Joshua Jackson sees boring dead people in SHUTTER(2008).
© 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Mania Grade: C+
DVD: Shutter
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina
Written By: Luke Dawson
Directed By: Masayuki Ochiai
Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary, Five Featurettes
Buy it now!
DVD: Shutter
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina
Written By: Luke Dawson
Directed By: Masayuki Ochiai
Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary, Five Featurettes
Buy it now!
DVD Review of SHUTTER
By: Tim JansonReview Date: Sunday, July 20, 2008
Shutter is yet another American adaptation of a superior Thai horror film, also named “Shutter” which came out in 2004. The remake has a strange dynamic. The film uses American actors in the lead roles but it is set in Japan and directed by a Japanese director. In this regard it’s similar to The Grudge but it might have worked had it gone the route of The Ring and went with a full remake. As it is, it merely looks like warmed over bits from every other J-Horror remake and lacks the sheer terror of the original.
Ben (Jackson) and Jane Shaw (Taylor) are newlyweds and have moved to Japan where Ben is starting a new job as a fashion photographer. On their way to their new home they apparently hit a woman standing in the middle of the road and yet when they search for her body she seems to have disappeared. Jane worries about what happened to the girl but Ben is anxious to put the incident behind them so he can start his new job. Jane notices strange wisps of light in Ben’s photos and Ben soon has the same anomaly show up in his photos for work.
Jane believes the woman they hit is now a ghost and takes the photos to a magazine that specializes in spirit photos to learn more. As Jane investigates further, Ben reveals that the girl was a former obsessive girlfriend named Megumi who he had known years earlier in Japan. As the spirit becomes more aggressive, Jane tries to unravel the puzzle as to why Megumi is haunting her and Ben.
You hate to fall back on comparing the remake to the original but you can’t help but point out where the film went wrong. Masayuki Ochiai directed the outstanding J-Horror film Infection a few years back but is off the mark here. Even if you have not seen the original this film is painfully predictable. Jane boards a subway train so we know the obligatory quick shot of the ghost on the platform is coming. Ben is in bed and turns over and we know were going to get the ghost lying next to him. What made the original so good was that it wasn’t predictable and the shock ending was indeed SHOCKING! Ochiai also botches what was one of the most significant scenes in the original, when the spirit’s body is discovered. It makes no sense at all.
Joshua Jackson conveys no sense of believable horror at any point in the film. On the other hand, Ananda Everingham’s performance in the same role in the original was captivating and got your pulse racing as the spirit pushed him into a frightful panic. Of course, you can’t blame Jackson completely; Megumi’s ghost was about as scary as Casper. The one positive was Taylor’s performance that shows a restrained yet determined resolve to get to the bottom of the mystery.
If you are going to remake a film then remake it. But here the filmmakers wanted the best of both worlds…an American cast but with an Asian backdrop and it didn’t work. See both versions and compare them (I have a review of the original right here at Mania!) but if you see only one, go with the original.
Extras
On a positive note, the DVD does come with a nice set of bonus features. These include:
14:00 worth of deleted and extended scenes along with an alternate ending.
Audio Commentary with Production Executive Alex Sundell, Screenwriter Luke Dawson and actress Rachael Taylor
“A Cultural Divide: Shooting in Japan”Featurette (9:30)
“The Director: Masayuki Ochiai” Featurette (9:30)
“A Conversation With Screenwriter Luke Dawson” Featurette (5:30)
“Create Your Own Phantom Photo” Featurette (4:30)
“The Hunt For The Haunt: Tools And Tips For Ghost Hunting” Featurette (2:30)
“A History of Spirit Photography” Featurette (4:30)
An Exclusive First Look At The Horror Film Mirrors Starring Kiefer Sutherland
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