Scarecrow

Although hampered by a budget that doesn't allow for sterling effects this is a creepy little thriller that works best when showing the least. The story has echoes of any one of a dozen other films from Spirited Away to Wicker Man, but there is something about the underlying tension and feeling that something thats not right thats makes the film watchable for me. Its the trip thats the joy here, not the destination simply because you'll probably know what that is way in advance of our heroine. As long as they keep the scarecrows in the distance this is a creepy little gem that should be seen by those who are willing to go with a good but flawed film.

Tsuruta Norio's "Kakashi" caught my attention because of the obscure mental association I made with the "Kakashi-Dori" festival held annually in the Kaminoyama-shi city in Yamagata-ken prefecture. I wonder if Tsuruta had this in mind when he made this film. If he releases a sequel called "Kase-Dori"... well, never mind. Besides being rather short and less-than-satisfying in its plot resolution, my primary complaint about this film is the horrid transfer on the Region 3 DVD which is quite good for the daylight scenes, but irritatingly pixelated during the low-light and night shots. And being a low-budget horror flick, this turkey has a lot of shadowy and nocturnal footage which I had a hard time following because my attention was constantly being diverted to the ever-changing patches of pixels fading in and out. Yuck. As for the movie, Yoshikawa Kaoru (Nonami Maho)is searching for her brother Tsuyoshi (Matsuoka Shunsuke), who has disappeared. A search of his apartment turns up an ambiguous and messily-scrawled letter from a girl in Kozukata-machi, a small rural village. Kaoru drives to Kozukata on the eve of their "Kakashi-matsuri" festival, where she finds the cliche "little town with a secret", along with her brother. Unless there is a longer version of the film out there, the character development is as thin as both the plot and the special effects budget. Perhaps the movie's budget was blown on bringing in HK actress Grace Ip to play the very out of place Kozukata resident who barely speaks any Japanese. She even has a Chinese surname in the movie, which does little to explain why she's there in the middle of the rural Japanese heartland. Shibasaki Kou (who reminds me of a short Esumi Makiko) plays the mysterious girl who lured Tsuyoshi to Kozukata, and does a decent job with the sparse camera time she gets. The one thing that impressed me about this movie was the excellent lighting and cinematography of the daylight scenes depicting the beauty of a small rural farming village. Other than that, let the renter beware and the buyer be laughed at.

Kakashi is considered as a Horror Movie, but it isn't at all. The story takes place in Kozukata village where the heroine brother was last seen. In this village loads of unexplained things happens..(eg. Why Kakashi is kinda worshiped by the village citizens?). Our heroine Kaoru has to face mysterious things, strange people that think about one special day .. The Kakashi Festival ..

The director tried to produce a Horror climate , but it wasn't enough and can't be noticed as well. The music was one of highlights of the film, really scary sometimes and dramatic on other points ( Thumps Up). By the way, Shinichro Ogata is the one who composed the music.

Another highlight of the movie is the stars act.. all of them acted very good and nicely. Maho Nonami who played Kaoru, the one who is searching for her missing brother.. is a good actress, but she needs more efforts to express her feelings .. The scary part is the role of Izume done by the well known actress Kou Sibasaki, she acted really good that you would feel that she is a Devil ( Thumps Up ), Grace Ip the well known HK star was good in the movie , although she was over reacting in some scenes. Shunsuke Matsuoka who played the missing brother was OK , the role was not that hard, he tried to put some efforts but the problem is that the his role is so limited and even the script writer didn't include any information as why did he went to the village and stayed for a week ?? Maybe , more explanation , would help Shunsuke to understand his role..

Overall, the movie is an average Dramatic Movie not a Horror , I advice you to rent it as in the end, loads of unexplained things would make a disappointment conclusion as 1 Hour and half should be enough to explain the concept of the story , but the movie failed to do that..

Rating: **/*****

" In Kazukata village .. Humans co-exist with Death "

Subtle & Understated Horror, & yet all the better for it.

I have seen numerous 'horror' films & have to state that the vast majority are derivative & lacking. Kakashi however whilst dealing with a very tired subject matter approaches it in a very atmospheric way, relying on visuals & incidentals rather than narrative & action.

I cannot recommend this too highly, & if you want something a little different from the norm, give it a try, I think you may be pleasantly surprised I know I was.

A mysterious letter,the only clue left for Kaoru to search for her missing brother and the reason behind his sudden disappearance.Her blind but relentless search leads the girl to 'Kozakuta-mura',a cursed and insane village where people are mesmerized by the power of the Kakashi(scarecrow).Soon a series of strange things will be set in motion..."Kakashi" by Norio Tsuruta is a typically Japanese supernatural mystery that takes its inspiration from such great horror pictures as "The Wicker Man" and "Pet Sematary".The film is pleasant to watch with some gorgeous cinematography and fine lighting.The soundtrack is minimal and haunting and the mood is well-captured.The main theme in "Kakashi" is the endless cycle of death and rebirth and this is cleverly paralleled with various social concerns throughout.So if you want to see a poetic and atmospheric piece of horror give this one a chance.8 out of 10.