Retribution

Japan 2006, 103 minutes
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
In Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: [R16]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Horror / Policier

Feat. Koji Yakusho, Manami Konishi, Tsuyoshi Ihara

Aroview: A skin-crawling 'mainstream' J-Horror from subtle spookmeister Kiyoshi Kurosawa, this trades heavily in established genre elements, but compensates for what it lacks in original raw material with brilliantly exacted set-pieces.

Unbalanced by earthquakes on top of random acts of homicide, the paranoia mounts for sullen detective Koji Yakusho as he finds himself eerily implicated in the murder of the woman in the 'red dress'. Cue the wrath of the beautiful raven-haired apparition and a barrage of ungodly sound-effects, both of which do wonders to paper over the usual leaks in logic.

NZ International Film Festival 2007