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A TV
journalist with a fascination for documenting
the paranormal has just come across a couple of
mysterious stories that all seem to be linked to
each other in some way. Together with a young female
actress he tries to solve the mystery behind a curse
that is taking over people all over Japan. But will
they succeed before it's too late?
Well you kind of get the answer right at the beginning
of the movie as the text on the screen says that the
man who made the documentary is still missing to this
day. That's right! It's a Blair Witch knock-off! Now,
I'm not a big fan of The Blair Witch Project... fine
I thought it was absolute crap, but I actually happened
to somewhat like Noroi... I think?
Noroi is such a confusing horror flick and I'm still
not sure what it was trying to achieve. It consists
of several stories that are in one way or the other
linked to each other, but you kind of have to figure
out the connection for yourself. I liked the fact
that it made you think and kept your mind occupied
but when the ending finally came, I was let down. It
was extremely unsatisfactory and didn't explain any of
the things that you've been trying to figure out
throughout the movie. This is one of those movies were
you have to make up your own solution - and while
this is a pretty neat idea every now and then, it
didn't work this time.
So what is Noroi really about? Well, it's a mockumentary
(though much more believable than Blair Witch) about
a journalist, Kobayashi, who has a burning interest
in the paranormal. We get to follow him as he tries
to figure out the connection between several strange
occurrences in the area and it seems as if they all
have one thing in common - they all seem to be
connected to the town that was flooded when they
built a dam over it in the 70's. Are the evil spirits
seeking revenge? And if so, how are they choosing
their victims? Well, we'll never know for sure I guess.
What I liked about Noroi was that it was so subtle
and atmospheric. Sure, two hours is a bit extreme
for a movie of this kind but I honestly wasn't bored
for a second. Don't get me wrong though, Noroi is
indeed a slow burner and I'm ready to bet a lot of
money on that many of you won't be able to make it
through the entire movie. Another thing that I liked
was that, while it did look like a documentary, it
didn't look like something a bunch of teens made for
a school project, it looked like an actual documentary.
High quality and everything. The acting was also
very believable - almost too believable at times.
Noroi ultimately won me over with its realistic
feeling and creepy atmosphere right from the start
(there's a scene in here which will keep me awake
for many nights to come). I needed a better solution
to the entire plot though as I felt that too many
questions were left unanswered. If you, like me, love
the original of Pulse (Kairo), I still strongly
recommend this flick. It's subtle, it's creepy and
it will definitely keep you interested for two hours.
Some bloody dogs - nothing special.
Well since it's supposed to feel like a documentary,
there's really not a whole lot to comment on here.
I did like the bass echoes though.
Creepy and atmospheric horror flick with brains, but
not for people without brains. You know how some
movies make you feel like an idiot since they over-
explain obvious things (like Sl8n8 did)? Well, Noroi
did the opposite, it didn't explain enough. I know
that this was the point of the entire movie but it
just wasn't appreciated by me. Either way, a good and
semi-original Japanese horror flick worth checking out.
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