Product Description: Midori has just transferred high schools and returned to the town she lived in as a young girl. When Midori arrives at school she notices that a childhood friend Ryusuke Shibayama is also in her class. Meanwhile a rumor about the beautiful boy fortuneteller at the Shrine comes up among the students right about the same time. They say the mysterious young boy who wraps himself in black clothing is so beautiful that he makes girls hearts stop as they fall under his spell.System Requirements:Running Time: 95 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 631595062182 Manufacturer No: TSDVD-0621
Rather tame love ghost story. I don't know really what to make of this. Is it a ghost movie? A love story? You decide.
3 ½ + Stars: Eerie and Effective Teen Drama/Thriller... Manga (Japanese comic) to anime to live-action film has been one of the formulas being done in Japan. "Love Ghost" is based on the manga titled "Shibito No Koiwazurai" (Translates to "Lovesick Dead") by Junji Ito; responsible for successful horror manga hits such as "Tomie" and "Uzumaki". The comic book had huge success in Japan, and as expected (as in any other place) comic book adaptations have become the trend in movies. Re-titled "Love Ghost" for reasons unknown, I rather thought "Lovesick Dead" would sound more intimidating; the film explores the premise of the spirit world mixed in with teenage girls looking for romance in odd places. Now, I haven't read the comic and I have only seen the film directed by Kazuyuki Shibuya so I cannot really say how faithful the film is to its source material.
The tale revolves around a pretty, young schoolgirl named Midori (Risa Goto), who returns to her hometown. When she arrives in school, she crosses paths with an old childhood friend, Ryusuke (Ryuhei Matsuda) who also happens to be her new classmate. There are whispers and rumors that there is a trend in the school that school girls are asking for their future in romance from a mysterious ghost boy, who is said to be able to predict if one will find their true love or not. However, this trend becomes bitter when a girl's misfortune encourages her to take her own life. Soon after, Midori finds herself entangled right in the middle of this paranormal activity and the web of different "love triangles" at school. Suzue (Asumi Miwa, Ju-on) and Tamayo (Yuki Inomata, Ringu TV series) both has eyes for Kotaro (Shinji Takahashi), who likes Midori. Midori in turn likes her childhood friend; Ryusuke...Usual teenage complications? Hardly.
The film's premise does seem your routine teen flick, much in the tradition of South Korea's "haunted school" (Whispering Corridors, Memento Mori, Wishing Stairs) trilogy and seems to borrow some elements from R. Avery's "Rules of Attraction". The film's story plays much like an Asian version in which the characters set off a chain of events that affect each other's lives through interaction and reactions. "Love Ghost" is actually more a teen drama/thriller than your run-of-the- mill horror film. The film is quite plot driven and it seemed like each character has more or less a link to someone else. Love triangles are aplenty which are actually put in center stage than its supernatural premise. The film is a drama with horror elements so viewers will have to embrace this as such rather than as a horror thriller it has been billed as. This is a Japanese film, so expect the usual twists about curses and sad backstory, but thankfully, the film has a more intuitive plot and Shibuya's direction is more focused and reserved for its main purpose.
When I said Shibuya's direction is focused, it is because the style, cinematography and set designs have all the feelings of a comic book. Junji Ito's other writings have always explored obsessive and disturbing behavior and the direction complements this in the way he represents the effects of the supernatural on everyday teenagers (and people). The film is more a character study of the Japanese teen, the first half plays like a teen drama and then it goes to overdrive in the last 40 minutes. Shibuya's direction is quite adventurous and open for exploration, as he is obviously going for more than the usual thrills and tries an understanding of psychology on camera. The cinematography definitely has the manga-inspired style as the shots and camera positioning further emphasizes the comic book feel.
Now, the film does have its faults, some twists can be seen from a mile away and some revelations do require a suspension of disbelief. I don't want to spoil anything, but some characters just fade in the proceedings that I wondered what else might have happened. Also, the film does lack the usual thrills and chills in the beginning, that people looking for a fast-paced thriller may be a bit disappointed. The way to appreciate "Love Ghost" is to look beyond the usual horror gimmicks and pay attention to the development of the characters and the elements that work well.
Ultimately, I did enjoy "Love Ghost"(this was recommended to me by fellow amazon reviewer; Ernest Jagger). The main focus of the film is interesting enough to keep me entertained, that it successfully explores the psychological effects of the supernatural (and other folks) on regular everyday people. It opted to become a successful drama/thriller than an average gorefest with a vengeful ghost on the rampage. It will definitely not get the attention it deserves in the U.S. but it is worth the time to watch.
Recommended. [3 ½ + Stars]
Other recommeded manga-to-film adaptation: Death Note & Death Note: The Last Name.
Very Good Movie, but 4/3 letterboxed It is a shame that Toyko Shock once again releases a movie they list as widescreen in a 4/3 letteredboxed version. What this means is that if you have a widescreen TV , you will have black bars on all 4 sides. If you zoom it to fill the screen, the subtitles will go off the bottom of the screen. Don't bother calling or emailing them because they don't answer. Any movie released after 2004 should be anamorphic widescreen or enhanced for 16/9 tv's. Most responsible companies have always released widescreen in the correct version. I guess they feel if they just say widescreen then they can package anything the the box and customer beware.
If you like having a small picture on a big screen this is the version for you.
Very cool storyline After reading many of reviews concerning this movie, I was more than intrigued to check out myself. I'm glad that I did. I don't usually watch movies with a romantic paranormal twist to it, but this one held my attention from start to finish. What makes it different from the rest is that you have no idea what is real and what isn't. I love how the writers did the storyline; instead of going into the two main characters past to deeply, they leave the viewer guessing throughout. It isn't until the end that you are able to figure out what really happened and why.
Amazing throughout. If you like paranormal movies with a slight touch of romanticism, then you'll enjoy this.
Childhood Memories Of Love And Regret: A Ghost Story! "Love Ghost," is an excellent film. The film itself, directed by Kazuyuki Shibuya, is based on the Manga by Junji Ito [Uzumaki, Tomie]. More importantly, as the reviewer below noted in his review, it is refreshing in that there are not tons of blood and gore in the film: That gets old real fast. [Although it does have its share of violence]. But not enough to nauseate one. Moreover, I found the film to be very good. I purchased this film some years back on a whim, and had not seen the film in a few years, until I decided to take it out of my storage, along with some other DVDs and Videos, to view it again recently; and I found that it had held up to my previous liking of the film. This is both a drama and a ghost story.
The film has a very well developed storyline, which is a plus in any film. The films narrative centers on the main protagonist Fukada Midori (Risa Goto) and her mother who have just moved back to the place where Midori lived as a child. Moreover, she begins to rekindle her friendship with a boy she once had a crush on: The films main antagonist Shibayama Ryusuke (Ryuhei Matsuda). However, there is something strange and different about her childhood friend. As Midori's classmates begin to commit suicide, Midori is perplexed and tries to understand why.
The films narrative is able to keep the viewer in suspense as to what, and why these events are happening. For one thing, the other teenage girls at Midori's school are a little jealous of her beauty [she catches the looking glances of the boys]. But it is the game the girls play to amuse themselves that is a bit more ominous in tone. These girls are into fortune telling, tarot cards, and reading horoscopes. Yet not content to dabble in this fun, they decide to play a new game called Tsujiura. In his game [which is an old fortune telling method] a person covers their eyes while asking a passing stranger a question. And the answer is given to be the truth. However, not every passing person is 'normal,' especially if he wears black clothes.
Furthermore, his answers may not be what you want to hear, and more importantly, he may just be a ghost. I would not really say that the film is a horror story, per se, at least not in the usual cliched way that most horror films are done. There is an emotional depth to the film, with tragedy, death and above all guilt--which is explored to the hilt. And I especially liked the psychological twists the film employs in its narrative, which for me is always a plus. This is a very well done film, the cinematography is very good [especially considering the low budget the film boasted] and more importantly, the camera use that first time director Kazuyuki Shibuya employed in the film was maximized to the fullest affect in creating a terrific atmosphere. I recommend the film highly.
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