Director: Jôji Iida
Year: 1998
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Rasen
Genre: Psychological; Supernatural
Plot:
Tasked with looking into a friends’ death, a medical examiner finds that his death is connected to other victims through their shared connection of a strange virus, and upon setting out with a victim’s girlfriend to investigate the cause of the virus finds himself ensnared in a curse’s deadly grip.
Review:
There isn’t a whole lot to really like with this one. Among the main flaws here is the fact that there’s just so little energy in what’s going on, as if there’s no enthusiasm behind anything. That the characters are so laid back and reserved over what’s going on, which is strange since this is essentially about a virus coming to claim them with a timer on when that’s going to happen with no way out for them, and this lack of urgency is incredibly alarming. That behavior goes hand-in-hand with the lack of ghost interactions featured here, with barely any mentions of the figure at all for such long segments of the film that it rarely feels as though there’s no reason to even include it since the rest of the attention in the film is centered around uncovering who’s responsible for the murders yet they never amounts to anything exciting here. It’s mostly boring people standing around talking about the events and investigating what we already know, leaving the pace draining and lethargic
The other major factor downplaying this one is the complete tonal shift away from horror to more of a sci-fi basis as they try to realistically explain the origin and inner workings of the titular virus. Taking the route of explaining the condition as a manifestation of the events that occurred to her before her death, the film spends a great deal of time making a simple storyline of a ghost girl killing from beyond the grave into a jumbled, illogical mess of a film that spends more time on pseudo-intellectual jargon than it does offering scares or thrills. None of the speeches investigating the condition of the bodies relating to the connection to the events surrounding her death have any weight behind them beyond the merest hint of a coincidence and never providing this with any kind of truly chilling outcome. These here are what ultimately drag this one down the most.
There really isn’t much right with the film. Most of its positive points are from minor inconsequential areas as the idea of attempting to ground the supernatural in the modern world is a novel touch. The idea of a virus spread through the supernatural ether with the videotape as a conductor for these activities to embark upon is a pretty unique offering, and the continued research into developing a more coherent understanding of how those affected by it are dying off through this curse manages to offer a slightly more grounded and realistic approach to a deadly curse regardless of how well it comes across. When this decides to get back into familiar territory at the very end with the connection to the ghost in the well and bringing the familiar elements into the film it picks up a lot more but it’s too little too late to save this one.
Overview: 0.5/5
A wholly bland and jumbled mess of a psychological drama over a real out-and-out horror film, this was a decidedly disappointing and barely worthwhile genre effort that doesn’t really have much going it. If you’re interested in the expansive storytelling of the film or more appreciative of the dramatic aspects here rather than horror then give it a shot, but those expecting a straightforward ghost film or even a Horror film should avoid this altogether.
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