This is a documentary style found footage movie about a paranormal expert named Kobayashi who disappeared after investigating a curse for his new documentary. His home was also burned down and his wife died in the fire. The film takes us through Kobayashi's journey delving into the mystery surrounding this curse that involves a quiet little boy, his offputting mother, and psychics.
Noroi the Curse is an insane movie. It has the tension and tone of The Wailing with the form of Lake Mungo. The pace is slow and deliberate, but I was on the edge of my seat for the whole thing. Kobayashi's uncertain fate and what happened to his home and wife is revealed at the beginning of the movie and then his incomplete documentary is shown. It starts with a small incident of a woman complaining of hearing odd sounds from her neighbor. The neighbor in question verbally attacks him and a small boy lives with her. However, the sounds are from babies when there aren't any babies there. The plot thickens when the neighbor moves away and the woman and her daughter die in a car crash right afterwards.
Kobayashi is dedicated to unravel this mystery and I was with him every step of the way. He, Hori (a seemingly crazy man), and Marika (a clairvoyant actress) serve as our envoys into this supernatural world beneath our own and make separate discoveries that create the full picture. The journey to discovering what is at the core of everything isn't simple. There are a lot of people involved and the plot weaves a complex web that delves into more depraved territory than expected. Noroi the Curse is much different than a lot of Japanese horror and takes a more subtle approach. The atmosphere is well built and maintained throughout. I highly recommend this unique film and it's a crime that it hasn't had a US release.
My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins
* Jigsaw
An elaborate game of death has been started and a team of medical examiners and police are trying to find out where it is before all the people die. This is another Saw movie complete with beyond shallow characters, a convoluted twist that falls apart under mild scrutiny, and mildy interesting deaths. The characters are all so badly acted that two of them may as well be interchangeable with exactly the same gruff demeanor and misogynistic comments. It killed me that the women they were talking to simply accepted the condescending treatment even in a crazy death game. Ugh. The cast feels small because somehow the suspects only include the people investigating the murders. The main suspect is Eleanor, a woman fascinated with Jigsaw and a collector of his past devices. Her whole look is one big nerd stereotype and drastically changes after her obsession is revealed.
So many things are logistical nightmares that fall apart if thought about with any focus. Like why would Jigsaw's grave be left open unattended for any time to be tampered with? Why does everyone assume in almost every movie that Jigsaw is back? Why isn't Dr. Gordon brought in at all after the final reveal in the last Saw movie? The kills are decent and the traps are ok. If the series is going to move forward, I wish they would focus more on fun, creative kills than pseudo-intelligent, convoluted twists. If you go in expecting a typical ridiculous Saw movie, you won't be disappointed. If you're expecting an actually good, coherent movie, you will be disappointed.
My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins
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