Curse, Death & Spirit

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre horror Starring Michiko Hata, Maiko Kawakami, Mitsuko Oka, Yasuyo Shiratori, Yuma Nakamura, Miki Mizuno, Kyoko Enami Directed by Hideo Nakata Publisher Urban Vision External Links Official Urban Vision Website

The J-horror short is a sub-genre of Japanese horror movies whose aim is identical to that of any given episode of The Twilight Zone: to give us the heebie-jeebies in about 20 minutes. Like The Twilight Zone, J-horror shorts are inclined to explore the supernatural and rely on a plot twist for their effect.

Normally, shorts in this sub-genre are haunted by the restless spirit of a woman or young girl who died under extreme circumstances and who therefore makes some claim upon the living. The critical twist comes when the spirit's back-story is revealed, creating a chilling blend of sympathy and expectant terror, as we now can understand the ghost and know exactly what horrible thing she will do next.

Curse, Death & Spirit presents three J-horror shorts directed by Hideo Nakata (Ringu, The Ring Two) that were filmed for Japanese television with a fairly low production value. At times, Nakata is able to make the constraints of his budget work in his favor. At other times, corny video effects and campy canned music turn what could have been horror into light comedy.

This is particularly true of the first short, "The Cursed Doll," in which a young actress is haunted by a doll. The doll is animated poorly. It's expressionless face appears suddenly accompanied by Psycho-like violin shrieks, resulting in laughter where there should have been screams. Even so, the kernel of this story, which I will not spoil, is rather compelling. When the doll-spirit's back-story is revealed, the script actually shines through Nakata's campy interpretation.

"The Spirit of the Dead," the best of the three shorts, follows a young boy who finds he can see spirits after the death of his father. A camping trip proves to be a dangerous outing when he encounters a spirit who lost her child and is looking for a replacement. In this short, Nakata makes his low budget work for him and arranges a few artful (if stagey) moments of minimalism.

Our final tale is the biggest dud. Three girls vacationing together at an old inn, soon discover it to be haunted by that staple of J-horror, the pale, misshapen woman with hair draped over most of her face. "The Haunted Inn" offers no bright moments of writing or stage craft, and the spirit's back-story fails to connect dramatically with the rest of the plot.

Those looking for an introduction to the J-horror short probably ought to look elsewhere. Masaki Kobayashi's 1964 Kwaidan might be a better bet. It is a classic of the genre and is also available on dvd.

Nakata fans who pick up this disk to see their favorite director at work with a limited palette will be disappointed by the lack of any bonus materials that provide insight into Nakata's process as he worked on these shorts. Interestingly, Tartan originally offered these same shorts in the UK as a special feature on their release of Nakata's Chaos. What once was four-star bonus material is here repackaged as as a sub-par feature.