JK Reviews: Noroi

[Julianking93]

[HEADING=1]Noroi[/HEADING]
​

As many may know by now, I'm an avid horror fan. Japanese horror to be specific and when I first heard about Noroi from a random Amazon list, I was a bit skeptical but I ended up checking it out due to my extreme curiosity. Why was I so curious? Because I couldn't find a damn thing about it outside of a short Wikipedia entry and an almost desolate IMDB page. I had to find out more and no matter what I heard about it, I had to see it for myself. What resulted was me watching what is quite possibly one of the most horrifying films I've ever seen.

Having almost completely flown under the radar in the west, Noroi is shot in a, what is now most likely overused, mockumentary style of film making and centres around a paranormal investigative journalist, Masafumi Kobyashi and his team as they film a new documentary. "I want the truth. No matter how terrifying, I want the truth," he boasts, desperately seeking answers to the mystery. Naturally, the main journalist goes missing and he leaves behind his final tape for the public to see what really happened. Sound familiar? It starts off as a series of seemingly unconnected events centering around unrelated people?s strange or paranormal experiences all documented by Kobyashi.

Basically, it's just another ghost story filmed on a cheap budget with a shaky cam, right? Not necessarily. The story is rather straightforward at first and yes, it's done in the shaky camera style like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity, but Noroi does it in a way that feels fresh, despite using a gimmick that has become a bit tired at this point. To classify it as Japan's answer to The Blair Witch would be far too simple to say and would be an insult to the film.

True, the film derives a lot of plot points and key themes from other, more well known Japanese movies, but like with the Asia Extreme series of films, it takes those overused plot elements and pushes them forward in a way that makes them feel new and able to judge them on their own merits. That becomes far more apparent around the 15-minute mark of the film when things really begin to pick up.

For the first few minutes, I was ready to turn it off, easily discrediting it as another campy horror film, on par with random "Most Haunted" videos you?d find on Youtube uploaded by 13 year olds. Yet, instead, I was pleasantly surprised by a film that not only had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen to the main characters, but also looking forward to the next ghostly encounter. What sets Noroi apart from other films in the same vain is its realism. If you were to tell me it was a real documentary and I not been the wiser, I would have believed you.


Many of the shakycam romps most commonly seen lack one key element and that's the ability to draw the viewer in. This is something the film does better than any film I've seen in a long while. What starts off as the aforementioned, "unrelated events" soon turns out to be more connected than once thought and thus the mystery is born and that's where the film's main achievements lie. What helps the immersion of the film is its almost near perfect pacing. Nothing ever feels forced or overwhelming when not needed. Everything is constantly building. Each scare is a slight bit creepier than the last until it finally comes to the dramatic climax, which literally had me shaking. Yes, this film actually had me shaking by the end of it.

The viewer's most likely reaction by the end of the film​

The beauty of its horror elements is that it isn't really scary. Hardly ever relying on jump scares or cheap scare tactics to shock the audience. Rather, it maintains a constant essence of tense fear as opposed to outright scares. There are moments of shock, yes but here, they work even when they're rarely used.

I won't mention much of the story passed what's already been said, as the story is the biggest highlight of the film. As stated previously, the mystery is what keeps this film entertaining and what draws the viewer in from the get go, so I wouldn't dare spoil that here.


Of course, no film is ever perfect and it does have its flaws. For one, the movie is quite long for something of this subject. At two hours and fifteen minutes, it can feel a bit drawn out at times. I'll admit, there were places where the film felt like it could come to an end around the hour and a half mark, albeit a far less satisfying ending. Along with this, the film suffers from a couple of weak performances by the actors themselves. While the majority of the main cast does a great job, a few actors seem to be a bit overly dramatic during certain scenes. Perhaps it's just something in Japanese culture or maybe I just can't tell what good acting is, but some of the performances here seem to break the flow a bit but it?s nothing to really complain about as it didn?t lesser the experience for me.

This in itself is pretty terrifying​

In addition, Noroi has some very infrequent usage of CGI, which while not horrid, is obviously low budget and one of the bigger scares towards the end using a computerized ghost felt out of place and a bit poorly done overall. However, the use of computer graphics is only used a few times and not bad enough to ruin the film by any means.

Even with my slight complaints here and there, this is still a fantastic movie. Not only does it excel on the front of Japanese cinema, but also it manages to be one of the better horror/mysteries in a long while. Is it reinventing the genre? No but does it really have to? The biggest strength the film has going for it is its simplicity and it does a damn good job at being intensely creepy.

So in conclusion, Noroi is a film that ended up scaring me like no other before it and most likely, like no other after. It has all of what a good horror movie should have without bashing the viewer over the head with it. With the combination of eerie atmosphiric music, constant fearful and subtle tension throughout and the overall creep factor of the whole mystery and never quite knowing what's going on or what the hell just happened makes it a worthwhile film to seek out when you get the chance.

Spoiler: Rating

Spoiler: Other JK Reviews

Movies:
Best Movies of the Decade [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.164045-Best-Films-of-the-Decade-Warning-Extremely-Long-Review]

Inception [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.215806-JK-Reviews-Inception]

Oldboy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.236848-JK-Reviews-Oldboy]

Thirst [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.238393-JK-Reviews-Thirst]

Games:
Bayonetta [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.169030-JK-Reviews-Bayonetta-Warning-May-Contain-Spoilers]

Game of the Year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163760-Celebration-for-My-5000th-post-Game-of-the-Year-awards]

God of War III [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.182952-JK-Reviews-God-of-War-III]

NieR [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.203204-JK-Reviews-NIER]


Castlevania: Lament of Innocence [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206361-JK-Reviews-Castlevania-Lament-of-Innocence]

Maximo: Ghosts To Glory [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.212014-JK-Reviews-Maximo-Ghosts-To-Glory]

Kingdom Hearts [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.229506-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Kingdom-Hearts]

Kingdom Hearts II [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.230725-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Kingdom-Hearts-II]

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.248762-JK-Reviews-Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood]

Top 12 Games of 2010 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.252471-JKs-Top-12-Best-Games-of-2010]

Music:
Equilibrium's ReKreatur [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.204108-JK-Reviews-Equilibrium-ReKreatur]

Remember, that I am now taking requests for reviews, so any suggestions for future reviews or lists you may have, please let me know via PM or in the replies to this review.

 

[Sassafrass]

Interesting...very interesting...*Puffs on pipe* I have deduced you don't like The Blair Witch Project. Review that next, just for a change of pace. XD

Anyway, a very good review, Julian. Nice flow, good layout and a very good read. It's informative, fun and at times, a little cheeky with the side swipes at other movies and Youtube.[footnote]Pleeeeeeeeeease review Blair Witch, I haven't seen you rip anything apart yet. I think it'd be fun to read. XD[/footnote]

As for the film itself, tell me. Does it have any creepy children in it? As I hate any film that has creepy children in it and are they done well? I almost stopped watching 30 Days of Night because of that vampire kid but I could watch Let Me In as...well, it wasn't scary at all.

 

[Julianking93]

snip

That's actually how I watched it. On Youtube.
That only speaks more for the film as it still managed to scare the hell out of me >>

But thank you for the comment and saying the review is "Teh Secks" as you put it. I'm taking that as a very good compliment ^-^

So yeah, see it if you can! Though, I believe it did have an English release at some point.

snip

I actually have only seen a bit of the Blair Witch Project, so I'll watch it and see if I like it or not. Or if it sucks, either way, I'll review it. Thanks for the suggestion ^_^

As for creepy children, yes. That's one of the central themes and one of the bigger scares at the end. So... uh... yeah, if it scares you like that, then... fuck it, just watch it anyway XD

 

[Marter]

The beauty of its horror elements is that it isn't really scary. Hardly ever relies on jump scares or cheap scare tactics to shock the audience
Second sentence seems...off. Like, there needs to be an "it" to begin it, or relies needs to be changed to "relying".

That really stuck out for me for some reason.

Apart from that...yeah, it's a good review, and I now might watch this.

 

[Zeromaxx]

The beauty of its horror elements is that it isn't really scary. Hardly ever relying on jump scares or cheap scare tactics to shock the audience. Rather, it maintains a constant essence of tense fear as opposed to outright scares. There are moments of shock, yes but here, they work even when they're rarely used.

I agree with you 100%, I was left with a niggling feeling of fear in the back of my mind growing and growing until I noticed something outside that well, lacking a more eloquent expression, scared me shitless. This was the entire charm of the movie, I almost turned it off until I noticed everything connecting together in a way that made me worry about the characters and, eventually, let the dread creep into my own mind.

Of course, no film is ever perfect and it does have its flaws. For one, the movie is quite long for something of this subject. At two hours and fifteen minutes, it can feel a bit drawn out at times. I'll admit, there were places where the film felt like it could come to an end around the hour and a half mark, albeit a far less satisfying ending.

I felt this way too. They could have taken out some of the more padded scenes but it probably would have taken away from the overall feel of being a real documentary.

This was a very good review, overall. Nothing really stuck out, grammatically speaking, and it was well formatted.

Pleeeeeeeeeease review Blair Witch, I haven't seen you rip anything apart yet. I think it'd be fun to read. XD

You want to see him rip something to shreds? Hey Julian, review the television show Jersey Shore!

 

[Julianking93]

snip

Ah, glad you liked it! It was indeed a great film that relied mostly on subtlety and that's one of the things I love most in movies; when subtlety is the main element. When a theme is repeatedly bashed over your head for 2 hours, it becomes ridiculous.

You want to see him rip something to shreds? Hey Julian, review the television show Jersey Shore!

FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKK THHHAAAAAAAAT!!!

 

[My name is Fiction]

"I liked the review, its so unknown of a movie it seem mysterious."
"I prefer J Horror even though I don't watch much of it, has a psychological edge."
"You should review Alan Wake, it's a good blend of suspense."

 

[zombiesinc]

Hm, solid review Jules. I noticed the same as Fargo, but that's just nitpicking. As for the movie itself, I d'unno... I may watch it, but that's unlikely. The list of movies I've already told myself I'll be watching is quite large. Since it's available on YouTube I may just check it out, but I highly doubt I'll be able to tolerate over two hours of shaky cam, low budget, ghostly-ness.

Oh, I should add that I really like the poster, although I'm still unsure if that's enough to convince me to sit in front of this computer to watch a movie. Not when I have Netflix in my room. Neope.

 

[Julianking93]

snip

Thanks, Jenn. Yeah, I noticed the picture thing but it just looked... weirder without a third picture >>

Anyway, it's not that bad on shaky cam. It's much more stable and there aren't many (as in, only around 2 or 3) times when the camera is shaky. I wouldn't like a movie like that anyway :3

But, unfortunately, movie ain't on Netflix >>
In fact, I can't find it anywhere but Youtube and had to watch it there. Still a great film and it says a lot about it if it's able to still be good on Youtube ^-^

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Dang, I just borrowed this movie from a friend. Now I'll have to sit down and watch it.