6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Years after moving to Tokyo with her parents, Hinako returns to her hometown in rural Shikoku. She soon learns that her childhood friend, Sayuri, died several years ago and that Sayuri's mother, who used to perform seances and exorcisms, has gone almost insane with grief. After seeing Sayuri's ghost several times during the night, Hinako consults with some local experts on the paranormal and discovers that Sayuri's mother has something planned for her daughter...
Starring: Yui Natsukawa, Michitaka Tsutsui, Chiaki Kuriyama, Toshie Negishi, Ren ÔsugiForeign | 100% |
Horror | 78% |
Thriller | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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.
Shikoku 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.This is a somewhat variant looking transfer than can show some observable differences in everything from color timing to clarity to grain resolution, though I suspect some of these changes were part of the crew's intention in order to help craft a spookier ambience. Even given that hypothesis, though, there are some curious ranges of clarity that can be spotted in even the same sequence, or alternately between sequences. Some of the outdoor material in particular is pretty rough looking, with a grittier grain field and an overall darker look that tends to also mask shadow detail. Other, more brightly lit, outdoor material can actually offer decent detail levels and a more accurate accounting of the palette (see screenshot 1).
Shikoku is presented in 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound. Additional remastering work was completed by R3Store Studios, London.
Shikoku features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options in the original Japanese. The film benefits from some quasi-ritualistic elements that include either chanting or even music, and those moments are at least marginally opened up in the surround track. There's quite a bit of outdoor material here (if you count what seems to be a cavern as "outside"), and many scenes have subtle but discernable surround activity courtesy of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Original Theatrical Trailer for Ring 2 and Shikoku Double Bill (HD; 1:25)
- Shikoku TV Spot 1 (HD; 00:18)
- Shikoku TV Spot 2 (HD; 00:38)
There's a suitably elegiac tone to a lot of Shikoku, but for whatever reason, it just never connects completely, even given not one, but potentially four, characters who are all tragic in their own ways. Technical merits are generally solid, with some caveats mentioned above, and the supplements on this disc featuring Tom Mes are really outstanding, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
弟切草 / Otogiriso
2001
口裂け女 / Kuchisake-onna
2007
1991
狗神
2000
1966
변신 / Byeonshin
2019
Knackningar
2021
2014
犬神の悪霊 / Inugami no tatari | Standard Edition
1977
江戸川乱歩全集 恐怖奇形人間 / Edogawa Rampo zenshû: Kyôfu kikei ningen
1969
Les charnelles / Sex Without Love
1974
L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps
2013
파묘
2024
El vampiro de la autopista / Standard Edition
1972
仮面学園 / Kamen gakuen
2000
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
1979
Beyond the Darkness / Magdalena, Possessed by the Devil / Magdalena, vom Teufel besessen
1974
Thesis
1996
Spirits of Death, Un bianco vestito per Marialé / Forgotten Gialli: Volume Five
1972
1988