Arrow is releasing an extremely welcome, extras-packed set of Japanese horror films from the turn of the millennium that aren't JU-ON or RINGU (you'll have to get Arrow's other excellent sets for those). There are seven films here that most viewers won't be especially familiar with, spread over four discs. So let's take a look at what we get:
Disc One
Shikoku (1999)
The set kicks off with a ghost story set on the real island of Shikoku whose 88 temples also play a part. When Hirato (Yui Natsukawa) returns from Tokyo after having left as a child she learns that her childhood friend Sayori (Chiaki Kuriyama) who once saved her from drowning, has died. Meanwhile Sayori's mother has embarked on a pilgrimage of the temples and Sayori's ex-boyfriend Fumiya (Michitaka Tsutsui) declares he has the hots for Hirato. Can a long-haired ghost girl be far from appearing?
SHIKOKU offers a number of interesting elements (Sayori's destiny was to be become a priestess but fought against it) and drip-feeds clues as to what is going on over its first hour. It then goes in a far gentler direction than, say, Lucio Fulci would have taken it (which isn't surprising, but watch the film to see why one might think of Fulci at all) but it does the job nicely in the atmosphere and mood department.
The best extra here is a talking head piece by Tom Mes who discussed the rise and fall of J-Horror in a succinct 23 minutes, talking about many of the titles in the set into the bargain. Mes returns to provide a commentary track for the film, and there's a new interview with director Shinuchi Nagasaki (also 23 minutes). You also get archival interviews with the director and the two leads (just a couple of minutes each), three minutes of on-set footage, plus the usual trailers and stills.
Isola - Multiple Personality Girl (2000)
A girl who can read everyone's thoughts encounters a teenager with thirteen different personalities in a film that's a little bit too overstuffed with ideas for its own good. The best of these, and the one that's actually what the film is all about, offers a science fiction explanation for the iconic figure of the Japanese ghost girl, complete with why she's wet and why she's white. It's actually rather clever and ISOLA is an ambitious, extremely watchable piece of J-horror although it might have you wondering quite where it's going at first.
Extras include a commentary track from Jasper Sharp and Amber T, with the two bouncing off each other very well. There are two tiny archival interviews of about a minute each, three minutes of behind the scenes footage, and a trailer and still gallery.
Disc Two
Inugami (2001)
This tale of the trials and tribulations of a family of paper makers in a small Japanese village feels less like a horror film and more a family drama with fantastical elements. In his piece on disc one Tom Mes says that INUGAMI was not financially successful and it's not difficult to see why. Despite being well shot and acted, this one feels a world away from the films that were all making a mark internationally during this era of Japanese horror cinema.
Extras include a commentary track from Jonathan Clements, the author of 'A Brief History of Japan', and he provides fascinating information on both the film and much of the practices we see in it. There's also a 30 minute interview with director Masato Harada and a still gallery.
St John's Wort (2001)
A pseudo-Dogme '95 photographic style of grainy digital video probably wasn't the right choice for this tale of a young woman who inherits a mansion that she then visits with an ex-boyfriend, only to discover a dark secret about her deceased artist father. Apparently based on a video game, ST JOHN'S WORT suffers from a confusing opening, an uneventful 50 minutes that follow (out of a total runtime of 85), and a baffling conclusion. And that's a shame because when something does eventually happen we get a core idea that could have yielded an excellent haunted house picture. Sadly this isn't it.
Extras include an archival 22 minute making of and 45 minutes of interviews with the four main cast members. A new commentary track from Amber T is well presented, enthusiastic and extremely helpful in explaining the film's video game origins, although you probably still need to be familiar with the games she references to fully appreciate it. Even so it's still more enjoyable than the film.
Disc Three
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (2007)
The myth of a woman with a Joker-like slit mouth who asks people if she's pretty and woe betide them if they give the wrong answer gets a 21st century update by director Koji Shiraishi, and a very good film it is, too. Here the titular character can possess any woman and then use them to abduct children, whom she then ties up in the basement of her old house.
There are elements of Freddy Krueger (the sharp shears she torments and tortures the children with) and Candyman (an urban myth made real) that suggest that under the right financial conditions the character could have run to a franchise. Don't expect an American remake anytime soon, though, or ever, because there's far too much violence against children. Shiraishi conjures a fine sense of atmosphere, the slit-mouthed woman is a terrifying creation, and the whole film is paced very well indeed. A highlight of the set.
Extras include a commentary track from Zack Davisson (he starts talking at about 80 seconds in for those who might think the audio isn't working on their disc) and he goes into a lot more detail about the folklore surrounding the title character. There's a 19 minute interview with the director and an excellent 17 minute piece from Lindsay Nelson about both this and some of Shiraishi's other movies.
Persona (2000)
A bullied teenager at a high school starts wearing a mask, claiming it allows him to be a different and more confident person. Soon others are wearing masks for the same reason. It's not long before mask fever seems to grip the nation, quickly followed by mask-wearers getting into fights with non mask-wearers. This intriguing premise which has the potential for plenty of discussion about social dynamics and the nature of identity then disappointingly degenerates into a not terribly interesting crime plot about the identity of the person ultimately responsible for all the mask mayhem. The first half of PERSONA is intriguing and filled with arresting imagery, but the second half will have you questioning if, like at least one other film in this set, this is actually a horror film at all.
The sole extra for this one is a 17 minute interview with director Takashi Komatsu.
Disc Four
Noroi: The Curse (2005)
A great film to finish the set with, and another from SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN director Koji Shiraishi. It's difficult to say too much about NOROI without spoiling it, suffice to say it uses found footage to tell the tale of a psychic investigator who discovers that a missing child, a village submerged beneath a reservoir, and a ritual to keep a demon subdued may all be linked.
Extras kick off with a new commentary track from film critic Julian Singleton, who suggests that NOROI acted as the gateway into the next wave of Japanese horror cinema. There are new interviews with director Shiraishi (25 minutes) and producer Taka Ichise (18 minutes). There are academic contributions from Lindsay Nelson (22 minutes) and Amber T(21 minutes) who argues the case for Shiraishi being a significant creative force in cosmic horror.
How to Protect Yourself from Curses is an entertaining 14 minutes of William Castle-style ballyhoo, and there's also Urgent Report! Chasing Down the Truth Behind Kagutaba, a 38 minute 'documentary' in the style of 'In Search Of...' and other TV shows. Finally, there are 13 deleted scenes adding up to a good half an hour's worth of extra footage, TV spots and image galleries.
The Bottom Line: Unless you are familiar with Japanese horror it can seem quite the daunting field and while everyone might be familiar with RINGU and JU-ON there's a lot more worthy of discovery. Overall Arrow's box set J Horror Rising is an impressive collection of films and, especially where the many excellent extras are concerned, an extremely valuable overview of an important period in horror cinema and the talents involved. Worth picking up.
J HORROR RISING is out from Arrow Films in a four disc
Blu-ray set on Monday 28th October 2024
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