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Bookmark this pageShutter (2008)
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Movie review
From Time Out London
With a setup familiar from ‘Lost in Translation’, a plot similar to ‘White Noise’ and a monster recognisable from ‘Ringu’, J-horror remake ‘Shutter’is little more than a mish-mash of random and increasingly blatant references disguised as a movie. Ben (Joshua Jackson) is a photographer returning to his Tokyo studio with new bride Jane (Rachael Taylor) in tow.But a series of mysterious ghostly blurs on Jane’s holiday snaps lead her to investigate the phenomenon of spirit photography, by which images of the dead can be caught on film. Soon she and her increasingly shifty-looking hubby are inextricably entangled in a web of lies, flies and herky-jerky long haired ghost-women.
Despite one or two effective scares and an unnerving strobelit sequence, ‘Shutter’is instantly forgettable stuff, never even attempting to transcend its low rent multiplex status. Throwing in daft plot twists every few minutes for its undemanding teen audience, the film ticks along harmlessly enough without ever managing to leave a lasting impression.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 1969, May 15-21, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- usman khawaja said...
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Posted on Jul 03 2008 05:23
this was a rather well crafted ,well written horror but it became more when it tackled the story from a japanese angle where 3 predatory american take a vulnerable innocent young translator for a sexual ride ,though it is familiar and predictable but the visual vendetta has style and innovation and is definitely worth viewing for it's deft execution ,no psychological masrterpiece but still enough to make it's point .
the acting of the 2 female leads was quite good as they come to share the same vile man and the disturbing truth. - Report as inappropriate
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- Issac said...
- Posted on May 26 2008 15:52 I LOVE YOU :)
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- critique said...
- Posted on May 21 2008 15:28 Inferior version of the excellent Thai original.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina, David Denman full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 85 mins
UK Release: May 16 2008
US Release: Mar 21 2008
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