Crossfire

The recent flow of horror films from Japan will be greatly helped by this entry! Not only does it suceed as a good story, but the special FX and action does nothing to deter from this.

A girl, Junko, with pyrokinesis (the ability to set things on fire with mental strenght) takes revenge on some teenage, who run a snuff film business, and have killed the sister of one of Junko's friends. The first half of the film runs like a cop-thriller (like SEVEN) with two detectives tracking the killings of the teenagers, then the burnings that follow. The second half, however, lends itself more to horror-action sequences and could very well be some of the most beauitful footage ever filmed. Though a little slow moving, not so much, though, as other Japanese horrors such as the first RING film and TOMIE, it still manages a nice pace and suceeds on every level, not just as a genre film, but as a great movie all around.

Catch it if you find it near you!

Junko Aoki (Akiko Yada), is an average adopted shy young women, with one minor quirk: she can incinerate anyone in a ball of flame with but a thought. You see good old Junko was born with a certain brand of ESP called pyrokinesis. She falls for her co-worker Tada Kuzuki and feels a strong need to avenge the senseless death of Tada's younger sister when she's murdered by young street thugs. A chance encounter with a fellow ESPer, this one has telekinetic powers, an and offer to join a group of others called "The Guardians" starts a chain of events that will find poor Junko a target of the police. This film was like a Japanese version of "Firestarter", but a better and more mature take on the theme. VERY competently directed by Shusuke Kaneko and nicely acted, this rises above the source material to be an extremely enjoyable experience.

My Grade: B+

DVD Extras: Intro & Subtitled Commentary with Director Shusuke Kaneko; 19 and a half minute Interview with Shusuke; a 17 minute Making of; 8 Theatrical Trailers; and Trailers for "Kunoichi: Lady Ninja", "Versus", "Pistol Opera", & "Samuri Fiction"

Crossfire, or Pyrokinesis, is a movie made by the person who resurrected the Gamera movies. If you have seen any of those, you know what Shusuke Kaneko can do with old ideas.

This calls to question if Crossfire is a some sort of remake of Firestarter. The answer to this was best given by the director who stated that he was well aware of the movie Firestarter while making Crossfire, but didn't want to do a remake. Instead he was going for more of a mature story focusing on the character emotions to a greater extent, and leaving the pyrokinetics as a secondary aspect. The good news is that he succeeded. Crossfire provides characters that are very complex. Often in asian cinema the hero is not just your average "good person" as in many American movies of this type - instead you have someone walking in a sort of grey zone. This is the case with the lead character Junko. What she does to exemplify this is... well.. watch the movie.

Needless to say, I liked the film a lot (even with difficult to read subtitling - white on white sometimes.) There has been a lot of crap following in the footsteps of The Ring trying to be Japanese horror hits, but Crossfire stands out with its engaging storyline and amazing special effects.

Let me start out by saying I like all kinds of genres, but I don't really like drama films.

This film was supposed to be a horror film.

Well, I read a lot of reviews prior to watching this movies, even some from horror movie review sites/blogs, and now, having seen this movie, I'm thinking: "What??" First of all, this film is NOT a horror film, AT ALL. This is a sci-fi drama film. There is not an ounce of horror in here. If you were looking for that, then move along. Nothing to see here people.

I started up this movie, expecting to see a horror film. I slowly realised that this is a drama film!

Not what I expected, but it was a nice watch anyways, nothing I would re-watch later though. I recognized the guy from Burisuta here, so that was pretty nice, seeing a familiar face. 6*

The movie has a familiar ring to it: It bears a strong parallel in its primary idea to Drew Barrymore's power to ignite objects (including human victims) with spontaneous combustion in Firestarter. I didn't expect much from this movie, but its originality set it apart from that other movie, and it surprised me.

Akiko Yada, as Junko, the character endowed with the gift/curse of the pyro-kinetic power, leads a spirited Japanese cast. A couple of actors over-do their parts, but everyone is convincing. Naturally, as more and more people learn the truth about Junko's power, several different individuals pursue her, each for opposing reasons. Junko herself is a pursuer, seeking vengeance against a killer. Many back stories, and the competing characters make for an involving story that moves quickly (and often violently). Those who would exploit her power are in abundance.

Many innocents are close to the action, too, making for a good, suspenseful plot. It has a strange ending, which provides for a good discussion of what it meant with someone you viewed the movie with. This movie blends elements of suspense, science fiction, romance, and action very well.