"Shutter" ** (out of ****)Before I watched "Shutter" I didn't know much about it. It wasn't until the opening credits began I realized this is a remake of a Thai horror film and is yet another entry into the "J-horror" genre.
Most recently I reviewed another "J-horror" film "One Missed Call" also released in 2008. Then there was "The Eye" which I have not gotten around to reviewing yet. In my review for "One Missed Call" I explained my dissatisfaction with this genre. There is a bit of a culture clash. I don't find these films scary. The premise of these films are often so goofy and off-the-wall I'm unable to understand how these films could actually scare someone.
"Shutter" like most films in the genre has deep psychological themes played out and I've noticed are commentaries on modern day technology. Think back to the film that started it all, "The Ring", there a video tape killed people. Then two films were made concerning phones; "One Missed Call" and "Phone" and now we have a film about cameras. The evil spirits travel through these devices to attack their prey. Are we correct to assume these films are warnings on the rapid technology making its way through Asia?
This remake of "Shutter" (the original was made in 2004) has a newlywed American couple; Ben (Joshua Jackson) and Jane (Rachel Taylor) Shaw on a business trip in Japan. Ben is a photographer, who use to live in Japan and has been called back by some old business partners; Bruno (David Denman) and Adam (Josh Hensley) to do a photo shoot for them.
Before arriving to their hotel Ben and Jane get into a car accident when Jane says someone was walking in the middle of the road on a dark night. Jane says she hit the woman, Ben says he saw nothing. The police are called and no traces of blood or a body are found. Later, the next day, the couple notices strange images on their photos. We find out these are called "spirit images". It is a way for the dead to contact the living. The images however are of the woman Jane says she hit. Could could this spirit possibly want from them?
"Shutter" doesn't work because it does nothing new or exciting. It is a by the numbers horror film with all the "scares" coming in all the right places. Luckily the film isn't very long, a mere 89 minutes (and that's including the ending credits, which you don't have to watch anyway).
The performances are somewhat effective. Jackson, known for his turn on "Dawson's Creek" goes back to the horror genre, he was in "Urban Legend" and had a brief role in one of the "Scream" movies. It seems his career has not gone anywhere since the end of that TV show so returned to a genre he thought his audience base would want to see him in. Taylor is a new face to me and reminds me of Naomi Watts and "Shutter" reminds me a bit of "The Ring", though this film doesn't go in all the loopy directions "The Ring" did.
The film was adapted by Luke Dawson. This is his first full length script, he wrote one short film before this. He might be the underlying problem with this movie. Who knows, maybe somehow a truly effective film could have been made dealing with an evil camera but Dawson doesn't know how to write a suspenseful scene. Or is it the fault of the director, Masayuki Ochiai, who doesn't know how to create a proper atmosphere? Either way there is just something slightly off about this film. The viewer is never taken in by the characters and their situations.
The best part of the film is the ending, and no, not because the film is over. The ending is somewhat clever as we learn all the twist and turns, which aren't that surprising, even if, like me, you never saw the original. There are only so many directions a film such as this could go in and the viewer pretty much has it figured out well before the end of the film.
If someone is looking to rent a decent "J-horror" film you have some better options. Though I didn't recommend "One Missed Call" check that out instead or rent "The Grudge" or a little known film, which luckily has not been given an American remake, "Tale of Two Sisters". "Shutter" is close to the bottom of the list.
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