Otogiriso (2001)

Director:

Ten Shimoyama

Writers:

Goro Nakajima (screenplay) &
Takenori Sentô (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 January 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Nami has been creating artwork for a new video game based on images she's been seeing in her dreams...

Plot Keywords:

Twin | Video Game | Brother Sister Relationship | Same Actress Playing Twin Role | Inheritance

Cast

Megumi Okina	...	Nami Kikushima / Naomi Kaizawa
Yoichiro Saito	...	Kohei Matsudaira (as Yôichirô Saitô)
Koji Ookura	...	Shin'ichi Ukita (as Kôji Ôkura)
Reiko Matsuo	...	Tôko Koseki
Minoru Terada	...	Sôichi Kaizawa (as Minoru)
Yasunari Hashimoto	...	Voice on the Radio (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kim Little	...	Nami Kikushima (voice: English version)
Jeff G. Peters	...	Radio DJ (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

St. John's Wort (Canada: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Germany:16 | Japan:PG-12 | USA:R

Soundtrack:

Girlie

Style over substance, a "modern" horror film

When video game makers decide to visit a decaying Gothic mansion (which belonged to one of the crew's deceased relatives) in order to produce their next video game, things go weird very quickly indeed. It's only a matter of time before things become deadly serious and long hidden secrets are revealed...

"St. John's Wort" (2001) is an example of a modern horror film. It's shot using digital cameras, giving it that unique hi-tech sheen that some may love or hate. The effects in post-production are interesting, for example, scenes going into fast forward, pausing and rewinding, etc. There's an interesting use of colour and an impressive use of sound effects, too.

Despite the modern look of the film, the script sadly did not hold me glued to my seat with fear and anticipation of events to come. In fact, there were moments when this film became a little boring. It tries to blend reality and virtual reality but doesn't really cut the mustard in the way I felt "Avalon" did. This film may be interesting for those interested in the geography / making of video games but that's where any deepness ends.

Still, there are a couple of attractive girls in the movie for those looking for eye candy, and mixed with impressive video effects and a top drawer soundtrack, this still rates as around 5/10. After other recent top-drawer explorations into Asian cinema, I felt this was disappointing but the DVD is inexpensive and still provides more entertainment value than many of its western counterparts.....