Chime

Keeping its secrets guarded and living off the shocks of its knife-edge turns, Chime sees Kiyoshi Kurosawa covering more than familiar ground with plenty of desolate moodscapes, recognisable for anyone with even a cursory knowledge of his past output. However, there is something particularly chilling about the oppressive mundanity here, a mundanity to which Koichi Furuya's digital cinematography adds another layer of dread. It's a dreary madness that slowly begins seeping into the life of its character. Despite its skeletal form and brief runtime, the film ends on a fascinating rupture; the previously ambient evil becoming tangible shifts, terrifyingly, within the realm of possibility and the suggestion of this curse being made concrete becomes overbearing. Relishing in the awful psychological residues of violence while suggesting a lucid dream, the kind of fragmented nightmare you are grateful to wake up from but just as terrified to leave so unresolved.

Best part here: It's only 45 minutes. I can't even imagine the horror and the pain i would face if it was longer. And i don't mean, in a good way. Look, i respect Asian horror and there are some great movies. Of course, there are some great movies overall in which some things were unexplained. Some times, ambiguity is even necessary, all the mysteries don't need to be solved.

But, this was too much. This is so cryptic and enigmatic that made me don't care at all, i mean, who are those people and why they suffer? Why should i invest? I am not even sure it's cryptic, maybe there is nothing beneath the surface, maybe it's just a mess, this is too random to be called an enigma.

I gave it 5 stars because it's well acted and well directed. Visually, it's good, i can't rate lower a film when so many aspects of film making are above average.

But, that's it.

I watched the movie without looking at its length or plot. The fact that it was in the horror category was enough for me to watch it. It had started well. But when it ended abruptly in the 45th minute, I thought maybe they were trying a new style. I thought it would continue afterwards. But the movie ended abruptly. There was no development or conclusion. Of course, when these did not happen, there was no plot either. I am sure that when the movie ends, all viewers will ask "so what happened now?"

It is not an art film or anything like that. I have seen many movies where the conclusion is left to the viewer, but this is the first time I have seen a movie where the plot is left to the viewer.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, once again, is able to craft a suspenseful, slow-paced, and psychological story using his explorative direction choices on the exercise of horror, dread, and terror.

For 45 minutes, it's atmosphere and it's subtle uses of horror and tension is mundane, yet, purposeful in the good ways to crawl right into your skin. What Kurosawa is great with his horror works is that he doesn't use much gore and rather uses the terrifying atmosphere and concept to craft the dreariness and creepiness within his narratives, and this short succeeds with it. Provided with solid performances and a good pacing.

If you like Kurosawa, I recommend it.

Chime: Japanese horror film which is lean and mean, clocks in at 45 minutes. Matsuoka is a teacher at a cookery school, gets some oddball students, they're just amateurs, So he's not that shocked when a student, Tashiro complains about hearing a chime noise. But Tashiro goes on to say that half of his brain is a machine and fatally stabs himself in the neck with a cleaver to display his brain. Then Matsuoka starts to hear the chime and tragic circumstances ensue. Things are in free fall, the chime gets louder, more people hear and react violently. Matsuoka's family, an incompetent detective, Matsuoka's attempts to get a job as a chef all add to a sense of strangeness. It's also implied that Matsuoka has committed other crimes. You'll mull this film over long after the credits toll. Maybe it should have been longer. Written and Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. 7.5/10.