Featured Audience Ratings

• Luke B

  
  Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a master of minimalist horror. Like Kairo the audience has to do much of the work. We are supplied with a film that looks beautiful and on the surface has a very simple plot. As the story progresses all is not so simple and we are drawn into a more surreal and… More
  Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a master of minimalist horror. Like Kairo the audience has to do much of the work. We are supplied with a film that looks beautiful and on the surface has a very simple plot. As the story progresses all is not so simple and we are drawn into a more surreal and supernatural world. Despite this, Sakebi never loses it's grip on reality. The locations are sparse, industrial areas which still look heart achingly wonderful on film. The mystery slowly sucks you in but not all answers are handed to you in some 20 minute exposition speech. Kiyoshi Kurosawa also knows how not to use sound, omitting those screechy and sudden sound effects found in usual horrors. His shots are also composed in order for us to search them ourselves. Ghostly characters lurk in the background without any sound cue. Characters don't notice them until long after we have. Simple and very effective.

• Dean M

  
  Cool Japanese spooky film which is very mysteriously in the tradition of <i>The Grudge</i> and <i>The Sixth Sense</i>. I was a bit shocked at the final scene of what a woman in a red dress did to a young detective and I figured it out why she had to do it for… More
  Cool Japanese spooky film which is very mysteriously in the tradition of <i>The Grudge</i> and <i>The Sixth Sense</i>. I was a bit shocked at the final scene of what a woman in a red dress did to a young detective and I figured it out why she had to do it for the senior detective. You'll see when you watch it carefully.

• Duncan R

  
  Meh. Considering the director's past works, it fails to impress or scare. It's more of a slow-paced crime drama than a horror flick. As a mystery, it succeeds. The serpentine plot involving a cop accused of murder by the victim of said murder kept my interest. But the many… More
  Meh. Considering the director's past works, it fails to impress or scare. It's more of a slow-paced crime drama than a horror flick. As a mystery, it succeeds. The serpentine plot involving a cop accused of murder by the victim of said murder kept my interest. But the many appearances of the ghost (who was more of a monologuing banshee than your typical J-horror Onryo) in this movie made me laugh more than give me chills, and the ending left me more confused than satisfied.

• Christopher B

  
  Great ghost story that has some really chilling moments. Despite some scenes leaving the audience scratching their heads, that is pretty much expected from Kurosawa. Not his best film, but very good indeed.