The film sure nearly killed me

Rating: Null/10 (26 January 2004)

I watched the Japanese original a few months before i heard that Hollywood was making their own version of this film. The original, although not a unique idea, is a very interesting one if handled right. It was a very watchable horror, nothing special, but well worth a view.
The remake however it a shambles. It takes a few good ideas from the film it is remaking, and also borrows from many other Hollywood horrors. The two films show the difference between the cinema from continent to continent. Japanese cinema is far more artistic and its audience view the films in a far different way. I can not imagine many traditional Japanese audiences enjoying Gore Verbinski's film.
It has a few redeeming points. The special effects, as you would expect go some way to making the Hollywood version watchable, but as for the plot, it makes little sense, and we are simply not interested enough to unravel the bits that need us to.
The usual horror conventions of the jump effect loud music are implmenented as the only way to scare us in this horror. The only thing this film will succeed in doing is making people want to watch the original and bringing it to Western audiences.
Score this film 4 out of 10