Only in Japan will you find the scariest toilet paper ever. (Yahoo News)
Yes. Yes. YES!
The author of The Ring novel (yes, the one the movie was based off of), Koji Suzuki, can now be famous for his "bathroom literature" as well; a horror story printed on toilet paper.
The short horror story is called Drop, and even features a public restroom as its setting. According to the article, it takes up about three feet of toilet paper and just a few minutes to read all of its nine chapters.
View pictures of the toilet paper and another article here:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/horrorthemed_toilet_paper_japan_puts_you_edge_your_seat_28072 (Inventor Spot)
All I can say, as a horror fan and Japan enthusiast - I totally want a roll.
More on Japanese toilets (very interesting stuff, especially if you ever want to visit!):
http://www.restroomratings.com/features/japan/
Vocabulary (just one today, and no kanji!):
トイレット (toiretto): toilet
Read More......
Showing posts with label J-Horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J-Horror. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Um...What? Pulse (JP) Review
(x-posted to my horror movie review blog, Horror Movie Love)
Pulse (or Kairo, its Japanese name) is a J-Horror movie directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Pulse follows several Japanese college students who...Do stuff...One of them dies...And then this other guy doesn't know how to use a computer and contacts the dead through the internet somehow...And...Yeah...
Okay, this movie was really hard for me to follow.
People are killing themselves, and there's a website that asks his guy if he wants to meet a ghost, and there's a forbidden room and some red tape that makes ghosts go away and the city is pretty much empty of people, and (I will give away the ending because I don't even know if it counts as a spoiler) they end up on a boat trying to get away from whatever it is for some reason even though whatever it is is everywhere. That is all I got from this movie.
It's often said that Japanese horror is much more subtle and leaves more to the mind than western horror - this might have been a little much for me. I really don't have much to say about it. Perhaps a second round of viewing is necessary, but I feel kind of done with it.
I can't deny that it was pretty damn creepy at times, though. But Pulse/Kairo is skippable, unless you are really into Japanese horror.
Vocabulary (click on kanji for stroke order from Kanji-a-Day.com):
コンピューター (konpyuutaa): computer
何 (nani): what (as in...WHAT??!!!??)
幽霊 (yuurei): ghost
Read More......
Pulse (or Kairo, its Japanese name) is a J-Horror movie directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Pulse follows several Japanese college students who...Do stuff...One of them dies...And then this other guy doesn't know how to use a computer and contacts the dead through the internet somehow...And...Yeah...
Okay, this movie was really hard for me to follow.
People are killing themselves, and there's a website that asks his guy if he wants to meet a ghost, and there's a forbidden room and some red tape that makes ghosts go away and the city is pretty much empty of people, and (I will give away the ending because I don't even know if it counts as a spoiler) they end up on a boat trying to get away from whatever it is for some reason even though whatever it is is everywhere. That is all I got from this movie.
It's often said that Japanese horror is much more subtle and leaves more to the mind than western horror - this might have been a little much for me. I really don't have much to say about it. Perhaps a second round of viewing is necessary, but I feel kind of done with it.
I can't deny that it was pretty damn creepy at times, though. But Pulse/Kairo is skippable, unless you are really into Japanese horror.
Vocabulary (click on kanji for stroke order from Kanji-a-Day.com):
コンピューター (konpyuutaa): computer
何 (nani): what (as in...WHAT??!!!??)
幽霊 (yuurei): ghost
Read More......
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Someone needs to do something about that leak..."Dark Water" (JP, US) review
(x-posted from my horror movie blog, Horror Movie Love)
Dark Water (仄暗い水の底から, Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara) is a Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, the director of the Japanese Ringu movies. It is based on a Japanese short horror story by Koji Suzuki of the same name. There was a US remake of the movie as well (included within this post).
Dark Water follows a mother's battle for custody of her daughter. Yoshimi Matsubara (Dahlia Williams US) rents a apartment for her and Ikuko (Ceci) to live in, but soon after notices a leak in the ceiling. The management is unhelpful, but it seems the leak is evidence of something bigger happening that threatens the lives of Yoshimi and her daughter.
Now, the US version of Dark Water was pretty similar to the Japanese version, actually; almost scene-for-scene until the end of the movie. But which one was better?
For starters, I much preferred the Japanese actresses for the mother and child. Yoshimi had a stressed, slightly psychotic, neurotic quality to her, while Dahlia was just neurotic. And the child? Ikuko was a thousand times more endearing than Ceci. 'Nuff said.
I have to say, I was a little lost by the ending of the Japanese version, though I think that maybe it's because I'm an idiot; after looking it up on Wikipedia it seemed pretty obvious. The epilogue was better in the Japanese version, though. I can't think of a spoiler-free reason to say why, so I'll leave it at that.
The effects were better in the US version, and more of them, though neither movie really depended on effects.
Overall, I think the Japanese version wins this round. If you can handle subtitles or dubbing, definitely check out the Japanese version of Dark Water.
Read More......
Dark Water (仄暗い水の底から, Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara) is a Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, the director of the Japanese Ringu movies. It is based on a Japanese short horror story by Koji Suzuki of the same name. There was a US remake of the movie as well (included within this post).
Dark Water follows a mother's battle for custody of her daughter. Yoshimi Matsubara (Dahlia Williams US) rents a apartment for her and Ikuko (Ceci) to live in, but soon after notices a leak in the ceiling. The management is unhelpful, but it seems the leak is evidence of something bigger happening that threatens the lives of Yoshimi and her daughter.
Now, the US version of Dark Water was pretty similar to the Japanese version, actually; almost scene-for-scene until the end of the movie. But which one was better?
For starters, I much preferred the Japanese actresses for the mother and child. Yoshimi had a stressed, slightly psychotic, neurotic quality to her, while Dahlia was just neurotic. And the child? Ikuko was a thousand times more endearing than Ceci. 'Nuff said.
I have to say, I was a little lost by the ending of the Japanese version, though I think that maybe it's because I'm an idiot; after looking it up on Wikipedia it seemed pretty obvious. The epilogue was better in the Japanese version, though. I can't think of a spoiler-free reason to say why, so I'll leave it at that.
The effects were better in the US version, and more of them, though neither movie really depended on effects.
Overall, I think the Japanese version wins this round. If you can handle subtitles or dubbing, definitely check out the Japanese version of Dark Water.
Read More......
Saturday, May 9, 2009
J-Horror
Horror movies are one of my favorite things ever, and Japanese horror films are no exception. Last night my friend and I went to the used DVD store and I found two J-horror movies in the foreign section - Pulse, and Dark Water. I haven't watched them yet, but I'm excited!
If you've not watched Japanese horror movies before, I highly recommend it! Japanese horror has a much different feel than Western horror...And the movies suck less often, lol. I'm sure you're aware of the remakes made available in the US (The Ring, The Grudge, The Eye) but please, try the Japanese originals if you can find them!
One of my favorites was the movie Reincarnation, about a woman who auditions for a movie filmed in a haunted hotel. 面白いです！
Where to look:
-Used DVD stores/pawn shops
-Amazon.com/eBay
-Often, there will be Japanese horror in the Free Movies! section of OnDemand if you have that option. Try not to miss them!
List of Japanese horror movies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-Horror
Vocabulary (click the kanji for stroke order from kanji-a-day.com):
ホラー映画 (hora- eiga): horror movie
怖い (kowai): frightening, scary
見る (miru): to watch
Read More......
If you've not watched Japanese horror movies before, I highly recommend it! Japanese horror has a much different feel than Western horror...And the movies suck less often, lol. I'm sure you're aware of the remakes made available in the US (The Ring, The Grudge, The Eye) but please, try the Japanese originals if you can find them!
One of my favorites was the movie Reincarnation, about a woman who auditions for a movie filmed in a haunted hotel. 面白いです！
Where to look:
-Used DVD stores/pawn shops
-Amazon.com/eBay
-Often, there will be Japanese horror in the Free Movies! section of OnDemand if you have that option. Try not to miss them!
List of Japanese horror movies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-Horror
Vocabulary (click the kanji for stroke order from kanji-a-day.com):
ホラー映画 (hora- eiga): horror movie
怖い (kowai): frightening, scary
見る (miru): to watch
Read More......
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