Fatal Frame Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Fatal Frame Blu-ray Movie Review

Fatal Frame is an eerie and unnerving horror feature-film. Fatal Frame is based on the novel adaption of the popular Fatal Frame video game that inspired a video game franchise series. The novelization was penned by Eiji Otsuka. The video-game film adaptation is a Kadokawa Daiei Studio Production.

The feature was originally released in Japan on September 26^th, 2014. Fatal Frame received a North American premiere screening on July 28^th, 2015 when it was included as a selection of the Fantasia International Film Festival during the festival’s 19^th year. Produced by Shin'ichirô Inoue (Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), Fatal Frame is an entertaining and well-made horror feature with good performances.

The local legend swirling around an all-girls Catholic school is that after kissing a photograph of the beautiful classmate Aya Tsukimori (Ayami Nakajô) the girls become cursed and simply vanish. As these girls learn more of the legend of the curse, it becomes clear the curse only affects some girls – girls who are in love. Michi Kazato (Aoi Morikawa) is a photographer and she also comes across the mysterious girl, Aya. Can Michi break the curse and set things right or will she be doomed to disappear forever?

The performances are one of the essential strengths of the feature. Both Ayami Nakajô and Aoi Morikawa are excellent in their respective roles. There are a lot of scenes with little dialogue – showcasing the subtleties of the actresses and their expressive performances. The acting is an important part of the film and why it was successful.

Video game features are often not known for having acting that is always as fine-tuned so it is always appreciated when a video game adaptation goes the extra mile and has a good cast offering strong performances. The actresses certainly provided expressionistic, engaging, and memorable performances and were well cast against each other in the film. The acting enhances the tone of the film and adds to the experience.

The production has a lot of impressive components and there is plenty to appreciate about the aesthetic of the film. The production design by Koji Kozumi (Leaving on the 15th Spring, One Million Yen Girl) is a fantastic part of the film and the style is suitably eerie while providing a sense of realism that fits the film well. Even though one can tell the budget on the film was modest, the designs are well done.

The cinematography by Yuta Tsukinaga (The End of the Pale Hour, The Katsuragi Murder Case) is one of the highlights of the film. Fatal Frame is a beautiful looking film and the cinematography is one of the greatest parts of the film. The sleek and sophisticated visual sensibility inherit in the cinematography makes a great impression on the filmmaking – the end result is a more compelling production: the visuals being a huge part of the film.

The score composed by Yûsuke Hayashi (Doppelganger, To the Ends of the Earth) is a subtle but enjoyable part of the film. The score isn’t overpowering and it is often a subtle backdrop to the storytelling but it works well throughout the feature. The score adds some nice eeriness to the mysterious qualities of the filmmaking, too.

Edited by Masaki Murakami (Leaving on the 15th Spring, Vanished Girl in the Woods), Fatal Frame is a well-edited film. There is a nice sense of slow-burn eeriness that has made Japanese horror essential. The editing is integral to the film and it works well throughout the story.

Written and directed by Mari Asato (Ju-on: Black Ghost, Cellular Girlfriend), Fatal Frame is an effective and enjoyable horror film with a nice dramatic backdrop. Asato did well with the storyline and it is an effective part of the experience. It is hard to believe the Fatal Frame feature is connected to a video game franchise considering it has some more nuanced social commentary (which is sometimes found with video games but is also far from the norm).

Fatal Frame explores same-sex lesbian relationships in an interesting and effective way – it is important to be true to yourself – and the film explores this in a compelling manner. Society has far too often had unfair treatment of the LGBTQ community and it certainly is important for films like Fatal Frame to be made – who knows who could watch the film and maybe be impacted by it, the importance of every person being true to who they are and in their romantic passions. Fatal Frame is smarter than most video game fare and is well done as a horror film (with some nice atmosphere, too).

Fatal Frame Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Fatal Frame is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. The high-definition presentation looks outstanding on the release. The transfer has great clarity and detail. The picture quality is quite beautiful and the crisp cinematography looks excellent throughout the feature presentation. The nice filmic presentation is one that is easily enjoyable and a pleasure. The sometimes-haunting imagery is well reproduced and showcased with the quality encoding. Discotek did a great job with the release. The release comes with a healthy bit-rate of 21.94 mbps, which works well for the feature-film. Though some movies demand an even higher bit-rate, the encode quality looks great on the release, and I certainly found the high-definition presentation enormously satisfying.

Fatal Frame Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles). An optional Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles) option is also provided on the release. Encoded with lossless 24 bit-depth high-resolution audio, the lossless audio on the release is an outstanding part of the presentation. The lossless audio on the release makes a huge impression and adds to the experience.

The audio clarity is superb sounding. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The surrounds are well engaged and the ambiance added through the surrounds enhanced the experience and made the filmmaking more effective – the tone and atmosphere enhanced by the sound direction and the subtle nuances of the sound design. The score sounds great on the release, too. Blu-ray continues to provide an incredible advantage over streaming video platforms: lossless audio – with streaming video services only providing lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding with lower bit- rate streams. Physical media offers audiophiles a major advantage in this arena and the lossless encoding sounds incredible here.

Fatal Frame Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover features unique key-art different from the artwork featured underneath the slipcover. This design touch adds a nice element to the aesthetic of the release and makes the packaging more special in hand. A good design effort by Discotek Media.

The other on-disc supplements are somewhat sparse and the Blu-ray release is close to barebones. The release could have benefited by having some audio commentaries with cast and crew, behind-the-scenes making-of documentaries, and other featurettes about the production. Unfortunately, the package only has some standard inclusions as listed below:

Teaser Trailer (HD, 00:36)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:39)

15 Second TV Spots (HD, 00:30)

30 Second TV Spots (HD, 00:31)

Fatal Frame Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fatal Frame is a surprisingly solid and well-made Japanese horror film. Given the video game franchise roots, expectations were somewhat modest, but Fatal Frame surpassed expectations to be more than a usual video-game feature adaptation. The story is well told and the performances by Ayami Nakajô and Aoi Morikawa are well done. The Blu-ray release features a quality high-definition presentation and an absorbing lossless audio soundtrack.

The release includes a nice o-card slipcover and the art work makes a good impression – the release looks great in hand. The one area of the release that was a bit underwhelming was the supplemental package and the release could have benefited from some more robust extras. Fatal Frame is still well worth considering and adding to a Blu-ray collection based on the quality of the film and the presentation. Recommended.