KAIRO.
Starring - Koji Yakusho - Shinji Takeda - Sho Aikawa - Kato Haruhiko.
Director - Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Taguchi has been working on an important computer program for over a week but no one has heard from him and he won’t answer his calls. This worries Michi so she visits him on the pretence of collecting the disc. When she arrives she finds Taguchi sitting silently in the dark. She asks about him and the disc and he points towards the computer. She searches the computer and locates a disc. Michi asks Taguchi if this is the right one but to no answer, she walks back and is horrified to find him hanging dead in the corner. After checking out the disc Michi and her friends find pictures of Taguchi standing in front of his monitor whilst a ghostly face is reflected from the monitor. Michi wants answers and returns to search his apartment. She finds a printed note that simply says ‘Don’t enter the forbidden room’. Elsewhere Kawashima is hooking up to the Internet for the first time but is struggling to get anywhere. He eventually gets on line to witness a dark and foreboding room, after a time a strange figure enters the room, the figure slowly turns towards the screen but it’s difficult to make out. The screen goes blank and a message appears. “Would you like to meet a ghost”?
Kairo is a Japanese horror title that really had my hairs standing on end, you could have used my Goosebumps as speed ramps and slowed all the traffic in Sheffield for a week. The story is extremely well told and keeps you captivated from the beginning to the end, unfortunately it does at times get a bit confusing but this was my only real complaint of Kairo. The young cast have done the story proud with intelligent and believable performances all round. The director has used the camerawork to great effect and intensifies each scene with aplomb. The score is also subtly employed and is used only when necessary adding to the high Goosebumps factor.
Kairo is a fantastic horror title akin to ‘The Ring’ series. Whilst not as good as ‘The Ring’ this movie is still highly entertaining and thought provoking and will have you looking into the edges of the screen as another shadow looms towards the viewer.
8********stars.
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