Description: Detective Akiba, a private investigator specializing in supernatural phenomenon, mades a living freeing people from the troublesome ghosts that haunt them. In fact, he receives messages through the Mail from spirits who are unable to detach themselves from their former earthly existence. With psychic powers and a custom-made pistol, known as a Kagutsuchi (this is the name for the Japanese god of fire), Akiba seeks them out and sets them back on the cycle of death and re-birth. Through these so-called ascensions, he facilitates the transmigration of the soul. During a standard call one day, he meets Mikoto, a quixotic young girl who takes a sudden interest in him and insists on becoming his assistant. Mikoto's sudden appearance in his life seems to accelerate his own date with destiny, leading to a confrontation with his past and a discovery that puts his career path into perspective. As the tally of exorcised spirits climbs, Akiba's forgotten past gradually begins to return to him in glimpses. But it is with the 100th ascension that his memory is to become fully unlocked. Only then will he recall why he possesses the spirit pistol, Kagutsuchi, or why he has suppressed certain incidents fro his childhood. Perhaps it will even shed some light on this relationship with Mikoto. The shroud of mystery that surrounds Akiba gradually unravels through nine ghostly chapters, concluding with a romantic twist.
Don't Bother Mail has the look and feel of a television mini-series with five half-hour (actually closer to 20-minute) segments. Most of the movie is in medium shots or close ups, so it feels a little claustrophobic as well. The pacing is slow and the special effects range from rudimentary to just OK. The real problem is that the movie just isn't scary.
Actually, I learned a couple of things in watching this movie. First, ghosts aren't scary without a build-up and time spent to develop atmosphere. Because of each segment's short running time, the ghost is just dropped into the frame to go "Boo." Second, a high-tech gimmick of eradication--here the laughable "holy pistol" -- eliminates a sense of danger or suspense. If a ghost can be exorcised by just shooting it like some western bad man, any prospect of supernatural dread is lost.
The best segment is the first, in which the "shock" moment is the girl in the painting slowly opening its eyes. Creepy; but unfortunately, the action is telegraphed when the camera lingers too long on face before the eyes begin to open. The viewer has time to guess exactly what is going to happen. Nothing remotely frightening happens after that, and the story with the school children veers into deep and embarrassing sentimentality-- the ghosts even sing Auld Lang Syne. In fairness, the movie does contain what may be the screen's first haunted women's bathroom.
The DVD lacks an English language track option: the movie can only be watched in Japanese, albeit with easy-to-read English subtitles. Image quality is very good, maybe just a little too dark in some scenes. The movie is mildly letterboxed--much appreciated but here more an affectation than a necessity. Finally, the movie's running time (on DVD) is closer to 110 minutes--not the 150 minutes claimed.
For me, a major disappointment and a lesson that original language and letterboxing do not guarantee quality "Asian Horror."
Chiaki is absolutely stunning in this movie Chiaki Kuriyama is my favorite actress and I have all her movies. When I was watched this one, I was amazed. She plays a young girl Mikoto who aids a supernatural detective.It has five parts to it, and the ending is amazing. I recommend this one as a must see.
Mail - Sometimes the Dead Can't Die. "Mail - Sometimes the Dead Can't Die." I enjoyed this DVD as it gave a new & pleasing twist to the traditional "buddy private eyes" type genre. Takamasu Suga is impressive as dedicated, earnest "Psychic Detective" Reiji Akiba in his long black "Matrix" style clothing & his Holy Pistol as he seeks out lost souls troubling people & planet & despatches them safely to the other side. Chiaki Kuriyama (Go Go in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill", Chigusa in Kenji Fukasaku's "Battle Royale") is excellent as Mikoto, his attractive, spunky, young female sidekick-with-a-sad-secret, who contributes more to resolving cases than she gets credit for. Plot lines are good with six (not nine as it states on the sleeve) TV style stand alone episodes but with a continuing story-arc. Occasionally some elements might seem reminiscent of other J-horror offerings such as "Juon" or "Ringu", but others, such as the haunted public toilet, are entirely novel! However I felt a bit cheated towards the end because as soon as the "buddy" relationship has been attractively set up over the initial two episodes, & builds up intriguingly through two more, than it winds down over the final two, leaving me feeling that they had a format here that offered a lot of possibilities so why end it all so soon. There was the potential for this to be almost a Japanese "X-Files" type series, with the emphasis on spook rather than pseudo-science, especially as Reiji had been given the assignment of "ascending" 100 souls to heaven by his shadowy mentor before his mysteriously suppressed childhood memories can return. This all adds another intriguing layer to the primary story arc of the relationship between Reiji & Mikoto & also underlines the question of the brevity of the series. However I would certainly recommend this DVD to anyone with a liking for this type of sympathetic & entertaining "soft" J-horror genre.
The Japanese CONSTANTINE Mail is the Japanese CONSTANTINE. It is done as 5 seperate stories and is low budget. Reji exocises spirits using a golden pistol. Think more James Bond than religious. The special effects are more fitting for a TV series, and watching it, I think it could have been done better as anime. Mikoto, the assistant, is recognizable from Kill Bill 1. The acting is weak, but the story idea is sound. Buy it used or you'll be disappointed.
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