![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-jjUAySBHyisAQCjNMIO6krH0t2L04sV9kSlDY0tXg0JUUQLPVa_fISjH-Sj9IqbYB954QLCPFEcwnpLTaukgMpZtaFrUagbUKh_0owja-0maSrVG23gaVTuomv9NdfaPYff/s400/kokk+dvd.jpg)
KOKKURI
(1997, Japan, Kokkuri-San)
Region 1 NTSC DVD (Asia-Vision/Urban-Vision)
Can’t say that I enjoyed this much. The supernatural element was too slight, and the drama too low-budget. It was highly reminiscent of the Korean Whispering Corridors films, but centred on boyfriends, instead of the girls' relationships with each other. A love triangle gets mixed up in a truth game disguised as a ouija-type summoning of a spirit.
As usual the Japanese get hung up on the exact nature of the rules of the ghost-summoning, rather than talk examine their relationships and misunderstandings.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TICzxAftKTpNthHm4qusxMQtW2wdmV-v2PTH98h86ZRVKgpTtJNsHt8lyLZoLq5aK2zQeLrtKDCufML6ppljqOXEzz0JT1yWRKrRAKoYJ3q_lA1aX6tVwnP83vS3u_NSgyop/s400/kokkuri+05.jpg)
The sexual element was unusually explicit, setting this apart from most Japanese horror films. The nudity also made this a more realistic teenage drama, when most mainstream dramas barely show romantic couples touching, let alone kissing.
The dramatic ploy of having one of the girls hosting a radio show, playing recordings of distressed listeners, seemed all too far-fetched. None of the adult radio producers in the studio intervene when it’s all going wrong, and one of them is her elder sister! The use of reel-to-reel decks giveaway the fact that the film is 10 years old.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNjar_kFkkC_IVhDK_jReXbgNsQ-pWuEyHiAtnn5sJ57Zd6huo29-dYWBJcMzDpQXlqBRKw8e-c3lQQC8bwTGaKtaXSEYZaYNfmpxGJLLbYPH0tFDncVj4mSxmhjV-YRNaUJT/s400/kokkuri+07.jpg)
The DVD picture is quite soft, and seemed to be off an old analogue master, complete with tape creases, rather than digital faults, and the letterbox was non-anamorphic, also a sign that it’s a pre-digital master. Despite being a US release, the subtitle translations seemed to be quite loose, making the plot more confusing than it should have been.
The dramatic ploy of having one of the girls hosting a radio show, playing recordings of distressed listeners, seemed all too far-fetched. None of the adult radio producers in the studio intervene when it’s all going wrong, and one of them is her elder sister! The use of reel-to-reel decks giveaway the fact that the film is 10 years old.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNjar_kFkkC_IVhDK_jReXbgNsQ-pWuEyHiAtnn5sJ57Zd6huo29-dYWBJcMzDpQXlqBRKw8e-c3lQQC8bwTGaKtaXSEYZaYNfmpxGJLLbYPH0tFDncVj4mSxmhjV-YRNaUJT/s400/kokkuri+07.jpg)
The DVD picture is quite soft, and seemed to be off an old analogue master, complete with tape creases, rather than digital faults, and the letterbox was non-anamorphic, also a sign that it’s a pre-digital master. Despite being a US release, the subtitle translations seemed to be quite loose, making the plot more confusing than it should have been.
It was more drama than ghost story. I was kind of disappointed.
ReplyDelete