Search - Kadokawa Mystery & Horror Tales, Vol. 1 on DVD

New directors! Get to know 'em!

Shaun | Minneapolis, MN USA | 05/13/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"A collection of 3 short Japanese Horror films. Volume 1 DVD of a Region 1, 3-part series from Global Fright Cinema and Kadokawa Pictures.

Meinichi
d. Tomoyuki Akashi
40 min.

A good-looking family of four approaches their new house and is met by a family friend (or maybe the real estate agent?). Everyone seems happy to be moving into the new house, which will be a welcome breathe of fresh air from the hectic Tokyo home they left. But the main reason seems to be for the benefit of one of the family's two daughter health. That daughter, Minako, had a complete breakdown after her boyfriend is killed, and seems to wonder through life in some sort of comatose, hazy daze. With a twisted grin. Her sister, Yukio (Asami Mizukawa; Dark Water, Shibuya Kaidan), begs her sister to go on with her life but the morose Minako is visited by the ghost of a young girl who used to live in that house. What stands out immediately, from the first images that appear, is the camerawork. Most of the shots are in frame, but the ones that aren't are badly out. The action and the actors are shot far too close also. That's not saying the video is poor, on the contrary, the definition is crystal clear; so much so that I felt as if I could reach right into the movie to grab a banister or push a door open. Those positive attributes aren't nearly enough to save this amateur escapade. I'll try not to mention that almost nothing is explained in this "episode" and only the most superficial motives are apparent. Combine that with lack-luster, cheesy special effects, and you have an almost entirely forgettable experience.


Cruel Kidnapping
d. Tomoyuki Akashi
32 min.

Laughably bad in every way. A dim-witted, bumbling, former big-shot money-man gets himself embroiled in a kidnapping plot that involves not only his own child, but the child of a well-to-do acquaintance. In order to get his baby back safely, he must come up with 30 million Yen (just over $250,000 US & $300,000 CAN). But his "brilliant", spur-of-the-moment strategy to find the funds puts him into a very bad position. The story is easy enough to follow, although it's barely worth doing so. A few comical scenes and takes from the Toshio character.


Desire to Kill
d. Kenji Nakanishi
33 min

The best of the three in this volume. It follows a middle-aged woman, Rei, who lives in a cramped apartment building. Her immediate next-door neighbor is constantly lording over the other tenants and poking her nose into their lives; seemingly waiting for the other tenants to do something "wrong" or hounding them inexplicably. One day, Rei refuses to throw out a bag of trash because her old, bitter neighbor is seen rifling through people trash. She wants to time the service pick-up just right so she can avoid the old lady's interest. Alone at home, (her husband is out of town on business), she grabs an umbrella and rushes into the stormy night to pitch her garbage and gets pushed back into the apartment by a dark stranger, no sooner had she opened the door. With just her sleeping son with her, she has to make it through a tense night with a young man who has killed once already that night. A fairly good "episode", all told, but suffers from the same level of tedium as the previous two "episodes". It's only redeeming element is the hint of a genuine story and a mild Twightlight Zone -ish ending.
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