Welcome to Sensei Sensibility! You are the hungry mind yearning to devour Asian horror cinema; I am the (questionably) knowledgeable Sensei, more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite.
"I can't shake this creepy feeling..."
In a terribly jaded world where everyone has already seen everything, it's a tremendous pleasure to stumble across something that one has not in fact, seen. One such previously un-seen entity is Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 made-for-T.V. movie Séance (Kôrei).
Starring Japanese screen legends Koji Yakusho (Cure, Pulse, Tokyo Sonata) and Jun Fubuki (Like Father, Like Son, Our Little Sister, Call me Chihiro), Séance is a cerebral slow-burn paranormal thriller. And bloody eerie to boot.
Based on Mark McShane's Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1961 novel, 1964 film adaptation), Kurosawa's version centres around Junko and Koji Sato, a couple whose outwardly placid marriage is irreparably rocked by the kidnapping of a young local girl, Yoko.
"You can't fear the ordinary..."
As a (little) known psychic, Junko is enlisted by local police to help track down this missing girl through the power of psychometry. (If a psychic touches a specific person's object they'll be able to source where that person is. Allegedly.)
Bored and childless, (unexplained lack of children, were there medical issues or is it just because of Koji's work ethic and constant absence from the home?) Junko views this police work as her last chance at finding fame as a psychic, thus giving her life a semblance of meaning outside of marital duties.
Surely she herself will become a national household name if she's the hero who locates the missing child alive, right!?
In fact, Junko senses something... the kidnapped child's presence... it's surprisingly close by... it's coming from... her husband's audio equipment box in the garage?!
Bet she didn't see that coming.
Aaaaaaaaaah... Sh*t.
Due to a freak accident slash bizarre twist of fate, not wholly dissimilar to Dark Water, or Spanish horror The Orphanage, audio designer and inattentive husband Koji ends up bringing the kidnapped Yoko home with him from an audio recording excursion in some creepily gorgeous woods near Mt. Fuji.
Yes, on the face of it, this is a bad situation to be in. I'm sure the police will take some convincing of their professed innocence - but the child is alive, and safe from the original kidnapper - surely through the power of reasoned logic and the fairness of the justice system this sticky wicket the Satos have found themselves in can be resolved nicely?
Dear reader, I regret to inform you, that we will never know the answer to the above suggested course of action.
As a human, there is nothing worse than watching fairly decent on-screen people make some appalling decisions that make a bad situation so, so, so, much worse. (Like oh dear lord, sooooooo much worse. As worse as it can get.)
But as a viewer? BRING IT ON.
"You've had your dream, time to get back to living, that's all we have"
From here, the already contrived plot does take a turn for the down-right unbelievable, with loopholes galore. However, that doesn't make it any less compelling. Part J-Horror, (complete with tasteful, understated jump scares, and the obligatory Crawling Hair Scare), part crime-thriller a-la Cure, Séance is also a fantastic character study in the implosion of a stagnant marriage.
Yakusho and Fubuki execute their parts as Mr. and Mrs. Sato brilliantly, with each tense scene simmering to a brutal boiling point. Kurosawa brilliantly builds the (not so cohesive plot) with fantastic cohesion, the transition from mundane day-to-day married life, to dramatic supernatural scenes is seamless.
The ending is a head scratcher though, leaving the viewer wondering whose side are they on, Junko's or Koji's?
Dopplegängster's Paradise...
Séance contains the neutral colour palette, naturalistic lighting and fly-on-the-wall camera work typical of the early noughties J-Horror style. Pops of primary colour are reserved for the ghosts - a red dress here, a green dress there, all the more to highlight their otherworldliness. As in Pulse, Kurosawa effectively utilises a sparse, chilling score. There's also an early scene featuring very cute stop motion animation to indicate paranormal activity.
The locations are fantastic to look at, from panoramic rural fields to gritty, derelict displays of urban decay. The framing is as fascinating as it is unusual. We often view scenes through a window, as if we are ghosts looking in at Koji and Junko from the other side. The attention to detail for just a made-for-T.V. movie is testament to Kurosawa's ability as a director.
Séance also makes you (horrifyingly) wonder "what ghosts are following me?". Also, later actions in the film aside, you do feel genuine empathy for Junko as a psychic, her ability to see the undead impairs her daily life almost like a physical disability.
And the most awkward question raised of all... if you were in their shoes and were the victim of a freak accident that made you look guilty, would you do the honest thing and call the cops? Or would you try and "take care of it" yourself?
My favourite movie moments were the Red Ghost, a fantastically chilling night time scene in the rain where Mr. and Mrs. Sato are digging a hole in more ways than one, and the fabulously weird Dopplegänger episode.
Featuring cameos from fellow screen icons Ren Osugi and Show Aikawa, Séance is a near perfect outing whose flaws can be easily forgiven. Perfect for fans of: One Missed Call and Occult.
***Sensei Sensibility apologises for the picture quality in this article, it was impossible to find useable movie stills and we had to go rogue with our camera phone!***
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