Kaidan

This movie is not at all what I expected. This really isn't an horror movie but one that is a real costume drama, with some supernatural elements in it. So you could say that it's a positive thing that this movie surprises and tries to do something original but unfortunately the end result is a very mixed bag.

I can still say that I was really a fan of the movie its look and style. It's really a beautiful looking movie, that at times picks a more surreal look, which enhances the movie its atmosphere. Most of its money and efforts really went into its visuals but I had only wished they had tried to spice up the story a bit more, instead.

The movie really didn't had a very engaging story in it and it seemed to be all over the place at times. It besides just isn't a very exciting story, since you're constantly waiting for something good or interesting to happen. Sometimes there does but overall it's far too little to make this movie stand out.

Perhaps director Hideo Nakata was simply trying too hard, by putting in far too many different movie elements and genres together. He needs a good movie again desperately, since his last few movies haven't been received too well, though I'm sure he still has plenty of credit left with movies such as the original "Ringu" and "Honogurai mizu no soko kara" under his belt.

6/10

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Hideo Nakata is himself perhaps a haunted man. Despite having had quite a full film career already, it is only by his work in the horror genre that he is largely known. This is especially true in the West where viewers can be a lot more literal in their definition of the genre. With just Nakata's name alone on the marketing, anyone could be excused for having expectations closer to films like Ring or Dark Water. It is these unfortunate connections that will undoubtedly drag this film down into murky waters not unlike those often present in Nakata's films.

The film is a fairly close retelling of Encho Sanyutei's 19th century ghost story entitled "Shinkei Kasane-ga-fuchi" about the cursed fate of two families and the karma passed on from parent to child. Anyone familiar with the 1964 film Kwaidan (the title uses an antiquated spelling of the same word, both meaning "ghost story") will see similarities in the presentation of Nakata's film. Many have said that he intended to pay homage to ghostly films of the 50s and 60s, but that is not going back far enough. The film reflects the very traditions of Japanese ghost stories and fables. The main actor, known for Kabuki, plays opposite a character once played by his own father in a Kabuki performance years earlier.

I stated earlier about the limited view of the horror genre as held by many Western film goers, but it hasn't always been the case. Sadly the idea of a "slow burn" and finding suspense in the thematic fabric of a film is something rare today in Hollywood horror. Too often, films depend on incredibly literal scares, in the form of disturbing images, gore and violence, but lack any real thematic richness. In some ways Nakata's few inserted jump scares in the film made me balk a little. Perhaps it is his Hollywood experience that convinced him that such heavy handedness was needed. The film has some genuinely tense and "Oh .. !" moments (I am sure you know what I mean) that really don't need any audio cues to let us all know they are happening.

Perhaps this is connected to the negativity around this film. For the few scares present in the run time of the story, there aren't much. In fact, categorising the film as "horror" might me somewhat of a misnomer as well, at least by modern Hollywood definition. What we have with Kaidan is a traditional Japanese ghost story and fable that strives to not only thrill us but also impart some wisdom. The true horror of the story is the tragedy inherent in its themes and sheer extent that it spreads. Obviously, what comes along with such a film, some viewers won't like. Viewers expecting something more akin to modern horror films like The Grudge, will no doubt find parts or all of Kaidan boring and uneventful. Others will decry the feature of "more long-haired ghosts" but to be fair, such people don't appreciate the deep tradition of ghost stories in Japan.

White kimonos are what women are cremated or buried in and traditionally all women had very long hair devoid of any colouring or permed curls. I say, if it ain't broke, why try to fix it. Certainly it is better than Hollywood's constant recycling making every second movie monster like the love-child of the Alien and Pumkinhead, or the tendency to laden everything down with CGI and "in case you didn't get it" effects (I am referring to The Ring's, Hollywood equivalent of Sadako).

So whether you'll like this film or not depends on yourself. The film is not a modern horror tale full of scares and jumps. It is a dramatic, period ghost film, drawn from tradition and based on a 19 century novel. If instead of demanding Kaidan to entertain you, open yourself to what it has to tell you. This a story not unlike those told around campfires at night. The scares are in the themes and situations that the characters face and the fear is in those characters' minds. As with many good horror films, the film is out to scare the characters, not you. Get into their heads and you'll feel it too.

Kaidan, which from what I understand translates to "ghost stories," is an effective horror-romance period piece set during the Edo period. The film opens with a dramatic scene from the past, then shifts to the present, where it follows Shinkichi, a tobacco seller who falls deeply in love with an older but beautiful woman named Oshiga.

Both Shinkichi and Oshiga are deeply flawed characters, and the story between them is well developed. It genuinely feels like a ghost story from another era, yet still manages to be unsettling. The atmosphere and emotional weight linger long after the film ends.

Review written by artist jayakumar jrain.

Kaidan (2007) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a wandering man who was orphaned as a child when his parents were killed by a samurai who owed them money. The young man now sells tobacco on the streets and one day falls in love with a brothel owner. He tries to leave her when he realizes their relationship is bad for her business. He discover leaving her is going to be harder than it appears, especially after an unfortunate accident. This movie is directed by Hideo Nakata (Dark Water and Ringu 1 & 2) and stars Kumiko Asô (Pulse), Leona Hirota (Endless Waltz), Hitomi Kuroki (Dark Water) and Kikunosuke Onoe (47 Ronin). This movie is entertaining from beginning to end. They do a fantastic job setting up the storyline and delivering the backstory of the family and lake. This movie has great character development and delivery of both the main and side characters. The writing is excellent displaying how a lack of malice and intention can lead to absolute malice nonetheless. The circumstances are interesting and unpredictable and the horror elements are a slow build but once they get going are very good. I loved the ghost elements and the conclusion was outstanding. This is a very well written and well done movie that is definitely worth your time. I'd score this an 8.5/10 and strongly recommend it.

In the Nineteenth Century, the acupuncturist Soetsu lives with his daughters Oshiga and Osano in the Shimousa Province, Japan. He saves some money, becomes a moneylender and lends his money to the samurai Fukami. Three years later, he visits Fukami to collect his money and the samurai kills him and dumps his body in the Kasane Swamp, where bodies disappear and never return to the surface. However, before dying, Soetsu curses Fukami and the samurai goes crazy and kills his wife.

Twenty-five years later, Fukami's son Shinkichi, who is a street vendor of tobacco, meets Oshiga, who is a singing teacher in Edo, and they fall in love with each other. Oshiga is older than Shinkichi and financially supports him. She becomes infamous in Edo and when her student Ohisa flirts with Shikichi, she becomes jealous and decides to give no more classes to her. Shinkichi decides to leave Oshiga and move to his homeland Hanyu with Ohisa. Oshiga has an argument with Shinkichi and he hits her face with the Bachi of her Shamisen. Oshiga has an infection in her face and dies; however, she curses Shinkichi and promises that she will haunt and take to the grave any woman that he loves.

"Kaidan" is a great Japanese ghost story about deadly jealousness, curse and doomed love. This stylized slow-paced film combines romance, drama and supernatural genres with a magnificent cinematography. The romance between Oshiga and Shinkichi in Edo shows beautiful locations and the camera work uses angles and movements to show details sometimes in a corner or in another room or space.

I believed that Hideo Nakata's "Kaidan" would be a remake of the 1964 Masaki Kobayashi's classic masterpiece, but they are totally different stories. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição do Rio" ("The Curse of the River")