Search - Kadokawa Mystery and Horror Tales, Vol. 2 on DVD

Teriffic Trifecta

Shaun | Minneapolis, MN USA | 05/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I liked this volume much more than Vol 1, and here I'll let loose with a short recap of each:

*mild spooilers*

The Wooden Clogs With The Red Straps
d. Kenji Nakanishi
37 min

This short film, simply called Wooden Clogs on the DVD, features Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill's Gogo Yubari, as if I had to clarify) as Yoshie, a young, beautiful, yet reclusive daughter of a rural family that's visited by a research graduate from Tokyo (played by Naoto Ogata). While he's only there for post-graduate studies, he stumbles quite accidentally into Yoshie and forms a bond of sorts. It takes some time for the two to start a dialogue and for Yoshie to feel comfortable around the "big city house guest", as her drunken, boorish father calls him. Her physical infliction plays a large role in her self-confidence also. When the family notices that their guest has observed Yoshie stealing away to a grand Shinto temple on the property, they advise, and ultimately warn him that he is not to follow her into the temple. But one night, he can't shake his curiosity and does follow her down the wide dirt path, through a grand, wooden torii gate and ultimately up the stairs, past the geta sandals with the the red cloth straps into the dark hall of the temple where he learns a deeper, sadder family secret.

Regeneration
d. Sato Takayuki
36 min

Regeneration is a story about a college student named Yui (played by Tsugumi; Long Dream) who introduces herself to a former college professor (Tohru Kazama) she sees sitting with head in hands in a hospital waiting area. The reason he's there, he explains, is to get help for his alcoholism and mental depression. They begin to see each other regularly and she soon moves into his apartment. The irony for him is that he realizes rather quickly that she's not the fun, easy-going woman she appeared to be, she turns out to be a self-abusing alcoholic and admitted sexual veteran; for which he's alternately repulsed and tantalized. They seem to be made for each other until "professor" and Yui (as she insists on calling him, much to his chagrin) begin to talk marriage. Yui admittedly feels the same, but she awkwardly delays because of an unbelievable series of tales she knows she has to tell him. The film opens with the professor lying on a sofa, clutching a bottle of whisky in a drunken stupor. As the scene widens, Yui sits quietly in a chair opposite him...with no head! Regeneration brings the story back to the beginning to show how they got there, and then progresses past that room for a shocking conclusion.

Last Day as a Teenager
d. Sato Takayuki
28 min

The final "episode" is called Last Day as a Teenager. And quite literally, it tells a tale of a college student named Tomoya, who is trying to escape a curse put on him by a pint-sized Angel of Death; three years prior, that will culminate the day he turns 20 years old. He's in such a position due to making a deal with the child-wraith to save the life of his childhood friend, now quasi-girlfriend, Koko (Aki Maeda; Battle Royale I & II) who was pulled from the water by Tomoya to save her from drowning. As he performs CPR, he begs into the air for some sort of divine help. Koko begins to breathe again when Tomoya cuts a deal with the Angel of Death where he will give his life to the wraith in exchange for saving Koko. But as you might expect, he shouldn't trust the wraith to be honest about the deal.

"

Don't bother

Maryssa | USA | 01/08/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"There are only three short films on this DVD.
The Wooden Clogs With The Red Straps
Regeneration
Last Day as a Teenager

If you like classic ghost stories/legends, the first one might be for you. Don't however, expect to be scared. These aren't even remotely creepy. A man stays with a family and meets their reclusive daughter with a limp. She is mysterious and warns him to stay away from the temple. The family has a secret- and there are no surprises here.
Regeneration is a quick tale of a girl who can grow back body parts that are cut off. She gets married, gets dementia, again no scares and you can guess the rest.
Last day as a teenager - This one is another classic ghost story about a boy who makes a deal with death- and then tries to get out of it while he tries to protect his girlfriend."