dead and his name is Hisao. That's seriously all that happens--the mom crazily talks to herself, or the ghost, about the events leading up to the Hisao's death. Apparently he was drowned after being beaten by some punks he was lending money to. Then there's something about the Hisao possibly killing the punks that killed him, but who knows. I guess I have to give the actress playing the mom credit for doing her best talking to herself, and the lighting was well done, but that's about it. What a lame and forgettable way to go out. I know it was trying to be sentimental, but it failed miserably in my opinion.
As you can see, it was 4 for 4: an even split between bad and good. This places things in the mediocre realm for me but a few bonus points for how much I liked the "Line of Sight" segment. I appreciate the originality and creativity to some of the tales, but I felt this movie version should have taken things up a notch when compared to the TV show. With that said, this movie is worth checking out if you've been enjoying the TV show, but don't expect it to blow you away. Considering the price, however, I'd recommend trying to track it down through youtube or wherever even if it's split into its individual segments; that's how I originally watched this film. Personally, I'd stick to the two parts of volume 3 over this.
Notable Moment: In the "Line of Sight" segment when Yukari is watching the ghost video. I loved the way the ghost came closer with each cut and then was able to come out of the footage when coming at the camera. This needs to be a full movie.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
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