Shikoku (1999)

Director:

Shunichi Nagasaki

Writers:

Kunimi Manda (writer)
Takenori Sentô (writer)

Release Date:

19 August 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Some things are better left dead...

Plot:

Years after moving to Tokyo with her parents, Hinako returns to her hometown in rural Shikoku. She soon learns that her childhood friend...

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Afterlife | Island | Drowning | Supernatural

Cast

Yui Natsukawa	...	Hinako Myoujin
Michitaka Tsutsui	...	Fumiya Akizawa
Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Sayori Hiura
Toshie Negishi	...	Teruko Hiura (Sayori's mother)
Ren Ôsugi	...	Yasutaka Hiura (Sayori's father)
Makoto Satô	...	Sendo
Tarô Suwa	...	Oda
Tomoko Ôtakara	...	Yukari Asakawa
Haduki Kôzu	...	Chizuko Oono
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reila Aphrodite
Shino Kaneko

Runtime:

Hong Kong:100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG | Germany:16

Trivia:

The title is a play on words. In Japanese, depending on which kanji is used, "shikoku" can mean "four countries" (which is the name of the island where the movie is set) or it can mean "land of the dead."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Shinto priestess resurrecting her daughter

This has an interesting story based on the shinto-religion. The island Shikoku has 88 temples and every year the priest go to each one of them in a certain order to make sure the people will prosper the following year (or similar), one priestess who lost her daughter walks the route the opposite way the same number that her daughter was old in order to resurrect her.

It begins very creepy when a woman returns from the city to visit her childhood village. It then turns into a mystery investigation delivering something else than what was promised. Recommended for horror fans.