"Masters of Horror" Dream Cruise (2007)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Norio Tsuruta

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Kôji Suzuki (short story)

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

2 February 2007 (Season 2, Episode 13)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Absolutely terrified of the sea, an American lawyer reluctantly goes on an ocean cruise to be near the wife of a client, with no idea of the grim situation that awaits them all. |

Plot Keywords:

Husband Wife Relationship | Thick Accent | Masters Of Horror | Childhood Trauma | Dream Sequence

Cast

Daniel Gillies	...	Jack Miller
Yoshino Kimura	...	Yuri Saito
Miho Ninagawa	...	Naomi Saito
Ryo Ishibashi	...	Eiji Saito
Tom Irvine	...	Young Jack (as Thomas Jones)
Ethan Amis	...	Sean Miller
Maki	...	Receptionist 1
Tiffany Martin	...	Receptionist 2
Ian Moore	...	Harrison
Gregory Pekar	...	Jack's Assistant
Katsuhiro Nagano	...	Cab Driver

Runtime:

Germany:57 min (short version) | 87 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA (2007) | USA:TV-MA | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Starz Productions

Clichéd Plot & False Scares, AHOY!

Takashi Miike's contribution to the Masters of Horror's first season was one of the absolute greatest episodes of the entire show. With his uniquely shocking style, Miike delivered a nightmarish tale that was practically impossible to categorize. The second season contains another short film directed by an Asian "master" (although this term is debatable, since Norio Tsuruta's only did the mediocre "Premonition" and one of the "Ringu" sequels thus far), but this time the result is mundane and very easy to categorize. "Dream Cruise" is typical & derivative J-Horror, so unfortunately you already know what to expect: a clichéd plot about ghosts from the past, vengeance from beyond the grave and ghastly appearances that disappear again as quick as the come. "Dream Cruise" is a crossover between "Dead Calm", albeit just regarding the setting and line-up of characters, and the original "Ringu", from which this story shamelessly borrows all the main aspects and even some of the most essential frights & make-up effects. The American attorney Jack Miller has been working in Japan since two years and he even managed to secretly steal the beautiful wife away from his general manager. The latter found out about their relationship, however, and plots to get rid of them both during a touristy cruise on his yacht. Jack accepts the invitation reluctantly, because he's terrified of the sea due to a childhood trauma, but Eiji's diabolical plan doesn't really go as planned, neither, because he as well faces an unexpected ghost from the past. The script direly moves from one clichéd situation to the next and the three main characters are genuine stereotypes whose every next move and line of text you can predict light-years in advance. The supposedly surprising ending is terribly irritating, too, and people who're familiar with ghost stories are able to guess the outcome since the opening sequence already. The make-up effects on the watery ghosts would be creepy and unsettling, if it hadn't been for the fact we already seen similar stuff in "Ringu", "Ju-On: The Grudge", "Phone", etc… "Dream Cruise" is undoubtedly the worst entry in season two and my personal vote for the most lackluster one of the entire show.