Keitai Kanojo Review

I haven’t seen the trailer, but in the first few minutes of the film, I suddenly got a feeling that this would be another horror film with a weak plot and unlikeable characters. This being a straight-to-DVD film, I didn’t expect it to be like Ringu or other big hit Japanese horror films.

Based on the novel of the same name, Keitai Kanojo is a sequel to the movie Keitai Kareshi.

Click the photo to buy the DVD from Amazon Japan

Keitai Kanojo

携帯彼女

Year: 2011

Language: Japanese

Genre: Horror

Synopsis:

Random killings have been taking place in Japan. The criminals are always found dead right after the murder. According to rumours, the killings have been rooted from a cursed cellphone girlfriend game. Once a man downloads this game, he will have to please the simulated girlfriend named Erika (Seika Taketomi) with his sweet words or by doing what she wants (killing random girls). If the love meter reaches 0 or 100%, the game ends and the player dies.

Meanwhile, a girl who is also named Erika (Airi Suzuki) witnesses the murder of her friend Chiyo. She is about to be killed when the man stops, talks to his cellphone, and drops to the ground, dead. When Erika sees the simulated girlfriend in the man’s cellphone, she faints and is caught by Takashi Murase (Baba Toru).

It turns out that Takashi has been looking for his sister, Erika Murase, who has been missing for many years. He suspects that the killings are linked to his sister’s disappearance and the simulated girlfriend is actually his lost sister. To break the curse, Takashi asks for Erika’s help, who seems to have somehow connected with his sister. With Erika’s nightmare that she is having everyday, they try to piece together the clues that might lead them to the missing teen.

Cheerfulnuts’ Review:

When the first victim repeatedly hits the head of some random girl, I thought that this would be another pointless movie that I would still watch anyway. It did creep me out a bit, but it didn’t make me jump from my seat like what other Japanese horror movies did.

With pop singer and C-ute member Airi Suzuki starring the movie, it has somehow made Keitai Kanojo more bearable to watch for her fans. Since Keitai Kanojo is her movie debut, I can’t really say that she did a poor job, though in all honesty, I wasn’t really impressed. Even with her raw acting, it’s not hard to sympathize with her Erika Kurahashi. Who wouldn’t? For someone who sees ghost and people dying in front of her, everyone would feel for her.

The plot is original but a story with a cursed cellphone game is just childish. As the story unfolded, I felt that the root behind the curse is unconvincing and shallow. Though the movie is lacking in other departments, the ghost is a bit creepy. The ending is unexpected, which is cool, but it’s not very original.

The bottom line is, unless you’re an Airi fan or unless you love horror regardless of its quality, don’t even bother watching Keitai Kanojo.

Cheerfulnuts’ Verdict:

3 out of 10 stars 

Related Products:

Rabbit Horror 3D Review

Rabbit Horror 3D

Alternative Titles: Tormented, Rabito Hora 3D

Chinese Title: 恐怖兔子

Year: 2011

Language: Japanese

Genre: Horror, Drama

Synopsis:

At school, 10-year-old Daigo (Takeru Shibuya) kills a pregnant rabbit before his sister, Kiriko Imazato (Hikari Mitsushima), is able to stop him. Daigo is bullied by his classmates ever since. Kiriko, a mute librarian who loves Daigo dearly, tells him to stop going to school. He is homeschooled from then on.

Though the two are half siblings (they are borne to different mothers), they are very close and they share the same bedroom. Their father, who works as a book illustrator, is very distant from them.

When Kiriko and Daigo watch a 3D horror film at the movie house, a plush rabbit pops out from the screen. Daigo reaches for the rabbit and is surprised when he is able to touch it. He discreetly keeps it in his bag.

At home, when everyone is asleep, Daigo checks the stuffed animal in his bag. The rabbit is gone, but then a figure flashes across the room. Daigo goes out and sees blood tracks on the floor. He follows it, and is pulled by the rabbit into another world. The haunting starts.

Kiriko notices the weird things taking place in their home and somehow knows that it has something to do with a rabbit. She tries to warn her incredulous father (Teruyuki Kagawa) about the strange incidents and tells him that Daigo’s mother, Kyoko (Tamaki Ogawa), is back. Kiriko has to do something before Kyoko takes her brother away.

Cheerfulnuts’ Review:

I always have a soft spot for children. So when a boy is rattled by an evil rabbit in a movie, I sympathize with him a lot. Seeing from a child’s perspective makes me more jittery than I should be. There were moments in the movie that I let out a stifled scream.

The rabbit mascot may not look creepy at first. As I was watching with my headset on, my sister, who was peeking at my laptop, thought that I was watching a children’s movie. It was only when I started to cover my eyes that she realized this “children’s movie” was actually a horror movie. The sounds added more suspense on the film. Japanese horror movies always have those distinct sound effects that you won’t hear in their non-Asian counterparts. Viewers who are not familiar with Japanese films may find the sounds weird or even funny. Nevertheless, Rabbit Horror has spooked me.

Rabbit Horror’s delivery is excellent. I was suddenly engrossed by the movie. I think having someone mute as the protagonist makes this movie unique and special. With Kiriko’s silence, her voice-over narration makes the movie more captivating since you’d be curious about what she has to say.

The movie started strong. The moment Daigo hits the rabbit, the movie got my attention. It got a bit confusing for a while, but when it shows flashbacks from Kiriko’s childhood, things that were previously unexplained became clearer. It has a twist, though it was predictable. The ending created more questions which left me scratching my head. I wasn’t so satisfied and didn’t want it to end yet that I stared at the screen until the end of the closing credits. It didn’t clearly explain what was going on, but I guess it’s up to the viewers to figure that out.

The bottom line is, Rabbit Horror, unlike most horror movies, is a no-nonsense movie. It has a story and the characters are actually likeable. If you’re a horror movie fan, especially Japanese horror movies, you should definitely watch Rabbit Horror. Just don’t expect to feel good after the movie.

Cheerfulnuts’ Verdict:

7 out of 10 stars

Related Products:

Rinjo Review

Rinjo

臨場

Genre: Police Drama

Language: Japanese

Duration: 10 episodes (Season 1), 11 episodes (Season 2)

Telecast: 2009 and 2010

Synopsis:

Kuraishi Yoshio (Uchino Masaaki) is a stubborn, eccentric yet an outstanding coroner who is highly respected by his subordinates. As he tries to solve each case, he is continually haunted by his dark past.

Cheerfulnuts’ Review:

Kuraishi Yoshio reminds me of Black Jack. He is eccentric and appears to be somewhat cold and emotionally unattached, though he is in fact kind and cares deeply for others. This “what you see is NOT what you get” trait makes Kuraishi interesting and unpredictable.

Kuraishi’s subordinate Kosaka Rumi (Matsushita Yuki) is pretty much consistent all throughout the series. She isn’t as interesting as the other team members like Ichinose Kazuyuki (Watanabe Dai) and Nishida Mamoru (Kobayashi Katsuya), but she somehow makes Kuraishi’s character much stronger.

I don’t have enough knowledge in the medicine field, so I can’t tell whether the cases are realistic or not. But as much as people enjoy watching CSI and the like, Rinjo has engaging cases that can captivate the viewers. This drama made me think as each story unfolds. The drama is episodic, but it doesn’t ignore the character development aspect, which I think, makes the series strong.

In Rinjo II, most things are pretty much the same. The cases are much more engaging though (perhaps because the characters grew on me). The main difference in the Season 2 is Kuraishi. His coolness in facing his cases seems to disappear. He becomes more passionate and a bit emotional. You would see him shed tears too easily – something you would rarely see in the first season. Despite that, I still like him. It’s interesting to see this other side of his character which we haven’t seen in Season 1.

Rinjo is a good drama, but it is not for everyone. This may not be appealing to some young people. I’d also like to mention that despite the drama’s theme, Rinjo has been very modest in exhibiting gore and violence. Season 2 is independent. You can watch it without watching Season 1, though I still recommend you to watch the first season to fully appreciate the characters. The second season’s ending is much more satisfying to me.

Cheerfulnuts Verdict:

7 out of 10 stars

Related Products: