Spirits and ghosts are a strange topic for various people.
Some have no awareness of such phenomena, while others are quite in touch with
the subject matter. So much that they keep a very far distance from anything
related to it. Of course there are also others that find it crazy and still
decide to pursue answers even though it is not recommended. There’s also
complexities in translating supernatural instances like this for certain
markets depending on where they came from. For the United States, this kind of
movie wasn’t really a big thing. For last several decades, horror films
consisted of monsters, serial killers and undead creatures. This film however
is what reignited people’s interest.
Originally the concept was based on a book and adapted into
a movie in Japan by Kôji Suzuki during the mid-1990s. The American release
would not come out until almost a decade later. The story is about Rachel (Naomi
Watts) a private investigator who’s looking into the death of her friend’s
daughter. The reason for her death witnessed by her friend was due to a
mysterious VHS tape that she had watched a week earlier. Perplexing as that may
sound, apparently the girl who died wasn’t the only one who saw the tape.
Seeking answers, Rachel pairs up with her separated husband Noah (Martin
Henderson) to look into the details of the tape. Meanwhile they try to help
their child Aidan (David Dorfman) cope, as he was friends with the recently
deceased. The screenplay was adapted by Ehren Kruger, the same writer from the
first three Transformers sequels.
Kruger did have a horror film under his belt before though
with Scream 3 (2000). Directing this feature was Gore Verbinski, who after this
would go on to direct the popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Together
these two produce an adequate viewing experience. The idea and how it began has
a nice hook to it. Viewers will definitely find it creepy and for younger
viewers not knowing what a VHS is will make it all the more alien. The story
itself is also interesting as to how things came about. Slowly but surely,
pieces to the puzzle are revealed which allows the audience to understand
(mostly) why things occurred the way they did. Not all of it makes sense but
the creepy visuals help with that. The practical effects use in the movie look
good and the spirit played by Daveigh Chase has burned the iconic image of a
horror girl into the mainstream conscience.
People who love gore may not be as pleased if violence is to
be expected. The acting is believable though. Naomi Watts is best known from
Mulholland Drive (2001) but has played in several other movies too. Martin
Henderson as the father does okay for the role. He would later play a character
in Smoin’ Aces (2006). David Dorfman as the child is okay too, being that the
character he plays is stricken with grief the emotion doesn’t need to be very
involved. Dorfman would play one of the children in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(2003) remake. Believe it or not, Daveigh Chase is the voice from Disney’s Lilo
& Stitch franchise. There’s even an appearance from Brian Cox to provide
some context to the story. The acting in general is effective enough to help
the story along in what it needs to do.
The cinematography on the other hand was less than
desirable. Shot by Bojan Bazelli, the color palette to this movie is just ugly
and it wasn’t by accident. The film crew purposefully chose the hue of the
movie to completely be muggy, foggy and murky green. There’s only a few moments
where other colors exist but they are far and few in between. It’s funny
because Bazelli is quite competent with credits to movies like Pumpkinhead
(1988) and Burlesque (2010). The film score was surprisingly handled by Hans
Zimmer. Not known for composing scores to horror films, Zimmer’s work is a decent
effort. It is certainly not the most memorable but it does have its own motif
for the franchise, using mainly piano keys. Not much else has to be said about
Zimmer as his influence is about as prominent as John Williams.
Although it lacks any kind graphic visual horror or
clear cinematography, it is still a fairly creepy film. The story itself is
unique, the acting is fine and the music is also effectively spooky. A good
start to the franchise.
Points Earned --> 7:10
