Fun, scary but silly

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 2003)

Another day, another Hollywood remake and this time its the turn of a Japanese horror classic on the metaphorical chopping block. Its got a cool concept, it has a cool actress in it (Naomi Watts of Mulholland Drive fame)and a cool trailer. Cool then? Well...
Gore Verbinski (sp.?) chooses not to out-gross the audience (a la Halloween H20) and instead works on our deepest fears- that of the unknown. Oh, and a television. Naomi Watts proves she's no flavour of the month with a surprisingly good portrayal of a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown- again. Also there's the inclusion of everybody's favourite late 90s horror symbol- a scary looking child. Hmmm, I'm wetting my pants.

But honestly, this is a very good scare-'em up. It has you on the edge of your seat throughout and you actually (SHOCK! HORROR!) care about the characters. The only thing that detracts from the film's appeal is the final, silly 30 minutes. I won't give too much away, but the film shifts from horror of the unknown to horror of the surreal. And the audience laughs.
Not for your kiddies. It'll stay with you, that's for sure...