Movies
Shrill Cries: Reshuffle
A follow-up that takes a little time to figure out. It's part sequel, part reboot. Or, as the title already indicates: a reshuffle. The first film was interesting, but it lacked a confident director and/or a slightly bigger budget. This second film hasn't solved either problem, so the conclusion is the same: fascinating, but imperfect.
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The film jumps from drama to horror quite briskly, and the setting is nice. Performances aren't that great and the pacing does have some issues, but the horror elements are fun enough and the film does manage to keep you on your toes. An easy recommend for fans of off-kilter Japanese horror, but not a highlight of the genre.
Shrill Cries of Summer
I never watched the anime/read the manga this film was based on, which usually pans out pretty well. Going in with no expectation and seeing where the plot takes you is favorable for a film like Shrill Cries of Summer. The result is a pretty fun mystery with darker/horror-leaning details.
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The location is perfect and the actors do a decent enough job. The film starts off rather slow, but that's part of the setup. It does get progressively freakier and the finale has some pretty memorable imagery, but it never quite nails the contrast it set out to accomplish. Fun filler, but nothing more.
Basic J-Horror, with an above-average finale. I watched the remake years ago, but never really managed to get a hold of Oikawa's original. He's certainly not the most gifted director of his generation, but he can turn out a proper horror film, and that's exactly what you should expect from this film.
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The setup and backstory are very basic, the scares in the first hour are pretty generic and the performances are rather weak. It's not terrible, just very expected. But then the finale kicks in and the quality really ramps up. Not that it is a Japanese horror classic, but if you're looking for some fun horror filler, Oikawa delivers.
