Gurozuka

Released by: Synapse Films
Released on: January 10, 2012.
Director: Yí´ichi Nishiyama
Cast: Nozomi Andí´, Yukari Fukui, Chisato Morishita, Keiko Saito
Year: 2005
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The Movie:

Directed by Yí´ichi Nishiyama in 2005, Gurozuka tells the story of a group of teenage girls who decide to head out to a house in the middle of the woods where they intend to work on a play that they're going to perform and film for a school club. The one adult woman who accompanies them on the trip as a chaperone tells them that the house was once the scene of an incident in which past members of this same club experienced some bizarre activity. This resulted in the disappearance of one girl and the descent into madness of another.

Regardless, the girls soldier one and once they make their arrival, set to accomplishing their task. Soon after they make the scene, however, they dig up an old videotape which they eagerly play. What they see when they press play is a murderer, obviously female, with her identity obscured by a Noh mask killing another woman. Unsure if what they've just watched is evidence of an actual murder or simply a tape left behind by a group who were there some time ago to practice their play much like these girls are, they're unsure what to do. Eventually one of the girls starts to experience nightmares in which the masked killer from the tape appears and when all of their supplies and food go missing, they soon realize that they are no alone and that someone is in the house with them.

A weird mix of films like Ring, The Blair Witch Project and whatever slasher you'd care to name, Gurozuka definitely borrows heavily from films that came before it but it also manages to put its own spin on things before the end credits hit the screen. Most of this stems from the use traditional Noh masks and kimono style garb on the part of the killer that pops up in the video the girls find. The old school approach to this gives the film some eerie imagery and these scenes, though not particularly gory in comparison to a lot of other slasher pictures, are definitely the stand out moments in an otherwise fairly by the numbers film.

As far as the performances go, all involved do a fine job. The girls are convincing enough in their respective roles that you'll have no problem accepting them. The look the part and they act the part and there are no issues here. The pacing is also good, as is the soundtrack and the film is well put together on a technical level. A little more originality would have gone a long way here, but as it stands this is creepy enough to provide a few chills and suspenseful enough to hold your interest for its quick eighty-two minute running time.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The film is presented in its original aspect ratios at 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. There's little room for complaining regarding this transfer, the film looks nice and sharp with only minimal line shimmering popping up here and there. No mpeg compression artifacts are present and color reproduction is top notch. The black levels are decent if not amazing and there's a pretty solid level of detail present in both the foreground and the background of the.

Gurozuka is presented in Japanese by way of a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround mix with optional English subtitles. The movie sounds fine, and while some scenes might have been more effective with a 5.1 mix, there's some good front channel separation. Levels are balanced properly, there's no audible hiss, and the subtitles are easy to read and free of typos. The score also sounds quite good here - no complaints!

Extras are presumably carried over from the Japanese DVD release and include a making of featurette with some fly on the wall footage shot on set and some interviews with the ladies who make up the cast. Additionally there's a trailer for the feature, some static menus and chapter stops.

The Final Word:

Gurozuka definitely borrows a little too heavily from some better known films but when it does put its own slant on things, it's not a bad little slasher film. Despite the derivative nature of certain aspects of the movie, it's got some good atmosphere and eerie imagery and if it's not an instant classic, it's worth a look for fans of modern Japanese horror. Synapse's DVD isn't loaded with extras but it's got a couple of them and it looks and sounds just fine.