Just Because It's From Asia...
Written: May 26 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's Oriental, hyuck!
Cons: it sucks
The Bottom Line: pony tail
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| xeno3998's Full Review: Shutter |
It seems as if every year brings us a new American remake of a horror film from the far East. Late last year, Jessica Alba, the supernatural horror genre's newest darling, made a shameful appearance in The Eye, playing a blind woman who undergoes a corneal transplant only to realize that the excised tissue was - wait for it - haunted. In 2004, Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in a remake of Takashi Shimizu's classic Ju-On, bringing to the Japanese classic a uniquely American lack of finesse (although the criticism here is only by contrast with Shimizu's work; anything that Sam Raimi touches turns to gold). The trend really began with The Ring, and was probably reinforced by the success of The Grudge. All of these films originated, in one way or another, from the Orient, and all of them deal with some type of supernatural phenomena. While the Ring and perhaps even The Grudge were good movies, Shutter is just depressing. It feels like something that I have seen at least five times in the last year, boasting a cast of untalented teen heart-throbs and jump-scares that not only feel but also genuinely look like they were ripped right out of The Ring.
Ben Shaw (Joshua Jackson) brings his new wife Jane (Rachel Taylor) to Tokyo, where he works as a photographer for a fashion magazines. He works on a contract-basis for a firm, GTK, run by fellow Americants Bruno and Adam. While driving to Ben's flat, Jane sees an apparition and crashes the car. The apparition is of a young woman, short and slender, with black hair, and wearing a white dress (sound familiar? *groan*) After waking up from the crash and returning to their apartment, Jane begins to see a spirit in the photographs she and her husband take. Strange things begin to happen to both Jane and her hubby, sending her on a mission through Japan's paranormal circles to discover the true meaning behind the encounters.
Shutter is a film that was damned from the moment of its conception. Redolent with plot holes and lame dialogue, the film is stultified by both the idiocy of its writing and direction, and the lackadaisical editing attendant with any film that is rushed to release. A key moment in the disjointed narrative has Ben and Jane visiting a Medium, who after viewing a set of ghost photos becomes enraged and curses them in Japanese. Only Ben understands Japanese, and when Jane asks him for a translation, he refuses to give her one. About twenty minutes later, Jane quotes the elderly psychic as if he had spoken to her in direct English. It is just one of the myriad inconsistencies in the film's ultimate composition. Casting Rachel Taylor as the film's central character was another mistake. Her delivery in this film is as flat and tedious as the narrative, leaving as much to be desired as the climactic revelation of ghastly Migumi's true intentions. Joshua Jackson is also miscast here, delivering a blase and workmanlike performance in his role as photographer Benjamin Shaw.
Shutter is a fine example of mass-produced Hollywood dreck. It has nary a thought in its little head despite being fertile ground for political and social commentary in its premise of visiting American businessmen debasing a Japanese national on her home turf. It is formulaic and stupid, a film whose direction and cinematography would more accurately be credited to the stockholders and executives of 21st Century Fox. What is even more upsetting about this debacle is the realization that it is not the last of its kind; the mere release of a film like this perpetuates the call for more of its liking. When will it end?
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Also posted at: http://www.jebuslives.com/
Recommended:
No
Movie Mood: Date Movie
Viewing Method: Studio Screening/Premiere
Film Completeness: Rough cut, missing major effects, music, etc.
Worst Part of this Film: Ending
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xeno3998
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