Written by Brandy Bunce
I’m pretty confident I’m not the only horror film buff out there who gets recommendations for films from everyone from coworkers to the friendly but kind of socially awkward FedEx man. Most of the time these recommendations are for A listed films I have already seen but every once in a while I get a gem, an independent or foreign film that has yet to be the focus of my viewing pleasure. Thanks to a friendly coworker with a werewolf fascination, I was recommended to view Dark Tales of Japan, five short films from some notable filmmakers in Japan. Ninety three minutes of tales of everything from creepy crawlers, deadly curses that involve creeper status coworkers, hidden ghosts, some not so hidden ghosts, and of course a killer blonde hair obsession.
I’ve said this many times before and I’ll say it again, filmmakers in Japan and China seem to be light years ahead when it comes to the art of making horror themed films. They have a completely unique way of thinking out of the box, use urban legends of their home land and creating some of the most unique kills that have ever been put into a horror film. I am a huge fan of short film collections; they are like a smorgasbord of different ideas, points of view and creativity all put together in the same time frame of one full length film. Thanks to the Japanese art of storytelling, viewing these shorts seems more like creepy campfire tales; think of it as a scarier version of Are You Afraid Of The Dark, but with sake.
The only words of warning I can think of to share with the masses before viewing these creepy tales is, these are Japanese short films so you will have to read subtitles, sometimes extremely quick subtitles. No exaggeration in the “quick” part of that statement
by the way, there were a few times I had to go back to reread what I had missed and I am a pretty average speed reader. If you are not a fan of reading or find yourself a bit on the dyslexic side, this film may not be for you. Please keep in mind that these are short films and do not have the budget for stellar special effects, every once in a while there will be a cheesy moment but trust me it’s not enough to blow off this collection entirely. In reality they have great cinematography, editing, acting and plenty of scares packed into less then fifteen minutes, impressive? I think so.
I am thankful to the coworker who loaned this collection of Japanese creepiness to me; it indeed is a diamond in the rough. The one thing that disappoints me is that I will probably never have the chance to view Dark Tales of Japan in a theater setting but I will be jumping onto Amazon very soon to purchase it to add to my own collection. I suppose “forgetting” to return the borrowed DVD is greatly frowned upon huh?