Kuroyuri danchi (2013) Reviews

• Enjoyable yet scary enough Japanese horror movie. Several unexpected turns of events make it worthwhile seeing

  JvH482013-04-03

  I saw this film at the Brussel fantastic film festival 2013 (BIFFF) together with nearly 1000 people. Contrary to what I am used to in other film festivals, the audience was not dead silent but yelled some comments from time to time. I have been at many film festivals, but this "participating" behavior was completely new to me. I observed this also with other films in this festival, thus it may belong to local folklore. Anyway, it was not annoying or disturbing, just remarkable and unusual. The plot seemed so simple during the first half, but rest assured that it gets more complicated later on. Don't repeat my mistake by thinking that the dying neighbor was an important issue. As the story progresses we see several hints that there is more going on, much more in fact. Take for instance the lonely child who Asuka encounters when walking through the neighborhood when she just moved in a new apartment with her family. And her observation about a dialog between her parents that repeats itself daily, a phenomenon that her parents of course deny. And there was an earlier bus accident with Asuka as the sole survivor. Take note that there are more such hints, and these get mixed together eventually. As a heads up to future viewers: it is important to take these hints seriously from the moment they appear. All in all, I found this film rather enjoyable and yet scary enough, a mixture that I missed in many Japanese horror movies I saw in the past. The growing relationship between Asuka and Shinobu might have resulted in a happy end, with everyone living happily ever after, but this is not exactly (euphemism alert!) what is going to happen. To avoid spoilers I cannot say more than to be prepared that things are not developing as you might expect upfront.

• Hideo Nakata returns with a creepy supernatural horror film

  Red-Barracuda2013-06-26

  The director of this film, Hideo Nakata, is most famous as the man responsible for Ring (1998). That film proved to be one of the most memorable and iconic of all Japanese horror movies. And one of the most terrifying. So it was with great anticipation that I approached his new horror film, The Complex. It tells the story of a girl called Asuka who moves into a new apartment complex with her family. She quickly hears rumours that it is haunted and before long sinister unexplainable events begin to occur. The first impression is that this isn't of the standard of Ring. It doesn't have the incredible original central idea that underpinned that one and made it so creepy. However, like that one, The Complex takes its time building an atmosphere of dread that culminates in a pretty intense finale. Events build up piece by piece – an elderly neighbour is found dead next door, strange sounds are heard in the night and Asuka's parents seemingly have the exact same conversation each and every morning. The latter event is a clue of sorts, as it soon becomes apparent that Asuka's family all died in a bus crash leaving her the sole survivor. The conversation that she continually hears is the one they had on the fateful morning. The very fact that Asuka is not immediately aware of the impossibility of her parents living in the same house as her suggests that she may in fact be psychologically damaged. Are all the subsequent events in her head too? It's difficult to say on a single viewing but whatever the case, the supernatural events surround a little boy who it turns out is a malevolent ghost. He was tragically killed while hiding in a bin during a game of hide and seek and he now takes vengeance on the inhabitants of the complex where he once lived. In a similar way to traditional European vampire lore, he can only cause havoc on a person if they willingly let him into their home. Needless to say, one night he is given a chance to exert his evil; the very same night that a spiritualist attempts to exorcise him in an elaborate ritual. While The Complex is not of the standard of Ring, it still remains a very effective horror film. There is some potent imagery, particularly in the latter stages. While the combination of the supernatural ghost story with the psychological workings of the protagonists mind is done well and ensures that this is a film that would invite a re-watch.

• Scary? Absolutely. Directing? Maybe this time Nakata got a little sloppy.

  thefadingcam2013-09-14

  Hideo Nakata, director of the original The Ring and Dark Waters, returns with The Complex, supernatural horror about a young woman that moves to a new apartment in a mysterious complex. The Complex is a weird and hard to review movie... It is very intense and very scary at times, with a type of horror that never bets on jump scares, but mostly on anticipation and build-up intensity. The problem with The Complex resides with its structure. The movie changes mood and pace too often and too drastically, leaving the audience confused questioning the legitimacy of some scenes. The scenes seem to be placed with little criteria, like a puzzle that's is missing some pieces and has others upside down. It lacks solidity, leading to the inevitable feeling of unrealism: we are always aware that this is only a movie, and that is a shame because we should be absorbed and bothered by horror films. Scary? Absolutely. Well directed? Maybe this time Nakata got a little sloppy. Visit thefadingcam blog for more!

• An interesting story, with good cinematography, but not quite what I'd hoped for

  jaythejza2013-06-26

  I watched this film during the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2013. I had high hopes for this film, as it was being directed by Hideo Nakata, director of Ringu. It was an OK movie, unfortunately there was nothing too special about it. The story was based around a new family that moved into a new housing complex, but the daughter, Asuka, began having strange experiences around the home, involving her neighbour & a young boy who always played alone. There was good cinematography & Nakata did set the scenes well, building the tensions as you would expect from him. He created a sense of normal everyday life early on, while at the same time giving the audience an subtle clues that all is not quite right. There was a great use of unsettling music to add to the scenes, but I just felt like it didn't pay off, it just felt creepy at best. The characters were interesting, with the lead actress playing Asuka doing a great job at carrying the tension & suspense through the earlier parts of the movie. There were a few typical Japanese horror clichés, but it didn't take away from the movie. I ended up feeling like I witnessed an interesting story, with the odd cheap scare & nothing more, when I was hoping for a little more creepy & scary.

• Twisty, underrated thriller

  rwaller-688-5933402016-12-09

  The Complex isn't a perfect film, but it builds on a time-honored formula: Nothing is what it seems to be. 'Ringu' director Hideo Nakata is back with a thriller that may annoy you with seemingly random plot twists, changes of scene, and viewpoint changes, but stick with it, there's a terrifying story behind all the confusion. In fact, The Complex resembles a Korean thriller more than a J-horror flick, in the kaleidoscopic subjective-cinema way things are frequently turned upside down to reveal more of what's really going on. The truth, once you discover it, is nothing really new, but its truly thriling in the way the pieces fall together (I'm pretty sure a lot of the low ratings were from people who got lost), and it's genuinely scary all the way through, and the lovely cinematography and some fine performances by the young stars help lift it up to near-Ringu status. But what puts it over the top is an exciting, compelling score by veteran composer Kenji Kawai, which keeps the heart racing. I've seen them all, and this one still scared the heck out of me, while doing an ingenious job orchestrating the threatening power of grief and guilt in a way I haven't seen since 'Dark Water.'