Kadokawa Mystery & Horror Tales Volume 2 (2005)

Kadokawa Mystery & Horror Tales Volume 2 (2003) features three more short films from Global Fright Cinema and Kadokawa Pictures.

I have to admit, this installment in the Kadokawa series is somewhat better, and dare I say more intriguing than the previous volume. Could it be due to a larger budget? Or a superior effort in the writing department? I'd say the latter, for the most part. Stronger premises, unique twists, along with tried and true elements that are used to bring the stories as a whole together. Director Sato Takayuki makes his debut in the series (Last Day as a Teenager & Regeneration). Kenji Nakanishi makes a valiant return form Volume 1 (Desire To Kill) to direct Wooden Clogs With The Red Straps, which is my favorite of these three. The look remains low-budget indeed, but the substance takes a step up. A tad more star-power and tighter camerawork make the films more approachable also. This is truly a case of "it won't blow you away, but it's worth a look". If not for a pleasant surprise in the storytelling department, then give it a shot to see what some up-and-coming directors have to offer.

The Wooden Clogs With The Red Straps / d. Kenji Nakanishi / 37 min

This short film, simply called Wooden Clogs on the DVD, features Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill's Gogo Yubari, as if I had to clarify) as Yoshie, a young, beautiful, yet reclusive daughter of a rural family that's visited by a research graduate from Tokyo (played by Naoto Ogata). While he's only there for post-graduate studies, he stumbles quite accidentally into Yoshie and forms a bond of sorts. It takes some time for the two to start a dialogue and for Yoshie to feel comfortable around the "big city house guest", as her drunken, boorish father calls him. Her physical infliction plays a large role in her self-confidence also. When the family notices that their guest has observed Yoshie stealing away to a grand Shinto temple on the property, they advise, and ultimately warn him that he is not to follow her into the temple. But one night, he can't shake his curiosity and does follow her down the wide dirt path, through a grand, wooden torii gate and ultimately up the stairs, past the geta sandals with the the red cloth straps into the dark hall of the temple where he learns a deeper, sadder family secret.

Regeneration / d. Sato Takayuki / 36 min

Regeneration is a story about a college student named Yui (played by Tsugumi; Long Dream) who introduces herself to a former college professor (Tohru Kazama) she sees sitting with head in hands in a hospital waiting area. The reason he's there, he explains, is to get help for his alcoholism and mental depression. They begin to see each other regularly and she soon moves into his apartment. The irony for him is that he realizes rather quickly that she's not the fun, easy-going woman she appeared to be, she turns out to be a self-abusing alcoholic and admitted sexual veteran; for which he's alternately repulsed and tantalized. They seem to be made for each other until "professor" and Yui (as she insists on calling him, much to his chagrin) begin to talk marriage. Yui admittedly feels the same, but she awkwardly delays because of an unbelievable series of tales she knows she has to tell him. The film opens with the professor lying on a sofa, clutching a bottle of whisky in a drunken stupor. As the scene widens, Yui sits quietly in a chair opposite him...with no head! Regeneration brings the story back to the beginning to show how they got there, and then progresses past that room for a shocking conclusion.

Last Day as a Teenager / d. Sato Takayuki / 28 min

The final "episode" is called Last Day as a Teenager. And quite literally, it tells a tale of a college student named Tomoya, who is trying to escape a curse put on him by a pint-sized Angel of Death; three years prior, that will culminate the day he turns 20 years old. He's in such a position due to making a deal with the child-wraith to save the life of his childhood friend, now quasi-girlfriend, Koko (Aki Maeda; Battle Royale 1 & Battle Royale 2) who was pulled from the water by Tomoya to save her from drowning. As he performs CPR, he begs into the air for some sort of divine help. Koko begins to breathe again when Tomoya cuts a deal with the Angel of Death where he will give his life to the wraith in exchange for saving Koko. But as you might expect, he shouldn't trust the wraith to be honest about the deal.

Kadokawa: Mystery & Horror Tales: Volume 1 (2005)

A collection of 3 short Japanese Horror films. Volume 1 DVD of a Region 1, 3-part series from Global Fright Cinema and Kadokawa Pictures.

Meinichi / d. Tomoyuki Akashi / 40 min.

A good-looking family of four approaches their new house and is met by a family friend (or maybe the real estate agent?). Everyone seems happy to be moving into the new house, which will be a welcome breathe of fresh air from the hectic Tokyo home they left. But the main reason seems to be for the benefit of one of the family's two daughter health. That daughter, Minako, had a complete breakdown after her boyfriend is killed, and seems to wonder through life in some sort of comatose, hazy daze. With a twisted grin. Her sister, Yukio (Asami Mizukawa; Dark Water, Shibuya Kaidan), begs her sister to go on with her life but the morose Minako is visited by the ghost of a young girl who used to live in that house. What stands out immediately, from the first images that appear, is the camerawork. Most of the shots are in frame, but the ones that aren't are badly out. The action and the actors are shot far too close also. That's not saying the video is poor, on the contrary, the definition is crystal clear; so much so that I felt as if I could reach right into the movie to grab a banister or push a door open. Those positive attributes aren't nearly enough to save this amateur escapade. I'll try not to mention that almost nothing is explained in this "episode" and only the most superficial motives are apparent. Combine that with lack-luster, cheesy special effects, and you have an almost entirely forgettable experience.

Cruel Kidnapping / d. Tomoyuki Akashi / 32 min.

Laughably bad in every way. A dim-witted, bumbling, former big-shot money-man gets himself embroiled in a kidnapping plot that involves not only his own child, but the child of a well-to-do acquaintance. In order to get his baby back safely, he must come up with 30 million Yen (just over $250,000 USD & $300,000 Canadian -- [edit] at the time I wrote this, that is). But his "brilliant", spur-of-the-moment strategy to find the funds puts him into a very bad position. The story is easy enough to follow, although it's barely worth doing so. A few comical scenes and takes from the Toshio character.

Desire to Kill / d. Kenji Nakanishi / 33 min

The best of the three in this volume. It follows a middle-aged woman, Rei, who lives in a cramped apartment building. Her immediate next-door neighbor is constantly lording over the other tenants and poking her nose into their lives; seemingly waiting for the other tenants to do something "wrong" or hounding them inexplicably. One day, Rei refuses to throw out a bag of trash because her old, bitter neighbor is seen rifling through people trash. She wants to time the service pick-up just right so she can avoid the old lady's interest. Alone at home, (her husband is out of town on business), she grabs an umbrella and rushes into the stormy night to pitch her garbage and gets pushed back into the apartment by a dark stranger, no sooner had she opened the door. With just her sleeping son with her, she has to make it through a tense night with a young man who has killed once already that night. A fairly good "episode", all told, but suffers from the same level of tedium as the previous two "episodes". It's only redeeming element is the hint of a genuine story and a mild Twilight Zone-ish ending.