Matt Cooper Films

King’s Game (2011) by Norio Tsuruta

A class at Tamaoka High School receive text messages telling them they must participate in a series of tests: at first seemingly innocuous things like a student confessing their love for another; or kissing another student. When students refuse to comply, they disappear mysteriously from the world, with only the remaining class members being able to recall their existence. Student Chiemi (Yurina Kumai) attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery as the tests become increasingly violent and classmates begin to disappear leaving few survivors.

Based on a popular mobile phone novel by Nobuaki Kanazawa and directed by Norio Tsuruta (“Premonition”), “Ousama Game” is a mild teen horror that is unlikely to shock fans of the genre. The film’s main problem is that the vanishing students, while inexplicable, is not particularly scary. The film is largely bloodless and the challenges early on are fairly tame. Things begin to get slightly more dangerous as the plot progresses, but the film could have offered more moral conundrums, or terrifying prospects for the protagonists to face. We learn little about any of the characters and instead spend the time waiting for a resolution that never arrives.

The central conceit of “Ousama Game” is an intriguing one, suggesting theological, political and sociological analogies. The presence of an omnipotent, capricious force, that tortures people for its own amusement provides a look at how religion brutalises believers through growing fear and paranoia, while dangling the possibility of an answer before them. However, it is this self-same absence of the possibility of reprieve that also removes from the film any sense of threat. When the realisation comes that there is nothing that can be done, it undermines any potential tension. Also, the rather awkward explanation and attempt at a twist fall flat as the person who is supposed to be suffering an interminable fate is oblivious to that fact, thereby making the entire enterprise pointless. A shaky premise that could have been rescued by some creative deaths or challenges sadly fails to capitalise on its limited potential.

Matt Cooper Films

The Shock Labyrinth 3D (2009) by Takashi Shimizu

A group of friends investigate a mysterious theme-park horror house to discover what happened to one of them years before. Following an incident at the Fuji-Q Highland theme park in which his friend Yuki went missing, and the subsequent death of his mother, Ken moves away from the area with his father. 10 years later Ken (Yuya Yagira) returns, reuniting with his friend Motoki (Ryo Katsuji). The two travel to the house of Rin (Ai Maeda), later picking up Yuki (Misako Renbutsu), who they believed had disappeared in the mysterious incident, and her sister Miyu (Elina Mizuno). When Yuki falls down the stairs at her mother’s house they all travel to a hospital which is eerily empty and find themselves trapped inside the same horror house from their childhoods.

Directed by Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on) with a script by Daisuke Hosaka, “Shock Labyrinth” is a haunted house horror with a premise that requires serious suspension of disbelief. The film’s style, leaves the viewer in the dark early on while the group reassemble, and this pursposeful obscurity makes little sense in light of what follows. It is a film in which the characters are as clueless as the audience in order to set up the underwhelming twists, when there is no good reason for them to be so ignorant of past events. Filmed on location at Fuji-Q Highland’s haunted house the film plays much like experiencing that same attraction, with a spooky atmosphere and sense of unease throughout. Shimizu’s direction is solid and creates an unsettling atmosphere along with the disquieting score. Unfortunately, in its attempts to create a mystery the film creates no meaningful connection with the characters or tension as the audience’s lack of understanding leads to a complete indifference to the fate of the characters. While it has some interesting ideas, in having the younger and older versions of the characters crossing paths in the house, blending past and present, it rarely makes the most of these elements.

A simplistic horror film with a young cast trapped in a haunted house. The film’s themes of regret and the final twist would have been more impactful had there been any sense of who the characters were. Rin’s blindness is used ocassionally as a rather trite horror trope and the relationships between several of teh character play a central role but don’t feel believable. The film might have played more on the notion of a labyrinth, with ocassional breaks in continuity and the overlapping past and present cast attempting this disorienting tone, but never fully realises its potential. Overall, a disappointing teen horror with few surprises.

Matt Cooper Films

Goth (2008) by Gen Takahashi

Two teens obsessed with murder decide to follow the diary of a serial killer to find his most recent victim. Despite having a seeminlgy happy homelife with his mother and sister, Itsuki Kamiyama (Kanata Hongo) has a dark obsession, sneaking out to visit gruesome crime scenes. His classmate Yoru Morino (Rin Takanashi) shares this morbid fascination, living alone and investigating horrors in her gothic study. When Yoru finds a diary belonging to a killer who severs the left hands of his victims and poses them like art installations, their interest leads them to follow his trail of death, rather than turning in this important evidence to the police.

The ‘goth’ subculture: dark clothes, fixation on death, suffering, murder, and all things dark and gruesome, is a fascinating social phenomenon. The film never quite gets to the root of why its protagonists have such an apathetic and nihilistic world-view, but it does capture their behaviour and ennui perfectly. Rin Takanashi’s Yoru is a pale, lonely figure, who drifts through life like a ghost herself following a childhood accident that left her sister dead. Meanwhile, Kanata Hongo’s Itsuki seems on the surface to be a sociable, well-adjusted high-schooler, who nevertheless engages in morbid fantasies. It makes for an interesting crime-horror film in which the two protagonists are not particularly interesting in cracking the case, but instead fascinated by the idea of murder and serial killers. The dark tone, covering suicide and death, may be off-putting to some, but it creates an stomach-churning tension that goes beyond the usual shock of more grotesque horror fare. The darkness here comes from the characters’ deep well of alienation and twisted idolisation of despicable acts. The two constantly refer to the aesthetic beauty in how the murderer poses the corpses, showing their complete disassociation with the act of killing and death. The soundtrack, featuring a peculiarly eerie marimba melody and choral recitations, further enforces this sense of dread, occasionally turning to something more angelic and operatic to show how the teens themselves view their activities as almost transcendental. For them there is nothing morbid about researching killers, but instead something beautiful, beholding the line between life and death and the transience of existence. When Yoru lies in the river where one of the victims was placed, Itsuki imagines her with blood streaming from a slashed wrist. It is both disturbing yet darkly beautiful as we see her life essence swept along in the current, suggestive of tragic archetypes throughout the ages.

No doubt “Goth” will prove a hard watch for some, as it forgoes the usual impulse of films to want justice to be done for murder victims. In closing the film solves many questions that you might want answered, but leaves much more to audience interpretation. The film could be seen as a rumination on society’s fascination with death and murder. Although not always to the extent of the protagonists here, humans have an insatiable appetite for real life crime documentaries, stories about serial killers, and often ignore the plight of the victims, instead interested only in the idea rather than the reality. In the same way the protagonists look at the world in a cold, distant way, barely moved by the sight of death. The extent of the goth subculture and fascination with murder outside of it, speaks to a deep-seated need in humans to attempt to understand our own morality and nature, dwelling on this disturbing yet inevitable fact of life. Itsuki casually remarks that people can be divided into those who kill and those who are killed. It is a dark commentary on mankind, but it does highlight this duality of man in his twisted worldview.

Matt Cooper Films

On the Edge of Their Seats (2020) by Hideo Jojo

Two friends in their final year of high-school, Asuha (Rina Ono) and Hikaru (Marin Nishimoto), arrive to watch a baseball game, a sport they know very little about. They are joined by fellow student, Fujino (Amon Hirai), who used to play but has since given up, and later the studious Miyashita (Shuri Nakamura) whose reasons for being there are less clear. Despite the urging of the enthusiastic English teacher, Mr. Atsugi, the four are at first uncomfortable cheering on their team who are playing much stronger opponents.

“On the Edge of their Seats” plays out almost as a one-act theatre piece, with the majority of the action taking place on the bleachers at the baseball game. We never see the field or players, instead the camera is firmly fixed on these often indifferent spectators, creating a unique dynamic as we see their reactions to the game and their discussions, and attention, wandering to and from the baseball. The actors are believable in their roles, with their naturalistic performances helped by a well observed, lightly comic script from Tetsuya Okumura. The story moves deftly from the humour of Asuha and Hikaru’s complete ignorance about the sport they are watching to themes of strained friendships, broken dreams and unrequited love. We learn that Asuha and Hikaru are members of the drama club, their hopes of participating in regional finals dashed by Hikaru catching the flu at the last minute; Fujino is pining for the quiet Miyashita; top student Miyashita is dealing with losing out on top place on a recent test to her romantic rival Kusumi (Hikari Kuroki). The script builds all the elements quietly, slowly introducing new strands to the story and creating believable characters who have a good chemistry together. It cuts away from the stands occasionally, using the setting of the baseball stadium well to break up the action.

A fun, coming-of-age film that takes a unique approach to its familiar themes. The friendship of Asuha and Hikaru being tested; the faltering romances of several characters; the stress surrounding test results; and teenage angst, are all encapsulated in a single afternoon spent watching baseball. Although we do not see the game, baseball is used as an allegory for life throughout. The idea of the outfielders, paid little attention until they make a mistake, or the incompetent batter who nevertheless remains determined to succeed, provide parallels with the way society treats those unlucky individuals who fail to make centre stage. The idea of the characters as observers, rather than players, emphasises this idea, with them sitting as far away from the ‘action’ as they can. The teacher character of Atsugi, as might be expected in a teen drama, offers several words of wisdom throughout. The four characters, who have largely given up on their dreams, are shown that it is not the result but the effort that is most important; and that people should continue chasing their dreams no matter how many setbacks they encounter.

Matt Cooper Films

Re/Member (2022) by Eiichiro Hasumi

A group of high-school students are tasked with reconstructing a body to stop a monstrous curse in this teen action-horror. Asuka (Kanna Hashimoto) is an introverted high-school girl who struggles to fit in after an incident in her early school life left her ostracised from the popular groups. At midnight one night she finds herself transported to a chapel by the school, along with five other students, Rumiko (Maika Yamamoto), Rie (Yokota Mayu), Atsushi (Fuju Kamio) Takahiro (Gordon Maeda) and Shota (Kotaro Daigo). The bookish Shota is able to shed light on their situation, explaining that they must recover several severed body parts and lay them in a casket in the chapel. They are hunted through the school by a bloodied child carrying a teddy bear, the victim of an historic murder. Failure, often due to being killed by the bloodied child, results in the six being returned to the morning of the previous day. In order to break this cycle they must work together to find all the parts of the body.

Re/Member starts out strong, with some brutal horror and excellent direction by Eiichiro Hasumi perfectly capturing the creepy vibe. The group of school-children being hunted by a supernatural horror is a well-worn story by now, but the gruesome deaths, eerie night-time chases around the school, and the mysterious past of the monster are stylishly woven together. The film’s main failing is in the fact that the story removes most of the tension by explaining that they will repeat the same night over again if they are killed. This wouldn’t be an issue if not for the fact that the characters themselves soon seem overly relaxed about their predicament, taking time out for a fun day at the beach, and even moments of romance, seemingly unconcerned by being brutally murdered night after night. The lack of threat undermines the elements that are well done, with some fun action and excellent special effects. The earlier monster of the young blood-spattered child is replaced by a less effective antagonist later in the film. Threat is added later on when the teenagers’ mortality is re-established, but this could have been included from the beginning. The horror score creates a sense of dread that manages to recapture some of the terror that should be felt. If you can put aside the large plot-holes and inexplicable story elements then “Re/Member” is a fun teen horror. The film is based on a web novel, with a screenplay by Harumi Doki.

One element that the film strives to bring out is the relationship between the characters. The notion that the monster is the personification of their loneliness is an interesting element, but one that fits poorly with the fact that it is trying to tear them limb from limb. The solidarity and comradeship the six require to defeat it is a positive message, but again the questions over exactly what the purpose of the ‘Body Hunt’ is for stands in the way of any other considerations. Much like the dismembered corpse, it is a film that seems put together from several popular teen move tropes. Although it is not particularly original, the cast and set-piece action moments are strong enough to make for an enjoyable action horror.