Rating: R
Genre:
Horror
Theatrical Release: 11/09/2005(USA
Release Date: 02/21/2006
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: Japanese
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 119 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations
Distributor/Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
As one of the most cutting-edge Japanese filmmakers,
Kiyoshi Kurosawa once again wraps a lowbrow, much-maligned genre -- in this case
horror flicks (which were the rage in Japan at the time of this release) -- around some decidedly highbrow philosophical concepts. At the film's outset,
Michi (
Kumiko Aso) and her cohorts at a rooftop nursery cannot get ahold of their co-worker,
Taguchi (
Kenji Mizuhashi), who has an important floppy disk. When she ventures over to his apartment, she finds him pale, listless, and unusually quiet -- that is until he suddenly hangs himself. While the suicide is disconcerting, what really freaks
Michi out is that
Taguchi's body seems to dissolve into the wall, leaving a sickly black stain. Meanwhile, college slacker
Ryosuke Kawashima (
Haruhiko Kato) logs onto the Internet for the first time even though he is not particularly fond of computers. Instead of stumbling into a porn site or a chat room, he finds himself in a most peculiar site -- he just sees ghostly images of other people going about their everyday life. Then the computer prompts him, asking, "Would you like to meet ghosts?" Even though he eventually pulls the plug, the machine still on occasion springs to life. He eventually consults a comely computer maven named
Harue (
Koyuki), who is also utterly baffled. As more and more Internet users seal themselves into their rooms with red duct tape and melt into black splotches,
Kawashima and
Michi independently come to discover that the Internet has become portal for an increasingly crowded afterlife. As Tokyo becomes increasingly depopulated,
Kawashima and
Michi cross paths. This film -- which also features cameos by
Kurosawa regulars
Koji Yakusho,
Jun Fubuki, and
Sho Aikawa -- was screened at the
2001 Cannes and
Toronto Film Festivals.
~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
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