KAKASHI (2001)
Directed by Norio Tsuruta
Starring: Maho Nonami, Kou Shibasaki, Grace Ip
Genre: Yakuza/Action
Running Time: 86mins

Rating:

Kakashi's, or as we know them as "scarecrows", are (as we are told by way of an introduction pre-text) considered by farmers as a means to ward off evil spirits. By burning the Kakashi beasts, ghouls, goblins and spirits will be warded from the village. The Kakashi is believed to summon goodly spirits that will bring peace and good will to the village, however, as we are forewarned - sometimes the Kakashi can summon evil spirits too…

Kaoru (Maho Nonami), our protagonist, arrives at her brother Tsuyoshi's home to find an unkempt room, a stack of newspapers at the door, and a mysterious letter from his estranged girlfriend (Kou Shibasaki). The letter is a cryptic riddle calling upon dreams and fantasies of love and togetherness, the return to sender address holds the name of Kozukata village. Driven by this letter and the mysterious shards of straw that fall from its envelope, Kaoru delves into the Kozukata village to find Tsuyoshi. But as can be expected, all is not what it seems.

Daylight isn't scary. The problem facing Norio Tsurata's film based upon the works of Junji Ito (renowned manga horror writer of Uzumaki fame) is that he bathes every scene with so much light, and so much normality that it fails to strike the necessary chords of terror. We are taken by our protagonist to a village where Lynch would feel comfortable, however, the menace that the latter exudes is clearly not apparent here. The scenes involving the "killer Kakashis" are laughable more so because of the lighting being so clean and so lacking in texture that it often appears to resemble a home movie than a professional film.

Tsurata was also the man responsible for the finale to the Ring trilogy - Ring 0 : The Birthday. And whilst this final instalment failed to match the quality of the first two, it does however, manage to derive an element of fear in it's closing stages. Even though the scenes are filmed in day, the lighting is subdued and shadows are effectively created from the use of the surrounding forestry. Tsurata, may have possibly learned from his mistakes with Kakashi, but you can't help but feel let down by the film, particularly when considering the effective opening.

I guess this is the main reason behind my backlash against the film, the opening sets you up for a suitably eerie and atmospheric horror while the closing stages of the film get lost in it's own confusion, unwanted hysterics and a concept that uncomfortably balances between mediocrity and unintended hilarity. The finale is implausible and unsatisfying, whether or not it was tacked on is inconsequential, it feels tacked on either way.

However, all is not bad with the film. As aforementioned, the opening stages of the film are well conceived and executed. Right up until the inclusion of the police station, the set pieces are exhilarating and the sense of dread imposing. The lighting is handled efficiently as is the pacing, in particular the entrance to Kozukata village. As Kaoru travels progressively through the ominous pitch black tunnel entrance to the village, we are treated to some fine moments.

We know daylight is waiting at one end of the tunnel, however, trapped half way through and surrounded by an unknown presence we as an audience share with Kaoru the urgency to reach the safety of light before discovering what lurks in the dark. Combine with this the effective dream sequences of uncovering what lies behind the closed doors of this bizarre world the villagers inhabit, there are a number of set pieces in the opening forty-five minutes that warrant Kakashi a place in the Japanese horror greats. The subsequent demise of story, structure, and mood however, become a thorn in the side constantly preventing you from enjoying the film fully.