Friday, October 25, 2013

Black Night - China, Japan and Thailand

          Director: Takahiko Akiyama,Tanit Jitnukul, and Patrick Leung
          Year: 2006
          Plot: "This horror trilogy [anthology] follows the stories of a man who's having an affair, a woman plagued by nightmares and a mother who fears she's being stalked."

          We'll review each section separate as they are different and I would have a hard time reviewing them as one.

          Next Door:  I did enjoy that you can piece together parts of what happened before it is completely revealed, when Joe and Jane are talking when she arrives, and a comment Joe makes to a coworker.  It was overall, pretty good (much better than most US anthologies I have watched).  I did have a problem with the back and forth “It's my fault”, but the actual ending was good.   The promise that was made was kept which was a nice touch to me, though I guess there is some questions about the end now that I have read another's review.
          ------*Spoiler Start*------  Someone said that it was Hosie possessing Jane at the end living out her own dreams, but I am not so sure.   The issue in this belief for me is that when asked her name, she told the other to wait so she could read the passport (or whatever).  Hosie would have known her own name, so I am led to believe that maybe Jane wants to live out Hosie's life for her.  Otherwise apparently Hosie doesn't know her own name and has a weird idea of making sure Jane lives.  Not really living if a ghost is simply walking around in your body living the life she would have.  ------*Spoiler End*------
          Dark Hole:  I wasn't sure what to think of this section at first, but once Hyu was discussed, it got interesting.  This is mainly because until the end, I wasn't sure what to believe.  The question was, is it real, or imagination?   I like stuff that plays with that questions, especially if it plays out well and even leaves me doubting if I am right.  They arguments against the fantasy were really convincing, but the fantasy was also believable in my mind.
          I liked that while childhood memories were missing to the main character, she seemed to still have a connection to them subconsciously.  There is a major connection to water from her childhood.  The thing that I loved is that she works at the information counter at and aquarium.  Even if she couldn't remember, she still found herself connected to water in some way.  I don't know little things like that really make me believe that some real though went into the character, which I love in general.
          The Lost Memory: Maybe I am out of sorts when it comes to Asian horror movies, but I enjoyed this part too as I did not see the ending coming, either one.  I just liked how this unfolded and couldn't help but notice the role of water again.  I think they should have called the anthology Black Water (Dark Water is taken).

          Anyway, the overall story of this section was rather sad.  I mean the woman lost her memory and is struggling to get it back, but of course not all memories are good ones.  In reality, it might be important to get the memories back, but the character lives in a horror movie.  In that sense memories are often better left forgotten.

          As an anthology, I would suggest this one.  I didn't find it scary, but then again most horror movies are like that for me.  You may not enjoy it for various reasons (some acting in the first section wasn't very good), but I did like the stories for each sections and I found it to be better than some US anthologies (haven't found a good one yet).  If nothing else, it will be a use of time, whether good or bad.  I am having trouble finding a trailer, so a picture will have to suffice.

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