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On Marebito and J-Horror’s One-Off Tension
September 15, 2006
Musings
Brent
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 so obsessed by the craving to understand fear that he repeatedly pores over footage of a grisly subway suicide, then stumbles into a bizarre and cavernous underworld. There he comes across a beautiful mute girl whom he takes home and begins to care for. What struck me, though, was the manner in which <b>the film’s stylistic affect — including a good bit more voiceover narration than I previously recalled — frequently worked at cross purposes with its tension</b>. Shimizu’s movie is in many ways amongst the more ornamental “J-horror” films of the past several years, much more so than <i>Ringu</i>, <i>Audition</i> or <i>The Eye</i>. It has a twist, but also some stark gimmickry. It’s in re-watching <i>Marebito</i> that you most realize <b>these films, as a whole, are as much about temporary conveyance as anything else</b>.</p>
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