SHUTTER
Yet another crappy remake of a Japanese horror film. Do we need to drop another bomb??
Available at Amazon priced at $17.99 I am one of a handful of people who left 1999's THE RING unfazed. Everyone claimed it was the scariest film since ISHTAR, but I simply shrugged. Sure, the imagery was cool. Unfamiliar with Japanese horror films (at the time), the sight of the little girl with the long black hair seemed creepy. But I felt the whole movie was based on a faulty and fairly ridiculous plot; I could never turn my brain off long enough to let the visuals distract me. Since then, I have seen a long parade of remakes following in the tradition of THE RING: take one dark haired female ghost, add a grudge, and then utilize some sort of technology for the ghost to haunt. Mix liberally with strobe flashes and overly-lit cinematography. Viola!! Which brings me to the newest remake to follow this formula to the letter: SHUTTER. THE FILM The plot - remember, in a good horror film, it's always best to have lots and lots of plot devices!! - involves a young married couple named Ben (JOSHUA JACKSON) and Jane (RACHAEL TAYLOR), who move to Tokyo for Ben's job as photographer. Strange things start happening with the sudden appearances of a young woman with pale skin and dark hair (uh oh!). The images captured in Ben's constantly-flashing camera reveal ghosts haunting them. Plot contrivances start to pile up idiotically. Deaths ensue. Can we please - PLEASE - put a moratorium on dark haired ghost movies?? It's tired beyond words. Can we also put an end to horror films involving a piece of technology? Televisions, cell phones, and cameras are not fucking scary. EVER. Now, if someone wants to make a horror film about a dark haired woman haunting a vibrator in a creative way, then I'm up for it. Otherwise, let's give it a rest, shall we? The performances are pure garbage; the film should be called DAWSON'S CREAK. The writing is beyond insipid. The direction and cinematography fail to produce interest, let alone scares. Avoid this film. EXTRAS Are you kidding me? OVERALL Pointless and derivative. Watch the original HALLOWEEN again if you want a horror film, not shit like this.