Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 23, 2024

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the J-Horror Rising set from Arrow Video.

When a set like J-Horror Rising offers someone like the venerable Tom Mes freely detailing how at least some elements that combined to create what is commonly called J-Horror (at least vis a vis J-Horror as it's about to be defined, below) might be likened to American B movies or even direct to video or made for television efforts, there may be a bit of a subliminal warning to be gleaned, all of which is to say, perhaps expectations need to be reasonably set when approaching some and potentially all of the films in this set. Mes unabashedly lists Ringu (the original Japanese Ring film, for the uninitiated) as a defining J-Horror landmark, at least within the context of the films offered here, in that none of these films probably could be imagined and almost certainly wouldn't have been made without the influence of the celebrated Hideo Nakata outing. It's also salient to note that several of the films in this collection were first exhibited as the "down ticket" item on "double features", sometimes not so coincidentally under main attractions like Ringu 2 and/or Ringu 0. As Mes overtly mentions in his overview of J-Horror included in this set, the wake left by Ringu was wide, but it wasn't particularly deep, at least as evidenced by how quickly this particular "rage" ebbed, and so as such even the Rising part of the title of this collection might be slightly misleading, since as Mes describes, by the time these offerings came along, things may have already been fading.

Note: Those interested in this release may want to also check out Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories, from Radiance, which is streeting the same day as this collection.

Earthquakes can be frightening enough without any paranormal hoohah (a technical term) added, but that's pretty much what Isola: Multiple Personality Girl attempts to do, to frankly middling results. The film has both real interpolated footage of what has become known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake, a devastating event that leveled large swaths of the Kansai Region in 1985. Either actual rubble or perhaps matte paintings and the like continue to dot backgrounds as a young woman named Yakari Kamo (Yoshino Kimura), but who is saliently also identified as "The Psychic" on the IMDb's cast listing page for this film, shows up to ostensibly offer aid.

The fact that Yakari is seemingly "specially powered" is actually not the supernatural element in the film, or at least not the main one, as soon enough another "specially powered" female shows up. She'll ultimately have more than one name, as that revelatory "multiple personality girl" part of this film's title alludes, to, but one of her names is in fact Isola (Yû Kurosawa). Isola seems to be seriously troubled, as again the title may indicate, but how the figures into the earthquake plot is perhaps almost random. The film struggles to really identify what the audience is supposed to be afraid of, and in fact at least on a subliminal level for anyone who's survived a scary earthquake, it may be the real life footage and scenes of the resultant carnage that may deliver the most thrills.

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following minimal information on the transfer:

The films in this collection were remastered in high definition and supplied by Kadokawa.

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl is presented in 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound. Additional remastering work was completed by R3Store Studios, London.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's not a ton of technical information on the shoot on the IMDb as of the writing of this review, but this is a decent looking presentation within the confines of what looks like a low budget and kind of haphazardly shot feature. While large swaths of the presentation offer a reasonably accurate looking palette, there's quite a bit of material that has a rather strange blue cast to it, which materially affects detail levels along with just the general perception that something is slightly off with regard to color timing. Aside from that peculiarity, detail levels are rather good, all things considered, at least in studio bound material or shots featuring close-ups. Grain can look slightly splotchy at times.

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl features either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 options in the original Japanese. The surround track nicely opens up both ambient environmental effects, while also adding just a dash of low frequency energy in the kind of quick "earthquake effect" in the film's opening moments. A glut of outdoor material also offers good opportunities for side and rear channel engagement of surrounding sound effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Jasper Sharp and Amber T


• Archive Interview with Yoshino Kimura (HD; 1:43) is subtitled in English.


• Archive Interview with Yu Kurosawa (HD; 1:32) is subtitled in English.


• Behind the Scenes of Isola (HD; 2:45) is subtitled in English.


• Original Theatrical Trailer for Ring 0 and Isola Double Bill (HD; 1:15)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jasper Sharp and Amber T are much more enthusiastic about this film than I am, and there is a definitely spooky undertone here given the after effects of a devastating earthquake, but the whole "mystery" of Isola is kind of clumsily handled, and this is another effort that seems almost tangentially related to what is commonly thought of as "classic" J-Horror. Video encounters a few passing issues, but audio is nicely full bodied, and the commentary track in particular is a worthwhile supplement, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.