Shutter Shmutter
Added 10/6/2008
Not since Thirteen Ghosts (2001) have I seen a movie that is SO loud. Here, they made the "jumpy" scenes so loud so it would scare people (mind you this is coming from someone who LOVES going to concerts, especially the best band ever Iron Maiden). That aside, Shutter is like an alarm clock in an empty room. It goes off for a bit, but then after a while, it does its job and shuts up because nobody cares, and nobody, yes, nobody even has a CLUE that it turned off... let alone even turned on in the first place.
Shutter is a remake of a Thai film of the same name, except this time directed by a Japanese filmmaker (kinda like the Grudge, except Takashi Shimizu had directed the previous one too). You may recognize the director's name, Masayuki Ochiai, if you have a knack for Japanese horror films, because he had already directed Infection (back in 2004, part of the J-Horror theater series), which, from what I've been hearing, is a good movie even for it's genre. Shutter isn't. And while I must admit I did find the concept remotely interesting (spirit photography), like most horror movies nowadays, is poorly executed.
(Warning, this may contain spoilers) So the story goes: Benjamin Shaw (the aforementioned Joshua Jackson) and Jane Shaw (Rachael Taylor) have just gotten married, and as a part of a career Benjamin dreams of, move to a loft in Japan. Before getting the loft, they give themselves a little holiday, and get away to a cabin near Mount Fuji. On the way to the Cabin, they imagine themselves hitting a girl standing in the middle of the road. They crash, and are knocked unconscious for 4 (or so I think) hours. The next day, it's snowy (Continuity error number 1), and they wake up, while Jane looks for the girl they hit. Apparently, there was no girl. Hmmm, that's strange!
Anyways, to the Loft. A week later after staying in the beautiful (apparently it's "SO beautiful I'm surprised I haven't take pictures of it yet" in the words of Benjamin) cabin, they move to a loft, and they are able to pursue a photography career. However, the pictures they took from the cabin arrive, and there's something fishy here- there's a weird light-like effect in the pictures. I dunno how that got there, Nor do they. They're sure it's just something with the camera, in which I'm sure it wouldn't be. However, this isn't just with THESE pictures- On the 2nd photoshoot (which involves girls dressed up old-fashioned amongst a modern background, which is actually a pretty cool concept if you ask me), in the camera's previewer, a girl magically appears. That's also strange, because she's not amongst the other girls!
But this isn't just with those photos- it's happening in EVERY photo they take. This woman is appearing in the photos is the girl Jane thinks they hit (Continuity error number 2- Her clothes keep changing in each flashback to that night). We don't really know who she is until midway through the movie (I won't give away the whole thing). There's this one friend of theirs living down there, the really cute Seiko (Maya Hazen). She takes Jane to the leader of a Spirit photography Magazine, and Jane is given an issue of the magazine. I'm not gonna say the rest, because right now, typing the whole thing up is really wasting my time when I could be out doing things like riding a bike, visiting friends, etc.... But then again, that's the case with the whole movie.
The main problem with Shutter is that everything in the movie seems forced. I haven't seen the original one yet, but I can assume that one is much better. I mean, a whole lot of the movie doesn't make sense. I also noticed a lot of religious undertones in the movie, it's like they're smacking you across the face with a bible. Or some book on Buddhism or something since it's in Japan, I'm not sure. The story is interesting but told in the most unprofessional way possible. There's plot holes GALORE, stuff which doesn't have any relevance to the story whatsoever, and even a twist at the end which feels silly, stupid, and tacked on at the last minute.
Joshua Jackson has the facial expressions and acting talents of a wooden chair. Throughout most of the movie he mumbles incoherently, especially in the scene where they visit a spirit expert and he translates for the character Sarah- you can hardly make out what he says (how Rachael Taylor made out what he said, I have no idea). Rachael Taylor seems to have gotten her acting talents from Joshua Jackson, but now that I come to think of it, that's actually quite understandable- I really don't expect the elementary-level script to have excited them to the point where they actually started caring about their characters.
Sure, the film isn't COMPLETELY terrible- it has some moments that are creepy and build tension, but just "some" moments ain't enough. If this film had any potential, it certainly would have been frustrating. And if it had a good cast too, it also would have been frustrating too- but at least it would have been easier to watch. A lot of people say "If you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all". Well, there isn't a whole lot of nice things to say about this so I think I'll shut up now.
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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JUST YOUR AVERAGE AMERICAN REMAKE
Added 10/16/2009
SHUTTER
This is another American remake of a film that was much better and came from another country. This time around it is based on the Thai film I do believe and much like the rest of the American remakes this one is not as good as the original. In fact if it was not for the ending this one would be really lacking because it just felt like, I don't know. I just did not get into this one as much as others and found it to be just your average remake. I guess there will never be a really good American remake at least for a while.
Ben and Jane are newlywed's that are moving to Japan for Ben's new job, he is a photographer. His friends helped him get the job and he could not be happier, until his wife starts to have ghostly images appear before her. It does not take long before the ghostly woman starts to cause bodily harm and now Ben is seeing her two. As time goes on all those around Jane start to feel the effects of this spirit because all is not what it seems. So as Jane struggles to find out what is going on people start to get picked off one by one as time runs.
This film suffers from just being too much like the rest of the remakes out there and therefore just feels old. The performances are good as far as I am concerned and there are some good moments like the ending. The thing is that is still not enough to save this movie from just being average. There are some decent deaths in this and the story is cool especially when every thing starts to come together. Rachael Taylor plays Jane and performs fine as does Joshua Jackson and the rest of the cast. David Denman and John Hensley are great in this and make for a good surprise along with Jackson's character.
Like I said this movie is not horrible it is just average and too much like every other remake out there. Still if you have not seen it a rental would be sufficient but I recommend the original film. Also I recommend the unrated version mainly because of the kills which I guess is the only reason there is a unrated version. To be honest I have not seen the rated version but it can't be better than the unrated.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Shutter (Widescreen) - Very good horror flick.
Added 4/30/2009
Shutter (Widescreen) was a good four star horror flick about Spirit Photography. This movie was made for my taste as I have always liked deliberately paced horror films which ultimately pay off. What I learned from seeing this film was that Spirit Photography has a solid niche in modern Japanese culture. The Japanese also have a unique interest in ghostly or spirit related tales. This goes far back into the Japanese tradition. Consequently, these films may receive the benefit of being taken more seriously in Japan, or Japanese audiences may posses greater ability to suspend disbelief. This movie was made by the same executive producer as "The Grudge" and "The Ring", which also were inspired by Asian films.
According to the very interesting documentary included with the movie, Japanese tradition describes both the protective spirit who may become an honored guardian of the family, and a restless or vengeful spirit who may linger on and be the center of a haunting. Such vengeful ghosts either wish to settle a score, or relate a message of murder and injustice. In any case, these movie makers were trying to present such a tale based on the original Asian version of the film "Shutter", along with some good modifications for American audiences. The result was a very interesting and entertaining movie.
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An OK horror film. Worth watching if your bored.
Added 4/29/2009
Shutter is a generic Japanese horror flick. Nothing too special about it or stand out. It's pretty basic and somewhat predictable. The story does flip around on you so it's not so run of the mill, but I don't know what turned me off so much about this movie. It had the potential to be great, but I think the combination of the casting roles, the story balance made this picture a flop. Not to mention that there are so many "Grudge" & "Ring" ripoff movies out that this one kind of just blends in with the rest of them. I'm a big horror fan and I've seen may films from box office smashers to low budget crashers. Shutter is honestly just a copycat movie made to cash in on the dying Japanese/US horror fad. Btw that whole weight thing and always behing together was poor attempt to bring shock value to this vauge movie.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Powerful Movie, Powerful Actors
Added 4/27/2009
I don't like horror nor watched the original. I bought it because Rachael took the time to make it. But it's really powerful, and so is my friends' opinion. I'd give it 4 stars because the flow is a little bit slow. However Joshua and Rachael deliver a superb performance.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Not the worst remake but by no means the best
Added 4/6/2009
As with most of endless remakes of J-horror movies, Shutter tells the story of a haunting. In this case a recently married couple who move to Tokyo immediately following their wedding ceremony to pursue a photography job for Ben. On the way, Jane accidentally runs over a girl, although Ben and the authorities deny the event happened. Jane isn't so certain, and when she starts seeing the girl pop up in other places, Jane is convinced she's being haunted because of her accident.
Jane realizes the spirit of the young girl is following them when their honeymoon photos have the traits of the spirit photos, followed by the images her husband takes through his job. It's when Jane gets pictures from before the couple comes to Tokyo that she realizes that she's not linked to the haunting figure the way she thought. It's all irrelevant, however, because the young girl's spirit isn't limited to being seen through the shutter of a camera when it's inconvenient for the movie's story, eventually allowing her to be seen in the reflections of windows, doors, and finally just seen.
Shutter is not a thriller. In fact, with the exception of a few jump scares and a little bit of gratuitous gore thrown in to help raise the film's rating, this is more of a mystery movie. A refreshing change from some of the other remakes, which rely heavily on gore and freaky effects.
The problem is almost entirely with the story and pacing of the movie. The cast does a good job with what they have but the credibility the acting gives the movie is drained over time by the slow progress of the story.
Shutter may be a bigger disappointment than movies like The Eye or The Grudge that try to horrify and scare the audience more than hold them in suspense. At least with those movies there is some visual candy to help draw the viewer in.
Sadly, Shutter is another remake that fails to live up to what I've heard about the original.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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A ghostly 'picture'
Added 8/26/2009
This movie is from the people who brought you the acclaimed `Ring' and `The Grudge', so it does have some scenes which will remind you of the two movies. The only difference is that the original in this case is a Thai film. Having said that, it is a remarkably effective film. The basic premise of the movie is spirit photography, whereby ghosts appear in photographs. The plot aside, the movie offers an interesting glimpse into this all-too-real subject.
The film won't scare you in that sense of the word, but there are plenty of tension-filled moments and totally unexpected twists. It works more as a revenge flick in my opinion than an outright horror movie. The acting by both US and Japanese actors is of a good standard. If you like Japan and/or J-horror, you will find this film very interesting.
The blu-ray offers a very convincing picture even in the night and dark scenes and the soundstage is also well constructed. You will find worse ways to spend 90 minutes than this well paced movie, so give it a go.
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Good film in an excellente blu-ray video quality !
Added 5/3/2009
In the high-def review this blu-ray received 3 stars for the video quality. I think it deserves 4. In the review of X-files I want to believe blu-ray they give 4 stars to the video quality, but x-files just deserves 2,5. I really don't understand what some critics understand about video quality !!! I think they received specials copy ...
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