First off, to anyone who sees the version I did. The film starts out with a commercial of the video game based on the movie. They show some scenes from the movie, and pretty good ones at that. So, if you start the flick and see a video game commercial I'd turn my head away just so you don't ruin anything for yourself.
Japanese Horror is something of a hit or miss with me. I'm not a fan of the jerky ghosts who walk like they have rheumatoid arthritis, or the pale-faced long hair girls. I'm not saying those movies can't deliver a chill or two, but overall it's a very played out scare-tactic and it's almost eye-rollingly cliché nowadays. Well, back in 89' there was a movie called Sweet Home, and this flick suffers from zero of these problems. It's unique in it's scares and chills, and that's what I really commend it for.
With a story revolving around a family/team heading to a abandoned mansion to investigate whether the house has a rare painting the story plays out like any haunted house flick. There may be something wrong, but no one really cares or believes. Well, after a little bit, they finally do begin to realize the mansion is cursed, but by the time they realize, the wheels of horror are in motion, and it's now a fight to stay alive.
Sweet Home, isn't a perfect flick, there are some drags in the film, and I personally think the movie could have been a lot scarier. They had perfect set-ups mixed with perfect camera-shots, but only used them for the creepy factor instead of the scare-factor. You're presented with a sense of dread, but rarely do they ever really try to scare you. Nevertheless, the film does offer chills and enough of them to satisfy the viewer.
But with a cool story, good acting, fantastic atmosphere/cinematography and great fx, the movie more than delivers enough for an entertaining and unique little haunted house flick. If you're into Japanese horror/haunted house flicks, give this flick a shot. It's worth it.
