Kairo (2001)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writer:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Yûrei ni aitai desu ka? (Do you want to meet a ghost?)

Plot:

Japanese university students investigate a series of suicides linked to an Internet Web cam that promises visitors the chance to interact with the dead.

Plot Keywords:

Internet | Shadow | Alone | Forbidden Room | One Word Title

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Haruhiko Katô	...	Ryosuke Kawashima
Kumiko Asô	...	Michi Kudo
Koyuki	...	Harue Karasawa
Kurume Arisaka	...	Junko Sasano
Masatoshi Matsuo	...	Toshio Yabe
Shinji Takeda	...	Yoshizaki
Jun Fubuki	...	Michi's mother
Shun Sugata	...	Boss
Shô Aikawa	...	Employee
Kôji Yakusho	...	Ship Captain
Kenji Mizuhashi	...	Taguchi
Takumi Tanji	...	Man with Bag
Hassei Takano	...	Student A
Atsushi Yuki	...	Student B
Go Takashima	...	Student C

Also Known As:

Pulse (International: English title)
The Circuit
Kaïro (France) [fr]
Kairo (Greece) (festival title) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent images.

Runtime:

118 min | Hong Kong:119 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 | Australia:MA (2006) | New Zealand:R13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB (DVD rating) | South Korea:15

Company:

Daiei Eiga

Trivia:

The Japanese title written in Mandarin means "the road back".

Movie Connections:

Edited into Pulse (2006/I)

Soundtrack:

Hane Lay Down My Arms

Printo Screenki.

I'm a jaded horror-movie fan, hence approximately once in a blue moon do I get to watch a film from this genre that has me glued to the screen rather than bored or sneering/almost laughing at the gore when I'm not supposed to. But perhaps that was the key here, the essential ingredient - or rather the lack of it: the fact that there is no gore. Just like in the Japanese "Ringu", the eeriness comes out of what is insinuated rather than catchup-stained limbs flying through rooms as if they had wings. "Kairo" remains interesting in spite of its 2-hour length, although a little editing snip here or there might have made it a little more compact. The dialogue is mostly standard, i.e. not that interesting (with some exceptions), so it's the ghost scenes that elevate this movie above 98% of the usual horror crap. The story is slightly muddled (or were my subtitles bad?) but it matters not. "Kairo" shows once again why the Japanese (or Orientals in general) have an upper hand in the genre in recent years.

And even if you disliked it: it still beats watching a Stephen King or Wes Craven film, doesn't it? Plus, Japanese actresses are so much better-looking than the increasingly ugly, masculine blonds Hollywood serves us lately...

"Printo screenki": this is how one male character referred to a certain computer-keyboard feature...