Cult (2013)

Too much of everything

So much average

How sad is this?

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

1. This film has no Gore. If you are into that skip it. 2. I enjoy the understated nature of this film. Some argue that is a weak argument for poor writing. I disagree.3. I have seen so many horror films it is difficult to scare me. I watch these films to see the story unfold. So I can't speak to how scary it is. 4. I enjoyed the interaction between the actors especially the guy who shows up mid movie. His indifferent behavior and rudeness kind of reminded me of a manga character. In a good way.5. I thought the way the spirit was portrayed was both bizarre and strange and seemed realistic to me. If you actually met an evil spirit I mean really met one it could look like that. You don't know.6. I disliked the strange faces in the beginning they looked like stock image.7. I disliked that they never really explain Ed why the girls were taking on such a strange job. Maybe i missed it. Or maybe they were just broke needed the money and didn't ask.8. It left a number of unanswered questions at the end. I wasn't sure if that was a deliberate cliff hanger and there is to be a sequel or not but I wanted a more solid end. But based on my theories about the male character it could make sense.All in all I think you should watch it if you like found footage style films, don't need blood in your horror, and aren't annoyed with not full closure endings. I can't compare it to Noroi because that is a different movie on a different level. I also think his films get lower reviews because everyone compares it to Noroi and you shouldn't do that I mean that's like comparing two different kids.

Three young actresses are hired to help a documentarian film an exorcism at the house of a young girl and her mother. Cameras are set up everywhere as the supernatural events start to unfold.Numerous exorcists are brought in to help but the problem only seems to get worse as everyone is drawn into a nightmare of demons and curses.This Japanese found footage entry is a refreshing take on the sub-genre as some original elements are introduced that take a different direction from the Paranormal Activity franchise. There is a bit of humour injected into some of the characters which makes the experience a bit more enjoyable.Some of the effects are a bit hokey but others are original and creepy and atmospheric. There are enough twists and turns to keep the viewer's attention as the tension escalates.The three girls get a little annoying at times but do a passable job in their roles and some of the secondary characters really stand out.All in all an interesting and refreshing Cult movie from Japan.

You want to know why i'm giving this movie a 10? Because it was damn entertaining. It started off quickly and just kept building and adding more story. I was expecting a do-it-by-numbers "found footage" type of film with a J-horror flavor. What I got was something I absolutely wasn't expecting. While it isn't the scariest movie I've ever seen, it did have some good chills. People have been complaining about the CG animation used in the film, saying it ruined the film for them. Speaking for myself, I didn't mind it in the least. I just went along for the ride the movie was taking me on, and embraced the whole package. Besides, it's ghosts and demons and the like, and they tend to look weird in pretty much every culture.I'm not giving anything away here. All i'm saying is that this was one hell of an enjoyable movie. They do seem to be setting up a sequel, and I honestly cannot wait to see it.

This is an odd little movie, obviously a B quickie. I'm not going to write a novel about it, but since there are no reviews or description at all at the time I write this, a little commentary might prove useful to someone.So, we start with the premise that three C-list actresses (level-headed Yuu, delicate Mari, and attractive-but-bubbleheaded Mayuko, all playing stereotyped versions of themselves) are being pushed by their management company into doing a reality-TV project where they tag along with a traditional exorcist who's tasked with cleansing evil spirits from a house newly purchased by Tomoe Kaneda and her daughter Miho. The whole film is presented reality-TV style with a mix of footage from "hidden cameras" and and from the trio's one-woman camera crew. Unsurprisngly, you learn almost at once that the evil spirits are real. And presented to us in low-budget CG.But I'm not one to shy away from low budget: Some of my very favorite horror films have had tiny budgets. And the movie has three things going for it: First, all three of our actresses turn in quite respectable performances, as does Mari Hayashida as Tomoe. Second, you don't often see either in jHorror films, or "Paranormal Activity" genre films, that priests and exorcists are treated as having abilities as real as those of the evil spirits. Third...(Warning, minor spoilers from here on, no major ones) Third, you even less often see a movie that portrays the priests/exorcists as knowing stronger/more skilled people to call when they're over their heads.And you certainly get that here, as what begins as one junior exorcist trying to clean a house for the sake of one middle-school girl widens out into a larger struggle.Unfortunately, there's even more not to love. First, from the moment it starts, there's the "cinematography" (if that isn't too grand a word for the combination of camera, scenery and lighting work) on display here. It's as if they took the concept of "shoot it like a reality show" to mean that they should simply point the camera and hope for the best. All of the backgrounds, for example, are well-lit and dull, and in the rare instances where they have some telling detail, they actually -- no kidding -- freeze frame and zoom in on it. Then, we see that not a single one of the male actors bring anything. And, in fact, as the movie goes along, the male performances get steadily worse. On top of that, the script is, well, thin. What it adds up to, I think, is that there's just not a single scary or creepy moment. Not the loveliness of chills down your back, nor tension in your breathing, nor even the short shock of unpleasant surprise.Finally, the ending might as well be a fade out on the words "We have irrational hopes for a sequel!" In all, I'm not angry at having spent the time to watch, but honestly, if you ask me in three months, I imagine I'll be hard-put to remember this movie.