Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Shutter


--Reviewed by Lindy Loo


Plotline: A recently married couple is on their honeymoon when they get in a car accident, seemingly running down a woman in the street. The husband is a photographer, and after this series of events, ghost-images start inexplicably showing up on all the pics he and his wife take. Who is the spirit and why is she bothering them?

Scariness factor: Not mind-blowing, but there IS a creepy-ass scene where the husband is trapped in a dark room with the camera-flash going off over and over, only to illuminate someone moving around the room and advancing on him.

Gross-Out Factor: Really quite minimal. Hence the PG-13 rating.



Complaints: This movie had a LOT of gaps in logic. Small things, but things that DROVE ME NUTS nonetheless. And right now I can't think of even one of them, go figure. And yet throughout the whole movie I was like, What?? WHAT??! One example, (which isn't so much an example of gaps in logic as it is of just dumb writing) was *SPOILER ALERT: after the husband endures the trauma of having two of his friends die, one right in front of him, he and his wife are sleeping in bed, and he wakes up from what appears to be a horrible nightmare. His wife's response: (paraphrased) "What? What is it, honey? What's the matter?" My response watching it: "Jesus, you dumb broad. He just had two friends die, and you both are being haunted by a ghost. Um, what do you THINK might be causing him to have nightmares??? How have you even managed to fall asleep in the FIRST place?????" /END SPOILER Also, the ending was a little bit anticlimactic.

High Points: I enjoyed it more than I thought I would (not meaning to imply that you would recommend something shitty Bijoux--I mostly just am not a fan of slick modern Hollywood horror flicks and/or flicks with folks from things like Dawson's Creek in them, heh heh). The scene I mentioned above. Well-done and creepy. I also really like the notion of spirit photography. It always fascinated me when I was little, so it had THAT going for it as well. I also was impressed by the resolve of the wife at the end of the movie--I'm glad they didn't let her slip into a weak, wishy-washy female character.



Overall: Although I wasn't blown away, it DID have a few creepy moments in it. If nothing else, it's good fluff for a rainy afternoon.

Grade: C+

Labels:

3 Comments:

At 1:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Check out the original Thai version:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0440803/

It is very creepy and made me literally jump off the couch several times! I'm almost afraid to watch the American remake, because I'm afraid it will spoil the greatness of the original. Also, I'm not sure what the "story" is behind the ghost in the remake, but in the original it's pretty sad and downright depressing.

 
At 10:53 PM, Blogger Joanne said...

I've tried posting comments and my effin innernet connection (wireless high speed not doubt) keeps bumping me off so my previous messages to you were lost! Okay here goes...

Thanks for the review Linyloo. I totally agree with you on this one.

I was intrigued with this film primarily because of the ghostly spooky undertones and images and the message the ghost was trying to reveal. I agree that there were a LOT of gaps in the film. I also did not care for the shitty acting and I was also not at all familiar with the actors...Dawson's Creek (bleh)...never watched it :) I would say that a C+ is about right in terms of grading this film.

p.s. I finally watched "Teeth" and was both surprised and a bit disturbed. I liked the premise of the film but did not find it at all frightening. It was a bit gross (bitten off penis) and at times amusing i.e. the look of guys face when his penis is bitten off or the crab walking away with a chunk of it. LOL! I guess I was expecting it to be serious. But I totally agree that I was laughing when I probably shouldn't have. Anyway, I think that I would give it a (B+)
BTW, that actor from "Nip/Tuck" really annoyed me too...he got what he deserved. Too bad it did not come quicker...pardon the pun!! LOL

 
At 6:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The everyday person goes through their daily life without ever thinking that there could be more out there than what they see. The occultist goes through their daily life constantly interacting with what others don't see.

The occult world is not separate from our own but more the underbelly of the everyday person's world. The occult world consists of the things that people find too scary or too fantastic to be real. The occult world is meant to stay hidden from the mundane world.

However...

...there's a war that’s been waging for centuries between in the occult world between it's different races. And it's all leading up to a violent and bloody conclusion.

The waring factions consist of the vampires; oldest of all the clans and most clandestine. The witches; those who seek out the occult world and hope to hone all knowledge within it for the benefit of self and those around them. The lycanthropes; resulting offspring from diseased animal bodily fluids coming into contact with humans. The zombies; creatures spawned from the most powerful of witchcraft. The akash; the spirits of the earth manifest in different guises. The mutants; resulting offspring of nature merging with humans. Angels; messengers from the divine.

"And with righteous might, win through to absolute victory."

Factionalists Comic Project
http://www.factionalists.com

 

Post a Comment

<< Home