Shiraishi is one of the few survivors of the Japanese suspense wave of the early 00s. He's a core horror director who rarely leaves his comfort zone, but if you're looking for some solid horror work you really can't go wrong with him.
Movies
Grotesque is for all those people who need a lesson in what torture porn flicks really are.
This starts off as a rather generic horror film. I was a little disappointed as I have come to expect more from Shiraishi, but good things come to those who wait. The second half is a lot more fun and offers some neat and surprising twists on a simple formula. It's not enough to turn it into a future classic, but horror fans are sure to have a good time. The haunted house trope is a tried and tested one and at first Shiraishi sticks to the rules of the genre. He's a horror veteran though and he knows how and when to subvert expectations. The grandma is hilarious, the dark comedy is spot on. A fun and funny little horror flick, one that fits snugly into Shiraishi's oeuvre.Read all
Shiraishi joins the Nikkatsu revival and he kills it. Safe Word is a pretty modest and demure film compared to some of the others in the Roman Porno series, at least in the amount of skin it decides to show. The BDSM theme of the film is very present though, so be aware of that before watching this. The fake documentary style is interesting but a little superfluous, kudos to Shiraishi for delivering a very warm and colorful film though. The performances are solid, Misa's journey is captivating and the film never feels exploitative. I didn't know Shiraishi had this in him, a cool film if you can handle this type of thing.Read all
Shiraishi, best known for his horror work, comes with something a little different. A Beast in Love is tricky to describe, but at heart it's a dark (even vile) comedy with thriller, horror and light romance elements to flesh things out. The result's a bit of a mess, but if you can appreciate Shiraishi's sense of humor, there's a lot of fun to be had. There are no heroes, no likeable characters. The film does come with a big trigger warning since one of them is a cross dresser and there's only room for negative stereotypes here. If that doesn't bother you than you can brace yourself for a bit of excessive Japanese weirdness. The technical qualities aren't quite up to par, but the comedy hit the mark for me and the runtime is pretty short. Very fun and entertaining filler.Read all
Koji Shiraishi is one of those faithful horror directors. Even though the international interest in Japanese horror has waned over the past decade, Shiraishi's love for the genre clearly hasn't. It's nice to see though that Shiraishi isn't married to a single style of horror, Hell Girl shows a different side of Japanese horror cinema. The film isn't your typical less is more, black-haired ghost horror, instead it's a more fantastical kind of horror that offers a mix of modern and traditional Japanese horror elements. The story about an ongoing curse feels contemporary, but the characters and moody kills hark back to the classier horror of the past. The film looks pretty nice (safe some poor CG moments), performances are solid and the mix of fantasy and horror offers a nice change of pace. I wasn't a big fan of the setting (the Japanese pop scene isn't all that interesting), but it hardly affected the film. One of Shiraishi's better films.Read all
Interesting thriller with supernatural elements to spice things up. There's also a series attached to this film, no surprises there, but Shiraishi makes enough of an effort to have this film rise above its roots. It gets a little too plot-heavy when the film is working itself to its finale, but all in all an entertaining diversion.
The final chapter in the series, though of course, it isn't quite final. Shiraishi went on to make a few more spin-off episodes. For the main franchise though, this was the end, and what an end it was. This is by far the craziest entry in the Senritsu Kaiki franchise, and the way things have been going in the last couple of films, that's quite a bar. The first two-thirds of the film is still pretty sane, especially if you've seen the previous parts. Then all bets are off and Shiraishi goes all out. Technically it's not great, but there's a creepy mood running throughout and the finale has some pretty wacky ideas. It's a shame the series is coming to a close when things are actually getting good, but at least it ends on a high note. This was not what I expected when I started these films, and that's a big positive.Read all
Interesting film, about a reporter visiting an old friend who is on the run from the authorities. A nifty handheld thriller, with a nice twist and some minor horror elements. Well acted, intriguing from start to finish and sporting a very rewarding finale. One of the better Shiraishi films I've seen.
Shiraishi is back with the latest installment in his Kowasugi series. This film came out of nowhere for me, but I was glad to see Shiraishi return to this franchise. Not that they're terribly great films, but they are short, sweet, and fun, and after a rather tepid start they did go interesting places. Shigeo Ôsako is the star of the show, I dig his puny alpha-male character, especially now that he is bested by his female producer. The horror is pretty standard, but the finale is pretty weird and freaky, and thanks to the short runtime the film never outstays its welcome. Not essential, but good fun.Read all
A decent but slightly underwhelming horror anthology. Six respected directors tackle 10 horror stories, but with a setup like this there simply isn't enough variation in style and themes. There are no real weak entries, on the other hand far too few shorts that make an effort to stand out. Solid filler, but nothing more.
A prologue to Ohtomo's Museum, directed by Koji Shiraisi in his trademark faux documentary style. It's a film that works best if you've already seen Ohtomo's feature, but it stands well enough on its own too, as it's a separate story. It's not as good as its big brother, but after a rather tepid intro, this prologue does work itself up to a riveting finale. The found footage genre is past its prime, which does affect the first half of this film. I'm probably not the only one tired of wonky cameras and people fidgeting with tech onscreen. But once the story unfolds and the nastier dilemmas rear their head, Shiraishi has a tight lock on this film. Not his best work, but pretty dark, fun, short and to the point. Read all
Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! Preface: True Theory, Yotsuya Kaidan, the Curse of Oiwa
The fifth in the series continues where the last one left off. Slowly a bigger story is weaving itself through the individual cases, but the core hasn't changed all that much. It's not a very remarkable horror series, but each new episode feels snappy and to the point, making it extremely easy to return to the franchise to catch a new entry. Even five episodes in. The compounding lore is fun, though it doesn't change all that much about the setup of the film. It's still all about ghostly apparitions caught on crummy HD camcorders. The exorcism is pretty cool and the Oiwa legend is interesting enough, the film has no extra fat and dives right into the action, but unless you're really new to the found footage genre, there's nothing here you haven't seen before. Easy filler.Read all
One of the best ones so far. Shiraishi doesn't change the concept for this fourth entry, but it is by far one of the most ambitious stories of the bunch. Even though the toilet ghost premise sounds a little daft at first, it eventually takes the film places where I didn't expect it to go, which is a big step up compared to the first three films. The ghost videos are pretty familiar territory, but the setting is cool and the second half of the film is quite different from what I expected it to be. Don't go in hoping for anything too original of course, but at this point, anything that deviates from the norm is a welcome diversion. It's solid horror entertainment, short and to the point, perfect filler in other words.Read all
Very much on-brand for Shiraishi. He sure loves toying with the fake documentary genre, often throwing himself in there to make it even more realistic. There are other familiar faces here, but don't expect his usual horror antics. While the plot revolves around Shiraishi making horror documentaries, this is more grounded (and abusive) terror. The film's a bit too long for its own good, but once the madness starts it's a fun ride and Shiraishi takes it in some unexpected directions. That is, as long as you don't need this to be a traditional horror flick. A good and solid addition to his oeuvre, not one of his best works, but fans will no doubt appreciate it.Read all
A simple but effective sequel to the first film. Shiriashi loses himself a little in the police investigation, which needlessly slows the film down. Luckily the kills are still lots of fun and the monster is freaky enough, even though the CG doesn't do it justice. It's a short and amusing horror flick, nothing too out of the ordinary but good fun nonetheless.
Dark Tales of Japan
Koji Shiraishi's entry in the Hideshi Hino horror anthology. Back when this was released, Shiraishi wasn't a "big" name yet. His status has changed quite a lot over the years, which makes it always a bit more interesting to watch these forgotten films. Dead Girl Walking certainly isn't the worst film in the anthology. As with most of these films, the premise sounds pretty basic, but things do get weird real fast. The grim black and white cinematography and some oddball events in the second half really upgrade this film from a simple horror film to something with a more pronounced and memorable signature. Short and sweet.Read all
Shiraishi returns with a novel found footage concept. This time he is featuring himself, as a director who gets sent lots of scary videos. It's just repackaging the same old horror stories though, then again, Shiraishi has made series like these before, which did get interesting several episodes in. Haunted houses, mysterious apparitions, and cursed visitors. And all that is presented in a faux-doc style. I think Shiraishi is one of the few remaining directors who is still making films like these. This isn't his best work, nor is it still very effective, but it's short and there's some genre fun to be had with it.Read all
The second film in the Senritsu Kaiki series reboot. Also the final one (I think, because keeping track of Shiraishi's output is quite the challenge). It's decent enough, but I understand why they didn't continue this project. After the climax of the main series, these singular episodes feel a bit barren and simplistic, turning them into pretty generic J-horror films. The lore here is pretty fun (snake women and UFOs), but the horror elements are too generic and it just isn't scary enough to leave a strong impression. That's nothing new of course, but at least the main series built up to an outrageous finale, this is just another very basic Yokai encounter. It's perfectly fine if you're after some decent Shiraishi horror filler, but the man can do better than this.Read all
A reboot that was written into the plot. The concept is pretty funny and Shiraishi makes some funny references, but the result is of course a typical reboot, and that's not something I was hoping for. The fun thing about this series was how it spiraled completely out of control in the latter episodes, to have to go back to square one feels a little disappointing. This episode plays a lot like the very first three of the original series, which is somewhat of a bummer. The Kokkuri isn't that great of a demon, the hauntings are rather basic and there's no grander scheme or bigger concept behind all of it. It's still nice horror filler for those with an unquenchable thirst for Japanese suspense, but that's about it.Read all
Part 6 in the Senritsu Kaiki series. It's one of the most complex and ambitious entries in the franchise. On the one hand that's nice, because you're getting something a tad more original. On the other hand, the budget and scope of this series can't really do justice to the concepts presented here, something that really weighs on the ending. There's a bit more back story, the film is a good 10 minutes longer than the previous ones, and it certainly helps to have seen the earlier entries in the series if you want to understand what the hell is happening. The horror elements aren't very scary though, the effects are crummy and the more ambitious concept forces them into full view. It's still fun filler, but a more cinematic approach would've done this film a lot of good.Read all
Evil kappas. The problem with this particular yokai is that it is often portrayed as a friendly spirit. I just might have seen too many films with cute and cuddly kappa to be truly terrified by these creatures. Of course, the kappa featured here looks more horrific than many of its counterparts, but a menacing creature of horror it is not. Fuzzy images, jaggy camera work and some of the more gruesome folklore surrounding the kappa (apparently they rip your balls out through your rectum) are supposed to make you shiver, it just didn't quite work for me. It's still pretty decent genre fun and the short runtime is a blessing, I just liked the others better so far.Read all
Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 01: Operation Capture the Slit-Mouthed Woman
A very basic faux doc exercise from Shiraishi. Set up like an actual TV show, this film takes on the legend of the slit-mouthed woman. There are quite a few films about the subject already. Shiraishi's version doesn't really add too much to what's already out there, but if you're looking for decent horror filler this film definitely fits the bill. You'll find the usual faux doc/found footage scares here, but the slit-mouthed woman isn't really all that scary, neither is the added lore about the amulets. Shiraishi delivers a short and fast-paced film, which is good enough if you're starved for Asian horror cinema, but it's a film that will only please the most hardened fans of the genre.Read all
More traditional Japanese horror fare. Shiraishi was smart to turn this into a series of films. These types of features are pretty quick and cheap to produce, and horror fans will eat them up regardless of the quality. Not that these films are bad, they pretty much accomplish what they set out to do, they're just not terribly original. Expect lots of handy cam footage, dark abandoned buildings, messy shots of ghosts and replays that don't really make things that much clearer. It's a pretty established genre by now and Shiraishi doesn't seem too pressed to do anything new with it. It's short and well-paced, it has some decent scares along the way, but beyond that it's the definition of horror filler.Read all
Shiraishi takes his faux doc style to the pinku genre. It's an odd move for sure, as most directors see pinku films as a way into cinema, not so much something to return to, but it actually works rather well. It's not Shiraishi's greatest film, but it's a fair bit better than most pinku films I've seen. It's a pretty bonkers plot, held together by the lead role. While hardly a sympathetic man, he is pretty interesting, giving a face (even when it's hidden behind some goofy sunglasses) to a vile, self-aggrandizing criminal. The faux doc style adds a little authenticity to the film, but it never transcends its technical and budgetary limits. Better than I expected though.Read all
This isn't Shiraishi's greatest film, not by a long shot. And it's not that I had any real expectations based on the title, it's as basic as you can get. Still, Shiraishi is a pretty decent horror director, but this film falls into the category of quick and cheap filler. There is some fun to be had for sure, but it's purely and strictly for genre fans only. So you get ghosts and zombies, with some minor demon activity at the very end. The tone of the film is very light, the effects are pretty cheap and the performances not that great. The film is short though, and it's pretty fast-paced, so all in all it's pretty amusing. Just don't go in expecting a vintage Shiraishi chiller, and you should be okay.Read all
A classic J-Horror film from Koji Shiraishi. Not one that made it onto the international market, and it's not that hard to see why. It follows the usual patterns, and tries to surprise with a reverse chapter structure (but fails). It's one for the hardcore fans and completists, others have plenty of other films to give priority. So there's a typical J-Horror ghost who makes strange noises and kills young women. The formula's worn thin, and as the film lacks any real tension, there isn't all that much left to get excited about. It's short and not terrible, but it's bona fide filler that will only please the most hardened horror fans.Read all
A bit too basic for my taste. Ura Horror felt as if Shiraishi had a brainstorm with some writers, then decided to make something with all the leftovers. The result is an anthology that is little more than crude ideas and basic premises, failing to be intriguing or scary. That's not really what you want from a horror film. It all felt a tad too cheap for my taste. I will say that there were some good ideas here for mid to feature-length projects, but as shorts that don't even cross the 5-minute mark, few, if any of the stories left a lasting impression. Shiraishi fans are sure to get something out of this one, for me it was one of his weaker efforts.Read all
Shiraishi made a couple of proper horror films, sadly this one was poor and grating. The J-pop band is horrendous, the less is more approach doesn't work at all and the entire film just looks cheap and unfinished. A terrible fluke, but at least it's kind of short.