2005 Winter - Intro - Hideo Nakata - Roy Lee - Koji Suzuki - Horror on the Horizon
Horror on the Horizon
THE GRUDGE
Filmmaker Sam Raimi, director of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, was so struck by the Japanese original of The Grudge that he undertook a Hollywood version using the same director, Takashi Shimizu. It was a hit in the U.S. on its first weekend. The star is Sarah Michelle Gellar who plays a nurse working in a home where she gets caught up in a terrifying whirl of events. Distributed by Columbia Pictures, the film is now playing in theaters across the U.S.
JOYU-REI
Hideo Nakata directed this 1996 Japanese thriller, of which a remake called Don't Look Up is in the works. The horror story is set in a film studio where a crew is finishing up a movie. The studio is haunted by the ghost of an actress who died there previously. Murai, a novice film director, stumbles upon some undeveloped footage and his discovery generates a sequence of mysterious happenings, setting tragedy in motion. It is available on video from BANDAI VISUAL in Japan.
CHAOS
The Japanese original, Kaosu, was directed by Hideo Nakata. A handyman enlisted by an enigmatic married woman to help her stage a sham kidnapping finds himself in deadly circumstances from which he is unable to extricate himself. Suspense is created through a skillful manipulation of time. Universal Pictures has purchased the remake rights. In the U.S. version, Robert De Niro produces and stars along with Benicio Del Toro.
KANSEN
This fright-filled film directed by Masayuki Ochiai was released simultaneously with Yogen by Toho Studios. A doctor's error causes the death of a patient in a rundown hospital. The doctors decide to hush the matter up. Just then an emergency patient arrives with a strange disease—his internal organs have begun to dissolve. Discord arises among patients who have no escape from an unknown virus in the hospital.
YOGEN
Directed by Norio Tsuruta, this film focuses on a main character driven crazy by a death prophecy in a newspaper. On a visit home with his wife and daughter, he happens upon a strange, old-looking newspaper. In it is a news item telling of his daughter's death in a car accident. Just then a large truck with his daughter in it rushes past. A Hollywood remake will follow shortly.
DARK WATER
Based on stories by Koji Suzuki, the 2002 Japanese original was directed by Hideo Nakata. Robert De Niro's remake, Dark Water, is due out in spring 2005. A woman in the process of divorcing her husband moves with her daughter into an apartment where they hope to begin a new life. There is something strange about the place, however. When the little girl goes up to the roof and comes back with an unfamiliar red bag, the horror begins. It is available on DVD from KADOKAWA PICTURES in Japan.
Articles from the 2005 WINTER issue:
Kateigaho International Edition Issues:
2005 SUMMER - 2005 SPRING - 2005 WINTER
2004 AUTUMN - 2004 SUMMER - 2004 SPRING - 2004 WINTER
2003 AUTUMN - INAUGURAL ISSUE
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