Enter the Dark (2011)

Enter the Dark is a short, 17-minute film from writer/director Todd Miró. To be honest, I was thinking this was going to be another Paranormal Activity-inspired flick, and to some extent it does share a similar style, but surprisingly it isn’t a cheap knock-off, but rather a creepy and effective short film.

Charles (Charles Yoakum) has a problem. There’s something in his house scaring his family and it just won’t leave them alone. They’ve all heard voices, seen dark shapes moving in the shadows, felt that uneasy sensation of being watched. Finally Charles captures something on his audio recorder that proves they’re not all going crazy. He decides to make a stand, enlisting the help of his long-time buddy, Rob (Rob Sandusky), to delve into the mystery of his unwanted guest and hopefully send it on its way. If they can somehow figure out what the entity is and what it wants, maybe they can all finally have some peace.

Rob’s worried about his buddy. He’s been acting really strange lately … well, even stranger than usual. Rob knows that things have been rough for Charles – struggling to make ends meet in a down economy, dealing with the unexplained disappearance of his brother-in-law, Marcus, and now these claims of some ghost harassing his family. Rob is skeptical that there’s anything paranormal going on, but he agrees to help his friend out if only to find out the real nature of the problem.

With the lights out, two friends are led on an adventure of paranormal encounters: cold spots, an eerie children’s book, unexplained apparitions and a final mystery that leads to a disturbing conclusion.

For a low-budget short, Enter the Dark looks polished and professional. The film is shown from multiple perspectives – from the hand-held, night-vision camera the men carry to just a regular “third-person” camera view. I liked how the perspectives switched back and forth from these cameras, keeping the viewer interested and the action tense. I also enjoyed how the majority of the film was lit by either the night-vision on the hand-held camera or a single flashlight. This gave the film a more claustrophobic, and therefore suspenseful, feel. Indie filmmakers should take note, because a high-quality look can be achieved on a budget, and Enter the Dark is a prime example.

The quality of the film isn’t just in the visuals, though. The acting is also top-notch, with actors Charles Yoakum and Rob Sandusky putting on convincing performances. I completely believed them as the two friends and I also really enjoyed their character development in the short. Kudos to the actors and to writer/director Miró for giving us realistic characters that were also nicely fleshed out, all within a very short running time.

The film also has some awesome creepy moments. The whole story starts slow with focus the character development discussed above, but it quickly builds to eerie scenes that lead up to a startling ending. I liked the overall subtle creepiness of the film plus the psychological aspects that were explored.

Enter the Dark is an entertaining, scary and thought-provoking short film that makes me look forward to future projects from writer/director Todd Miró. It is currently scheduled to screen at several film festivals, and I urge you to check it out if you get a chance! You won’t be disappointed…

Visit the film’s official site!

Don't Look Up (2010)

I was a bit wary going into Don’t Look Up as reviews for this flick have been so atrocious. However, it was a lazy night and the trailer had piqued my interest so I decided to give it a looksie…plus, it is available via streaming on Netflix so it made it all that much easier to check out.

Don’t Look Up is actually a remake of the Hideo Nakata (of Ringu fame) film Joyurei and is directed by Fruit Chan (known for the wicked “Dumplings” short in Three…Extremes). This film is Chan’s American debut and I’ve been looking forward to seeing Chan’s next horror piece ever since relishing “Dumplings” so much.

Don’t Look Up is about horror film director Marcus Reed (played by the sexy Australian soap star Reshad Strik) who has intense psychic visions of paranormal events. However, he has found his perfect project to work on next and sets off for Romania where he is to film his big comeback. The film he is shooting is based on an old Romanian folktale about a young girl who promised her first born child to the Devil but was violently killed by villagers before she could fulfill her promise. Her vengeful ghost is said to haunt the decrepit location that Marcus has chosen to shoot his film, the same location where 80 years ago another film crew mysteriously vanished while attempting to shoot a film based on the same legend.

People soon start dying violent, “accidental” deaths as Marcus’ visions intensify. Will his visions help him in stopping the deaths or will they just drive him mad?

Don’t Look Up definitely has that Asian ghost story feel (especially with a few Ringu-inspired scenes involving creepy eyes and flies crawling out of a TV), coupled with plenty of nasty deaths and a few icky scenes. However, the convoluted and confusing plot really drags the film down. It really could have spent a little more time developing the backstory on the Romanian legend (what we get is a couple of paragraphs before the movie starts…lame) and the actual why and how of the supposed “haunting”. By the end, the film tries to clear things up with a “twist”, but certain points still remain unclear. Like what the F was up with the boils/tumors on the neck? Why did certain people go crazy? What exactly was the point with crew members dying? Did the ghost just want revenge or was it searching for a new baby-daddy? And why in the world did Marcus and his crew shoot his film in only one small, grimy room when they had the whole creepy building to use? It looked more of like a stage set than a film set.

It is a pity the plot was such a disjointed mess, since the initial premise showed promise. Sure, we’ve all seen horror films where a film crew is beset by something horrific, but the whole Romanian legend aspect was intriguing…too bad it got so mucked up in the writing and/or editing process.

I was surprised to see several recognizable faces in the film. Eli Roth is in the film for about 5 seconds (even though he is a huge selling point on the DVD cover) as a 1930s director (complete with a cool mustache and snazzy duds) who first tries to film at the cursed location. Then we get Henry Thomas (Red Velvet, Dead Birds) as a level-headed producer and Kevin Corrigan (Pineapple Express, Superbad) as an agitated crew member. The acting overall was fine, despite what other reviews have said. I actually liked the acting choices and thought everyone did a good job in their roles.

As for the special FX, there was some crappy CGI involving flies (they just looked like fuzzy black blobs), but there were also several creepy scenes. One in particular that involves a spontaneous birth is definitely groddy, especially when we see the baby hanging half in and half out of the birth canal as mommy walks toward the camera. Then there are the scenes with the previously mentioned flies, which would have probably been more effective had the CGI looked better. There are people attacked by flies, a body made up of flies, and, my personal fave, flies crawling into people’s eyeballs and eye sockets. Squirm! Then there are the requisite bloody deaths, the only memorable one being when a stage light falls on a crew member, making for a bloody awful head wound! Oh, and let’s not forget when Marcus carves one of those boils/tumors off a creepy old dude. Pretty icky. However, I wouldn’t call it a gorefest by any means, and the body count isn’t all that high.

Don’t Look Up doesn’t really deliver on scares and is overall a messy film full of plot inconsistencies, under-development and holes, but I still found myself kind of enjoying it. No matter how frustrating the plot issues were, the film kept me moderately interested. It would make a good background flick for when you are doing other things, or a good flick to enjoy with a sudsy brew (or two).

The bad reviews on this film are pretty exaggerated…it definitely isn’t the best movie you can choose to watch, but it does have its creepy and gross-out moments and isn’t the “worst movie ever made”. Dude, I’ve seen some pretty horrible films in my time and this one doesn’t even come close to being the worst!

Available on Amazon!

Death of a Ghost Hunter (2008)

Ever since The Blair Witch Project there have been a plethora of “found footage” faux documentaries. Some are good while others are just groan-worthy. Can you guess which category Death of a Ghost Hunter falls into?

Death of a Ghost Hunter is about paranormal investigator Carter Simms (Patti Tindall) investigating a supposedly haunted house. The history of the house is that an entire family was slaughtered there, including husband, young son and daughter. Supposedly, when the mother discovered them all dead she blew her brains out because she couldn’t deal with their deaths. There have been reports of a haunting ever since this tragedy. The owner of the house, who has never lived there himself, tells Carter she will be joined by a few other people to help her document anything that occurs.

I wasn’t expecting much out of this movie, but the first half hour or so was actually pretty promising. We found out the whole cursed history of the house and one of the investigators (a 20-something church girl who was there to ensure the dead were “honored”) becomes especially affected by the surroundings. There is also a very creepy moment where the investigators discover something in their footage (a little hand gripping a doorframe and a small head slowly peering around – ya, it’s on the DVD cover) that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end!

However, this was the ONLY scary part of the film and the rest just went downhill from there. The other “ghostly” appearances were too obvious and the special FX looked lame. The best films make you believe something is there but either don’t show it or only show a peek, but in most of Death of a Ghost Hunter they show too much and it ruins the tense mood of the first part of the film.

Also ruining the mood were the many plot holes and plot inconsistencies. When the investigators found a bunch of incriminating photos I practically threw up my hands and said, “Right. Like the police wouldn’t have found those!” Or how the police couldn’t have figured out the killer from all the forensic evidence.

When the mood is ruined for the rest of the film I pretty much stopped caring about the characters. I thought the actors all gave okay performances, but their characters were written just kinda blah. A huge backstory wasn’t necessarily needed, but something that would make the audience relate to them would have been nice and perhaps make us care for them more.

To top it all off, the “finale” dragged on for far too long and really should have ended with the death of a ghost hunter (I’m not giving anything away, it’s all there in the title!). Instead, it was drawn out for another 20 minutes or so (all I know is that it felt like FOR-evvvver!). At this point I just wanted the movie to end, but it just kept going and going and going…

I will say that the “Jesus box” (a huge box with crucifixes all over it that is worn over the head and has an eyehole to see out of) used throughout the film and prominently in the end was pretty creepy.  However, that and the previous scare I mentioned do not make a good movie all on their own. This film was just riddled with too many pacing, storyline, character and mood problems to call it a good (or even okay) film. I understand the limitations of plot, but if they had stayed away from the cheesy ghost visuals (with the exception of that first scare) and beefed up their story a little bit and shortened the ending I think it would have made a much better film. As it stands, though, Death of a Ghost Hunter is a weak entry into the faux documentary subgenre.

Available from Amazon!

Book Review: Dark Delicacies III - Haunted edited by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb

In the third collection of short stories from Dark Delicacies, a Burbank bookstore that has all a horror fan could ask for, we are treated to new short stories from illustrious authors like Chuck Palahniuk, Mick Garris, Heather Graham, Simon Clark, Axelle Carolyn and even a new poem from Clive Barker! All the stories are unique, set in different locations with diverse characters facing their own horrors. Yet, after reading each and every one of the tales in Haunted that is the exact feeling you’ll be left with. You’ll be disturbed, anxious and a little spooked after finishing these stories, and those feelings won’t quickly dissipate. Instead, just like a ghostly apparition they will linger long after you’ve finished all the stories and closed the book. Are you ready to be haunted? Then keep reading…

With any Dark Delicacies book you know you are getting the cream of the crop in regards to authors, and Haunted is no different. All of the stories contained within the 300+ pages will knock your socks off! Kudos must be given to editors Del Howison (proprietor of the Dark Delicacies store) and Jeff Gelb (who gives us a fantastic intro) for compiling such talented contributors, whether they are well-known or not.

While all of the stories are absolutely stellar, I do have my personal favorites of the anthology. My absolute favorite is The Architecture of Snow by David Morrell, about an editor tracking down a reclusive author. While this is not an outright horror story and more of a personal journey of the lead character (though it does have its tension-filled and horrific moments), it is a very touching story that shows there are many different ways to be “haunted”. Morrell writes with a fluidity that sweeps you away and carries you into his imagination and  into the very story so you feel like you are standing alongside the characters.

Another two of my favorites deal with self-mutilation, with the first being Mick Garris’ Tyler’s Third Act about a down and out director who decides to make some money by giving the YouTube generation what they want…blood. Weaved throughout the story is also a cute love story…though it doesn’t end up so cute in the end. I loved the social commentary Garris offered with this tale, both about desperate people in the entertainment industry who are getting slammed hard by the recession as well as the public’s extreme view on what qualifies as “entertainment”. In a morbidly funny tale, Richard Christian Matheson tells us How to Edit. The author in the story keeps “editing” his life, continually cutting things out…including appendages he doesn’t think he needs. Matheson writes with a bitingly satirical tone that I just love!

Another favorite is Heather Graham’s Mist on the Bayou, about a touristy “haunted house” on the Louisiana bayou whose grisly tableaus of murder turn out to be a little more real than expected. And yet, wrapped up in that is also a very satisfying “haunted” story – of the haunted plantation house itself as well as a character in particular that doesn’t even realize they are being haunted. I loved Graham’s descriptions of the mansion, of each scarily themed room within the house and of the surrounding setting. Just the descriptions themselves give the story a spooky feel!

Starlets & Spaceboys by Joseph V. Hartlaub is one of the most bizarre and inventive pieces in the anthology. During a hot-air balloon festival in New Mexico, a teenager meets what she thinks is the man of her dreams. He tells her he is a manager for a band and they are testing out new type of music delivery technology – in pill form. If she takes the pills over the span of a week, she will begin to hear music in her head. Turns out, “swallowing music” is pretty bad and she soon finds the music drowning everything else out…not to mention her “dream man” turns out to be more like a nightmare. This story is truly one of the most original in the book and is so peculiar that it borders on bizarro.

I wish I had the space to go on to mention many of the other great stories, including Axelle Carolyn’s ghoulish Resurrection Man, John R. Little’s shocking The Slow Haunting, Maria Alexander’s elegantly stunning “Though Thy Lips are Pale”, Victor Salva’s satisfying The Wandering Unholy, Chuck Palahniuk’s inventive Fetch and many others. All of the stories within Dark Delicacies III: Haunted are phenomenal and not one of them is disappointing. Editors Del Howison and Jeff Gelb deliver yet another high-caliber and talent-packed anthology of terrifying tales. If you are looking for a guaranteed ghoulish time, this Haunted tome is sure to send shivers of pleasure (and fear) up your spine!

Order it on Amazon!

Book of Blood (2009)

You’ve either read Clive Barker’s collection of short stories Book of Blood or you haven’t. The film Clive Barker’s Book of Blood, written and directed by John Harrison, is faithfully based on two of Barker’s tales from the book, Book of Blood and On Jerusalem Street, the wrap-around stories of the collection. The good news is that you don’t have necessarily have read the stories to enjoy the grim and ultimately grisly atmosphere of Book of Blood…but you may need some patience to watch the slowly unfolding, yet unique, film. That patience will definitely pay off in the end, though.

The film opens with a bang as a girl is gruesomely murdered by unseen spirits in a large, forebodingly dark house. We then meet paranormal expert Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) as she is teaching a class on the paranormal, where she meets college student and medium Simon McNeal (Jonas Armstrong). Mary is investigating the very house where the girl was brutally murdered and, since she feels a special connection to her student, invites Simon to assist her.

Mary and her assistant, Reg (Paul Blair), set up cameras and other equipment to record any strange occurrences in the house, and sure enough Simon begins to have violent contact with the spirits. As the sexual tension between Mary and Simon grows and as Simon experiences more and more paranormal activity, they discover that the house is a crossroads for the dead and that the dead want their stories told…

Book of Blood was a tense, enjoyable story, but one that may require some patience to watch. The pacing is pretty slow and scenes can feel repetitive at times. The pacing didn’t bother me too much, because I was too caught up in its unique story and dark atmosphere. I liked that Book of Blood isn’t your typical horror film and tries something different. It’s not every day that the spirits carve their stories into the flesh of a human!

Being a Clive Barker adaptation, I was surprised that this film doesn’t have much gore but plays more like a haunted house/ghost movie. The introduction scene is sufficiently shocking (a very surprising and gruesome “face peel”) and the subsequent scenes featuring spirits writing on their living “Book of Blood” were squirm-inducing. Yet the meat of the film doesn’t offer much blood-letting, instead choosing to focus on the characters and their actions.

I’m not complaining here, though, and really enjoyed seeing the characters develop and reveal their hidden natures. Mary’s obsession with Simon definitely feels a bit taboo in the Electra/Oedipus sense, and there are plenty of steamy sex scenes that titillate and torment both characters and audience. I also liked the unexpected surprises in some of the characters…not is all what it seems!

The movie is ominously wrapped in dark shadows. From the menacing house they are investigating, filled with dark corners, to the gray, overcast skies shown the few instances where the characters are outside, the film’s bleak palette visually conveys its spooky subject matter. The black shadows made me uneasy and really made me wonder about what was lurking within them.

The film’s visual highlight comes toward the end when the veils between our world and the dead’s world are lifted and what we’ve expected to see emerge from the shadows finally come forth. We see the wispy ghosts, eyes as black as the darkest pits in Hell, trudging up from their grim Purgatory to scrawl their stories in blood on Simon. The spirits’ design is both beautiful and frightening, so many props to the film’s visual effects department! I really loved the look of both the ghosts and of their hellish home.

Book of Blood is a highly enjoyable Clive Barker adaptation, but for some horror fans its proceedings might be a bit slow. Nonetheless, if you enjoy a chilling, slow-building ghost story, Book of Blood may be just for you. It doesn’t compromise its values to become a PG-13 horror flick filled with screaming teeny-bopper actors, but sticks to Clive Barker’s original story and high standards to deliver a unique vision of pain. For that alone it definitely deserves the attention of serious horror fans.

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Book Review: Garden of Ghosts by Scott Thomas

I am absolutely enthralled by the Victorian time period. The whole gothic mystique of the period – from the aesthetic of the clothing and architecture to the morbid mourning photography and the ever-present obsession with death – just feels so morbidly romantic! So it was with pure delight that I delved into Scott Thomas’ The Garden of Ghosts, a collection of short ghost stories set in the Victorian era. Thomas has crafted an eerie, unsettling tome that perfectly captures the time period’s interest in the supernatural, not to mention that the romantically mysterious Victorian era seems like a perfect place to set ghost stories!

All of the stories are written in Victorian style and feel as if they were plucked right out of someone’s diary. From fog-shrouded London streets to the snowy New England countryside featuring haunted houses, murderous apparitions, fearsome expanses of fields and gardens, vengeful ghosts and more, Thomas creates subtly frightening tales in the vein of Ambrose Bierce and Edgar Allen Poe. Thomas’ stories creep under your skin, linger with you for days and follow you into many deep, dark nights.

My favorites in this collection include Rush-bearing, a startling tale whose horror sneaks up on you, the poetic and lyrical Pressed Flowers, the eye-opening Syringa Vulgaris, the Jack the Ripper tale Mr. Pickergill’s Unusual Oak-wood Box, the amusing The Haunted Tobacco, the disturbing story of suicidal sisters in In the Long, Weed-Haunted Summer and Winterberry, about unsettled ghosts of soldiers from the Revolutionary War. The rest of the stories are all equally enjoyable and I didn’t find one that disagreed with me. They all offer something different, and to my surprise each contains a different tone and voice so that no two are alike.

The stories have a delicate, polite way about them, but underneath their seemingly tame exteriors lies something chilling and shocking. Thomas usually waits until the end of a story to shock you with some ghastly revelation, but all the stories have an underlying sense of dread that run throughout them. Make no mistake, these stories will stay with you long after you’ve read them and will haunt your waking and dreaming moments! On more than one occasion I had nightmares about spectral spooks after indulging in Thomas’ tales before bedtime!

The Garden of Ghosts is a very limited edition (only 100 books were printed) published by Dark Regions Press, so I urge you to get your copy…before it’s too late! It is truly a hauntingly beautiful collection of ghost stories and is unlike anything out there today!

The Garden of Ghosts is now available on Amazon!

Dark Reel (2008)

In attendance at the annual Shriekfest Film Festival this year, I was lucky enough to catch the quirky and enjoyable Dark Reel, helmed by first time horror director Josh Eisenstadt and written by Aaron Pope. Dark Reel managed to both skewer big-studio politics as well as thrill viewers with some wonderfully nasty kills!

In the ‘50s, a starlet named Scarlett May (Alexandra Holden) was horrifically butchered during a screen test. Her case garnered notoriety over the years for the brutal nature of the crime, as well for the fact that the killer was never caught. Fast forward 53 years and down-on-his-luck horror movie fan Adam Waltz (Edward Furlong) has just won a walk-on role on the horror film Pirate Wench, starring none other than his favorite scream queen, Cassie Blue (Tiffany Shepis). Once legendary but now struggling studio head Connor Pritchett (Lance Henriksen) and his head of marketing Harris Briggs (Emmanuel Xuereb) hope that the walk-on roll will boost publicity for the film.

They get plenty of publicity, but of a more gruesome sort than they expected. People involved with the production start dying grisly deaths at the hands of a masked killer. As more and more die, Adam’s role in the film keeps getting bigger and bigger, giving Detective Shields (Tony Todd) and his partner Detective LaRue (Rena Riffel) a suspect with a motive.

Yet, the detectives also suspect the director of Pirate Wench, Derek Deeds (Jeffrey Vincent Parise), when he becomes jealous of Adam and his relationship with Cassie. Also acting suspicious is the eccentric Connor Pritchett, who has plenty of motive as he is under pressure to make a profit on Pirate Wench…and some morbid publicity could very well help him achieve that goal.

There also may be a supernatural explanation…has Scarlett May come back to seek revenge? Adam sure thinks so when he thinks he sees her ghost on-screen…Whatever the cause, people are getting hacked to bits and Adam and Cassie seek to discover who or what is behind the murders before its Cassie’s final bow as well…

Dark Reel is a darkly humorous and bloody horror movie that’s one hell of a good time. While it has its flaws, it is still a highly enjoyable flick that delivers with its excellent cast and well-written story.

First, let’s talk about the stellar cast. We’ve got Edward Furlong, Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd, Tiffany Shepis. Mercedes McNab and even FX maestro Rick Baker in a small part! The cast is amazing, and they all do a spectacular job with their characters! The characters, by the way, are all very quirky. For example, the male lead of Pirate Wench, Rhett Johnson (Jake Grace), is an English gentleman that especially fancies eating onions (much to the chagrin of his leading ladies) and who hates all paparazzi, giving any he meets a good thrashing. Edward Furlong’s character Adam is sardonically obtuse, not letting much get under his skin (even though he just went through a bad breakup, is the main suspect in the killings and has managed to snag the affection of scream queen Cassie Blue). Cassie Blue, played by Tiffany Shepis, is a sweet scream queen who hasn’t let fame go to her head and takes a special liking to Adam. This is Shepis’ best role to date and she just shines! It is so nice to see her in a more developed role that requires more than just looking pretty and taking off her clothes (though, don’t worry, she still does both in this film!). Lance Henriksen nearly steals the show as the eccentric Connor Pritchett, who is constantly stealing ideas and taking credit for them and abusing his young assistant. The rest of the characters are equally neurotic and interesting…kudos to writer Aaron Pope for capturing the feel of those within the film industry as well as horror fans (Gnome Killer is a riot and an added bonus!!). Pope pokes fun at both these kinds of people in a hilarious, it’s-funny-because-it’s-true kind of way that will make you laugh out loud!

The story is your typical supernatural/slasher set-up, but while the story is simple it never feels tired or stale. The set-up is inventive and the memorable characters and quirky situations will keep you on your toes! The masked killer is also very iconic, as she/he wears a creepy skeleton mask topped with a mane of honey-blonde hair. The first reveal of the character is pretty shocking, because while we see it coming we don’t know exactly what to expect…and the killer’s “look” is very unexpected and surprising!

I also loved the look of the film overall. It opens in grainy black and white to a flashback in the ‘50s, but then takes us in full color to the filming of Pirate Wench on an old ship. It also explores the seedy Los Angeles neighborhood where Adam lives, the hip Hollywood bars where the cast and crew for Pirate Wench hang out and the well-appointed bungalows up in the hills where the starlet’s live (and die). Director Josh Eisenstadt crafts a film whose visuals pay homage to Hollywood and Los Angeles while at the same time satirizing the whole film “scene.”

The special FX are pretty impressive as well, with limbs getting chopped off left and right and plenty of blood splatter to satiate the thirstiest of horror fans! There’s even a scene where a victim gets carved from their belly button up to their chest cavity! Throats get slashed, heads get blown off and decapitated, not to mention all the hacked up body parts!

My only complaints were with the editing and the overall run-time of the film. The editing feels choppy at times, like a vital (or at least a transition) scene was left on the cutting room floor. Also, the film runs a little long, begins to feel repetitive after a while and stagnates towards the middle. I also think more could have been made with the Scarlett May storyline. Instead of focusing on the supernatural element of the story, more time is focused on the slasher side of it.

Despite this, Dark Reel is still a very worthwhile film to see. Its satirizing humor on the film industry, memorable characters, fresh storyline, bloody kills and iconic killer make Dark Reel one you won’t want to miss!

Available from Amazon!

The Ferryman (2007)

I wasn’t expecting much out of The Ferryman, yet another direct to DVD horror flick, but I was secretly hoping it would be a diamond in the rough that would surprise me…It did seem to have a cool concept and I figured this New Zealand film might have a fresh, new perspective on the horror genre.

The mythology of the ferryman on which the film is based originated in ancient Greece. The ferryman, or Charon as he was called in ancient Greek mythology, was responsible for transporting deceased souls from the banks of the river Styx to the underworld, as long as they paid their fare. The practice of placing gold coins on the deceased eyelids, so they would have enough money to pay the ferryman for passage to the underworld, stems from this legend. It is said that if you don’t have the proper fare to pass, you are doomed to wander the banks of the Styx, neither in the real world nor in the afterworld.

The Ferryman takes a slightly different spin on the classic tale, making the ferryman more into a figure like Death, who is responsible for making sure all souls are brought to the underworld and that no one cheats death. It was refreshing to see a horror film rooted in classic mythology, but The Ferryman just didn’t go far enough with its story and just ended up being a pretty lackluster, disappointing film.

Two couples, locals Zane (Julian Arahanga) and Kathy (Amber Sainsbury) and Americans Tate (Sally Stockwell) and Chris (Craig Hall) decide to take an “adventure cruise” on a private yacht owned by married couple Dave (Tamer Hassan) and Suze (Kerry Fox). Just as everyone is getting friendly and starting to enjoy themselves, a distress call comes in. Dave and Suze decide to answer it and find an abandoned boat surrounded by thick fog. They rescue the last remaining survivor (John Rhys-Davies), but soon regret ever answering the distress call. People start getting stabbed and murdered by an evil entity who keeps jumping from body to body, trying to cheat death and avoid the ferryman. As more and more bodies go overboard, the remaining survivors must figure out how to defeat the evil presence…or wind up as fish food.

One thing I appreciated about The Ferryman is that it tried to be different. It didn’t try to be a gory slasher and certainly didn’t fall into the category of the so-called “torture porn” polluting the horror landscape these days, but tried something a little different. While I can appreciate its intentions, the end result just wasn’t good enough.

There is so much that can be culled from Greek mythology and used in horror films, and while The Ferryman tried using bits and pieces of lore, it just wasn’t cohesive or comprehensive enough with the treatment of its story. There were also odds and ends that felt rather forced and set up just to serve the outcome of the story (like the subplot about the little girl). The story itself moved rather slow and felt repetitive. Stabbing someone with a knife gets rather old after the first few times you’ve seen it. It also didn’t help that the “final girl” spent about half the movie unconscious.

While the story tended to get bogged down and boring, I must say that the acting was pretty well-done. I especially liked how drastically the characters changed after they were “invaded” by the evil spirit. The best performance came from Craig Hall when he was in this “possessed” state. He was maniacally brilliant! It also helped that you really felt for the characters when they were being brutalized (though the character development was shallow and stereotypical at best).

Still, despite the decent performances, the film has more problems than perks. One major bother is that it played less like a horror movie and more like a thriller. You knew where the evil presence was most of the time, so there was no possibility for tension or suspense. The scare tactic that was used was that these survivors had no where to run from this evil entity (oh ya, and there yacht was suddenly out of gas and conveniently couldn’t be operated), but it just didn’t work to make me feel frightened. Sad to say, there weren’t even any creepy moments – when we finally do get to see the ferryman, he looks more like the Creature from the Black Lagoon dripping in green algae that a deathly specter.

While I wouldn’t call The Ferryman a “bad” movie, it lacks a certain spark to make it anything more than lackluster. Might be good for a rental if you’ve got nothing but a few gold coins lying about…but you might want to save those for something other than The Ferryman.

Available from Amazon!

Witchboard (1986)

Ouija boards have always freaked me out and to this day I refuse to mess around with one. If they do work, who knows what might be lurking on the other side, biding its time for someone stupid enough to let it through. Witchboard, a lesser-known ’80s gem, utilizes this fear to create an entertaining and exciting movie that still manages to feel fresh after 20 years.

Jim and Linda are hosting a party in their apartment. Among the guests there is Brandon, Jim’s ex-best friend and Linda’s ex-boyfriend. Things are tense between Jim and Brandon, and things further escalate when Brandon whips out his Ouija board and enlists Linda’s help to contact a spirit of the young boy named David. Jim scoffs and mocks the Ouija board and the spirit that Brandon contacts, agitating the spirit and causing Brandon to storm off in a huff, leaving the Ouija behind.

The next day, Linda is drawn to the Ouija and attempts to contact David herself. It works, and soon the spirit is being quite friendly towards her and even helping her find a lost ring. Things take a sharp turn into “uh oh” territory when Linda gets overly agitated at Jim, starts cussing heavily and, oh ya, people start dying. The spirit of David becomes more and more violent and Linda becomes more and more obsessed with the Ouija board. Brandon and Jim must band together to stop the spirit before Linda falls under complete possession.

Witchboard is a rare film out of the ME! decade that doesn’t rely on the overdone boobs ‘n’ blood formula. It actually takes the time to craft some believable characters, gives us a love triangle that doesn’t feel forced and even has some atmospheric dream sequences, not to mention stylish camera work, that are both reminiscent of Italian horror films. With these strong elements, it creates one heck of an entertaining flick.

The character development alone, even with characters who die, is worth noting. Unlike most horror movies, we actually get to know the characters and they aren’t treated like bland cardboard cutouts. The characters explore various themes like love, friendship, motherhood, hate and so on, and thanks to writer (and director) Kevin Tenney the themes fit naturally and realistically in the film.

The acting is great, especially from Todd Allen playing Jim. Allen plays Jim as goofy but with a chip on his shoulder, and through the film his many layers are revealed. Tawny Kitaen not only has the best name ever, but is also pretty adorable as Linda, even though she does have a few fits of overacting. Brandon is played by Stephen Nichols, whose background in soap operas definitely shows. Still, his performance shouldn’t be dismissed by a few instances of silly overacting. The chemistry between the three leads is what really sells the film, as well as the development of each character.

Along with a well-written script, director Kevin Tenney (most famous for Night of the Demons) excels at creating a visually enticing film. Along with cinematographer Roy H. Wagner, Tenney crafts some impressively stylish scenes. I enjoyed the eerie dream sequences, the first of which gave me a real jolt! The sharp camera work keeps the plentiful jump scares feeling fresh while lending a whole other level of creepiness to the proceedings.

To lighten up the film, Kathleen Wilhoite appears as the flamboyant and wise-cracking psychic Zarabeth, who appears shortly only to quickly be impaled on an especially sharp sundial. We also get some silly jokes from Jim. For the most part, though, the tone of the film is serious and suspenseful.

Due to budgetary constraints, there isn’t that much gore save for some blood, a slashed neck and a hatchet to the head. I was glad that actual  story was interesting enough to hold its own and didn’t need to rely on gore for cheap thrills.

My only real complaint was the addition of a subplot that involved a detective (played by Burke Byrnes) following Jim around. It didn’t feel like it fit into the story and really hampered some scenes.

Despite that minor quibble, I felt Witchboard was a hidden delight. In the era of excess, it managed to be restrained, subtle and still knock my socks off with its well-developed story and characters. If you want to see an ’80s movie that is original, suspenseful and different from all the boobs ‘n’ blood slashers, check out Witchboard.

Oh, ya, and if you still want boobs ‘n’ blood, it’s got an unforgettable shower scene!

Available from Amazon!

The Gravedancers (2006)

You know, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a decent ghost story. This is why I was very excited to see The Gravedancers, part of the After Dark Horrorfest. I had missed it in theaters, so I was all over it when it came out on DVD. Did it live up to my expectations? Well, yes and no…

After attending the funeral of their friend, three friends sneak back into the cemetery at night to say their final farewells to their buddy. After getting drunk, they find a mysterious black card that contains a poem. Standing on a headstone, Sid (Marcus Thomas), one of the friends, reads the poem out loud. Meanwhile, Kira (Josie Maran) and Harris (Dominic Purcell of Prison Break fame) make with the smoochies, despite the fact that Harris is married to the devoted Allison (Clare Kramer). After the poem gets Kira and Harris’ attention, the three friends begin dancing atop some graves, just as the poem says to.

The next day, things seem to go back to normal (you know, except for the fact that Allison suspects something is going on with Kira and her husband). The next few weeks bring an array of strange occurrences to Harris and Allison’s new house. Pipes clank, the cat hisses at nothing and the piano plays by itself. Thinking that Kira might be stalking them like she’s done in the past, the two go to confront her at her house after one particularly frightening episode…but find her badly beaten and possibly raped by what she says is an invisible force. After dropping Kira at the hospital, Harris and Allison go to Sid’s, who is also experiencing paranormal activity in the form of small fires breaking out around his apartment. He has hired two paranormal investigators to get to the bottom of the haunting. Before long, the fact that the three friends danced on graves is revealed and the investigators tell them this is grave desecration. Upon further investigation it is revealed that the graves they danced upon belonged to the “condemned” – the murderers, psychopaths, rapists, criminally insane and the like. The poem that was read was actually a spell to release the spirits of the dead. Now, an ax-wielding adulteress is after Harris, a child pyromaniac is after Sid and, worst of all, a sadistic rapist/murderer is after Kira. The ghosts are active for one month, but are getting stronger each day. The friends must find a way to put the ghosts at peace before the ghosts lay them to rest.

I have mixed feelings about this film. It starts off pretty sweetly, all slow and moody as the ghosts begin their haunting. As the ghosts get stronger, their scare tactics get bigger and bigger. When the ghosts are actually able to manifest, they look delightfully creepy (and yes, perhaps even a little cheesy). The creepiest of them all is the gaunt, naked old rapist/murderer who is after Kira. Yet, the (unintentionally?) hilarious and over-the-top ending is what killed the movie for me. There’s nothing like a cheesy, huge CGI ghost-head chasing a Hummer that is plowing through wall after wall of a mansion to kill any residual creepiness.

Yet, I can’t help but remember how enjoyable ¾ of the movie was! Sure, it could have been a lot better, but this film is what it is, and it was fun! There’s nothing new here and no twists or very many surprises, but this movie is pure, brainless entertainment. Director Mike Mendez realized that this story has been done before (and better), so he just decided to have fun with it. Sure it didn’t live up to my expectations as my new favorite ghost film, but it did entertain me!

There are a few tension-filled scenes, my favorite being when Harris and Allison find Allison cowering in the corner of her house, covered in bite marks. Verrryyy creepy. Or check out the scene with Allison in the hospital. I’ll never look at a gurney the same again! When Sid, Kira, Harris and Allison all take refuge in the massive mansion of the paranormal investigators, the creeps really kick in as the three ghosts begin their attacks in earnest. Throat-slashings, being burning alive, ax murders, inappropriate fondling…it’s all here!

If you are in the mood for some “horror-lite” cinema, check out The Gravedancers for some pure popcorn cinema! The ending is entirely silly, but the rest of the film is quite enjoyable and definitely worth a rental.

Available on Amazon!

Prison of the Psychotic Dead (2006)

The now-abandoned Buffalo Central Station is said to be one of the most haunted places in America, with paranormal experts being able to capture numerous orbs in photographs and hear ghostly voices on EVP’s. Reports of cold spots and equipment malfunction, as well as persons experiencing dizziness and nausea, are common when investigating this site. With its blood-soaked past, it’s easy to see how a pain-filled place like Buffalo Central Terminal can be haunted, which, again, is why it is the perfect spot for a horror movie to be filmed in. Prison of the Psychotic Dead (aka Prison of the Psychotic Damned) succeeds in part because of its spectacular location at the Buffalo Central Station.

Five people arrive at the long-abandoned Buffalo Central Terminal to film a documentary about the supposedly haunted monstrosity. Reyna (Susan Adriensen) and her cameraman Jason (Jim Vaughn) are hoping to catch some paranormal activity on film and save Reyna’s floundering career. They bring three women with them: Aurora (Demona Bast), who has certain psychic abilities, Kansas (Melantha Blackthorne), who is hoping this excursion will convince her father not to cut off her trust fund, and Nessie (Noel Francomano), who only wants to help Reyna on one of her projects. As they wander the decaying structure’s vast tunnels, hallways and floors, strange noises and experiences began to occur. The Buffalo Central Terminal is a place who’s past is beset by tragedy…it has housed train accidents that killed over 200 and was even converted to a mental hospital for the criminally insane where doctors performed horrific experimental procedures on patients. Fires, murders and accidents plagued the structure until it was shut down. After it closed its doors permanently, a serial killer took up residence, raping and violently killing his victims. Strange and violent stories still surround the structure today, which begs the question, will the five survive the night in this hall of horrors past?

First of all, the filmmakers could not have picked a creepier place to film a horror movie. Buffalo Central Terminal sent shivers up my spine, even as I explored it through the TV screen. From its grand entrance to its dark and decaying basement, it speaks of a past long ago, but not forgotten. This low-budget film is shot halfway like the Blair Witch Project, where a character shoots film with a hand-held camera, and the other half is shot like a normal movie. It’s really the best of both worlds because the audience gets both the voyeuristic point of view as well as the characters’ point of view. Both views come in handy when the characters become separated from one another and truly creepy and horrific things begin to take place.

There are some great, cringe-worthy scenes in the film; nothing too over the top or with too much gore, but just enough to make you go, “Yechhhh!” A few creepy and scary moments also made me jump, which is rare for a horror film to do nowadays. I do wish, though, that more of the ghostly tormentors had been shown instead of focusing on the giant orb that attacked the group. This was all a bit hokey to me and so much more could have been done to really scare me. I did enjoy the spook that attacked poor Nessie and I wish I had seen more ghouls like that! Aurora’s “doll collection” scene was a sight to behold, and probably my favorite from the film. If you pick up this film, you’ll know which one I mean.

The performances were great all around. It’s rare for an independent film to have strong performances from all the actors, but Prison of the Psychotic Dead managed to pull it off. Melantha Blackthorne was great as the tough-as-nail Kansas who has a secret to hide. I also loved Demona Bast as Aurora – she is gorgeous and a wonderful actress. Noel Francomano brought an exuberance and amusing innocence to her role as Nessie, while Susan Adriensen as Reyna held the fort down as the authoritarian with her own secrets. Jason, played by Jim Vaughn, brought much comic relief to the tense atmosphere of the film.

Prison of the Psychotic Dead was a great “haunted asylum”-type movie, especially for it being low budget. With great performances, an entertaining (and fact-based) story and one hell of a creepy setting, Prison of the Psychotic Dead makes for a great late-night viewing. Just be sure to check your dollies before you go to sleep…

Available on Amazon!

Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills (2006)

Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills is a revealing look at one of the most haunted places in America, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The sprawling, 5-story structure is located on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky. It was opened in the 1920s as a hospital for the "White Plague," or tuberculosis. There was no cure for tuberculosis until the 1960s, when the hospital was then converted to an old folk's home. It forever shut its doors in the early '80s due to patient abuse. In its infamous history, Waverly Hills claimed over 63,000 lives.

Waverly Hills is one of the most haunted and most frightening places in the United States today. The documentary is spooky, spine-tingling and sad…perfect to watch all by your lonesome one dark night. For the most part I enjoyed it and thought the filmmakers did a fine job.

The documentary explores the history of the sanatorium floor-by-floor, starting at the first and working up to the fifth. Actual ghost hunters were filmed and their evidence presented, including paranormal sounds and images captured on tape and film. Old employees and patients of the hospital were interviewed, along with the current owners, security guards and those who've visited the massive structure. Many ghost stories and encounters are retold, including a sighting of famous ghostly girl Mary, who many times asks visitors if they want to play. Shadow people, imps, orbs and ectoplasmic activity are all covered, as well as the infamous “death tunnel,” which was a long tunnel that the staff used to transport dead bodies from the hospital down to the main road.

I thought the documentary covered a lot in its 72 or so minutes. It was well-done, appropriately respectful and downright creepy. The photographs of ghosts were the most startling and intriguing, though I wish a little more time had been spent trying to capture ghosts on film. My only other complaint was the audio during some of the interviews. I just couldn’t hear/understand what was being said and the documentary really could have benefited from subtitles during the interview portions.

The documentary was done by the Booth Brothers, who also did Death Tunnel (which was also shot at Waverly and the doc gives us some behind the scenes of the film). Even though Death Tunnel has been slammed (and was a little too plugged during the documentary), Spooked intrigued me enough to move Death Tunnel to the top of my Netflix queue.

Anyone who is interested in haunted places and wants a good spine-tingling should check out Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills.

Available on Amazon!

Evil Behind You (2006)

Have you ever heard something, only to turn around and find nothing there? Could you have sworn that someone was watching you, only to find no one when you looked? Have you felt a cold breeze where there shouldn’t have been one? Evil Behind You questions the unseen, making the audience consider the possibility of another realm.

Two women wake up in a dank, dark, windowless room with no recollection as to how they got there. After groggily getting up, Lisa (Hilary Kennedy) and Debra (Gwendolynn Murphy) realize that their significant others have been operated on and are locked to their hospital beds, being monitored by electrodes. Two seemingly dead men occupy opposite ends of the room, rounding out their happy little tea party. When Lisa’s boyfriend David (Manuel Velazquez) and Debra’s husband Tony (D.C. Lee) finally come to, the four try and figure out how and why they ended up there. David and Tony soon begin to see and feel things that the women can’t…things that are evil and want to do them harm. Tony swears there is something behind him, only to have Debra look and find nothing. Then he suddenly turns ice cold and yells that something cold is on top of him. These intense moments continue throughout the film as the guys and their unbelieving girlfriend and wife try to figure out what’s happening. Meanwhile, we meet who kidnapped the couples. It’s a terrorist organization trying to perfect biological warfare. Unfortunately, they’ve only succeeded in opening up another realm.

This film has been faced with a lot of controversy, but not because it features the standard bucketloads of gore, blood and nudity, etc. The controversy stems from the exact opposite – the lack of gore and nudity and the fact that it features Christian themes. Some Christians are furious because some don’t think Christians should watch or be involved in the making of a horror film. Most horror fans, on the other hand, turn their noses at anything that is tagged “Christian” for fear of being preached at. Jim Carroll, who wrote and directed this feature, has had a hard time garnering support, distribution and publicity because of the stigma the words “Christian Horror” embody. If people would just give this film a chance before refusing to watch it, they would realize it is neither blasphemous nor preachy. Bottom line, the film is enjoyable whether you’re a Christian or not!

Being a low-budget film, the acting is a little campy at times, but two great stand-outs were Hilary Kennedy playing sweet but kick ass Lisa and Manuel Velazquez as her boyfriend. The two made a very convincing and caring couple. The demon effects were a bit cheesy for me, but they don’t ruin the whole experience. I enjoyed the story and the flashbacks of each character were a nice way to build empathy for them and bring some real heart into the story. I thought the story and flashbacks could have flowed and transitioned together a little better, but overall a well-done job. The atmosphere created in the small room with the unseen evil was intense and I’d love to see what the cast and crew do next.

Fans of low-budget thrillers should definitely give this film a look, as should fans of paranormal films. The idea behind Evil Behind You is definitely frightening, as there just may be a whole other realm we cannot see but only catch glimpses of from the corner of our eyes.

Available on Amazon!

Afterthought (2006)

Afterthought is an intelligent, refreshing and slick-looking independent spookshow set in a hockey-obsessed high school in Wisconsin.

Kristy is a high school student is having reoccurring nightmares of a young dead boy. Her father passed away years ago, and she learns that he left her with the gift to see and communicate with the dead. Kristy is part of the popular hockey clique, which includes her best friend Mindy and her boyfriend and star player Elliot. The outcast of the hockey team is Kyle, who happens to be friends with Kristy. Kristy has a premonition about someone dying at the high school, and sure enough, a hockey player is murdered in the locker room. As more and more people die, Kyle comes under suspicion for the murders as he and Kristy grow closer, while Kristy is haunted further by the ghost of the little boy. Can the young boy help Kristy unlock the secret of his past and who is behind the murders?

First off, this independent feature has a very professional look to it. The opening credits alone grabbed my attention, as did the highly professional score and music. The production values throughout the entire film are very high, which is always a pleasure to see in an indie. The focus on quality really shines throughout the entire movie, from the production values to the acting, the story, the directing and the cinematography.

The story is surprisingly intelligent and keeps you guessing through to the end. The characters are wisely well-developed and I actually cared about what happened to them, unlike most horror films set in high school. The characters don't make stupid decisions and aren't stereotypes of high school students, but feel like real people you or I know. All of the actors do a great job, especially the lead in the role of Kristy.

The overall atmosphere is creepy and foreboding and the supernatural element of the creepy dead kid adds much to the slasher aspect of the film. The kid reminds me of the J-Horror kids like Toshio from Ju-On, but not in a bad way. The ghost child is very creepy, especially in his first appearance. There are plenty of jump scares, but not the cheap fake-outs featured in so many movies today. No, these scares are actually...scary (imagine that!)!

This film also captures the drama of high school life, especially being on a sports team. In this particular case, it's the hockey team and we get some great shots of a game. The backstabbing of high school is well-portrayed, as is the strong bond of friendship.

This movie was a real jolt to watch, a jolt that is sorely needed in the indie horror genre. It proves that you don't have to make a dumbed-down movie to be successful. Smart, creepy and a surprising and satisfying ending make Afterthought a winner in my book.

Shadows (2005)

Years ago, in an isolated mansion, a woman called Lady Jane found her husband and her sister having an affair. In a jealous rage, she stabbed them both with a large butcher knife. To this day her ghost still stalks the halls, looking for more cheating couples to exact her revenge on. In present day, a college parapsychology class spends a weekend in the mansion and records any paranormal activity they experience. Their professor, Julie, has a strong belief in the paranormal, while their other professor, Paul, is a skeptic. Still, both want to see the effect the house has on their students. Their students include happy couple John and Heather, quarreling couple Richard and Debbie, the class slut Stevie, the loner chick Angel, sensitive hippie chick Star and instructional aides Benny and Bobby. Each person has his or her own hidden agenda as to why they are there. Will the group find any evidence that Lady Jane exists or is what they witness all in their heads? Will past and present secrets destroy the group before Lady Jane gets to them?

I have to give this film props for accomplishing what it set out to do, which is be a commercially viable flick. It looks pretty slick for a low-budget film, with pretty high production values. Unfortunately, there's nothing new here except for a cool parapsychology/hypnotherapy twist that does little to make up for the blandness of the rest of the movie. This movie isn't horrible, but I've seen it all before and it left me quite bored.

It takes about an hour into the movie for anything to actually happen. Before that all we get are flashbacks of the Lady Jane murders, people jumping at things they see through windows/mirrors and visions of a stabbed man on the lawn. The kids have time to relax, have some margaritas, do a little skinny dipping and even have a frickin' makeover before any of the real action actually starts. Most of the time I felt like I was watching a teen comedy romp with all the drama and nudity.

I wouldn't even call Shadows a horror movie; it is more like a light psychological thriller that features a bunch of stereotypical college-age (though they act like high schoolers) kids. About the only thing I did like was the hypnotherapy twist at the end, which was the only thing fresh about this movie.

Overall, a pretty boring, unoriginal story that moves at a snail's pace before getting to the goods but would probably play well to more mainstream audiences.

The Booth (2005)

Another Japanese horror movie, but definitely not a typical one.

Via Netflix:

When he's forced to evacuate his regular studio for renovations, Shogo (Ryuta Sato), a popular radio disc jockey, temporarily moves into the building's mysterious Studio 6, which has stood empty ever since its last occupant committed suicide. Trouble is, it doesn't take long for strange things to start happening inside the new booth, prompting Shogo to wonder whether he's losing his mind -- or seeing ghosts.

This movie was pretty intense, with a caller phoning in to Shogo's radio show to quietly but repeatedly call him a "liar." From there, things began to get even creepier. As Shogo begins to question his sanity, so does the audience, as we aren't quite sure what is real and what isn't.

The story is told from Shogo's perspective, and each time he is called a liar from the mystery caller, we are treated to a flashback of him being especially nasty to someone, usually his coworkers. Shogo slowly starts to lose it, as he suspects his coworkers to be seeking revenge, while more and more of his listeners want to know about the paranormal activity happening inside The Booth.

I liked this movie much more than I anticipated I would. It stayed far away from the typical J-Horror scares dealing with small children or women with long, black hair, and instead sent a slow, but progressive shiver up my spine.

Order it on Amazon!

Seance (2000)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films always leave me speechless. I saw Kairo (aka Pulse) a while ago, and was left amazed. Upon finishing the film, I was disappointed, as I had completely different expectations of it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterward. It was so dark and nihilistic about the human condition, about how people are so disconnected from each other. After thinking about it, I realized I really did like it. The US remake of it will undoubtedly be crap, opting for jump scares instead of the mounting dread, and will probably take the tone in a completely different direction.

With Seance, Kurosawa left me speechless again. This film was made for TV in Japan, yet manages to surpass most US theatrical films in beauty and substance. A couple, Sato and Junco, live disconnected lives. They seem to still be in love, but aren't quite connected anymore. Sato works as a sound engineer while Junco is a psychic who specializes in seances. Junco also works with a psychologist to prove that psychic phenomena is real. Meanwhile, a little girl is kidnapped from a playground by a man hoping to collect a ransom from her parents.

The kidnapper takes the little girl into the woods, where Sato happens to be recording some woodsy sounds for his job. The little girl escapes from the abductor, and hides in one of Sato's sound equipment cases. Sato then leaves to go home, locking up the case with the child inside. The case sits in his garage, without him or Junco knowing what is inside.

The police catch the kidnapper, but during the capture he is hit with scaffolding and goes into a coma. The police have no clues to the little girl's whereabouts, so they enlist the help of Junco. The police give Junco a handkerchief that belonged to the girl, but she doesn't sense anything until she gets home. Here Junco senses the girl nearby and discovers her in the garage.

Instead of going to the hospital or calling the police, Junco insists that she and Sato keep the little girl there. Junco wants to turn the situation to her advantage, to make her a rich and famous psychic. Her and Sato string the police along, telling them where to find the girl's shoes (that they placed themselves) and assuring them that Junco just needs a little more time to find the girl.

Things quickly go wrong when the little girl dies and Junco and Sato have to cover up more and more and deal with the girl's ghost, while Junco still tries to make a name for herself.

This film was not scary, but like Kairo, it creates a mounting sense of dread. I enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. It is very slow paced and very quiet. Kurosawa manages to find dread in well-lit, airy places, not an easy task to pull off. There are only a few ghosts in the film, the most prominent being the little girl's ghost. Check this out if you are into more mature horror, like Kairo.

Order it on Amazon!