Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditsAwards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotesDid You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsReviews & Ratings for
Saimin More at IMDbPro »
| Page 1 of 2: | [1] [2] ![[Next]](http://i.media-imdb.com/f86.gif){kind=small} |
| Index | 12 reviews in total |
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
A frightening, night-marish horror flick involving the supernatural!, 14 January 2002
Author:
Sharee65 (starwars@mail2me.com.au) from Adelaide, South Australia
When I saw this movie, which was only last night, I was bored with it.
However, it wasn't until Yuka, the possessed young girl, came on screen
when
I suddenly got a little weary.
Then, there follows a rather horrific line of suicides, each one more gory
than the previous one.
Saga, a young Japanese man, and an old detective, lonely since his wife
divorced him a few years before, turn out to investigate the strange case,
and holds young Yuka as a suspect.
A very bad mistake.
From there, it's just nearly two hours of hair-rising, suspenseful fear.
Sometimes Yuka's behavior would change; for example, if she was feeling
lost
and was dangerously depressed (this poor girl was "abused all her life and
never loved", one character remarked), she would suddenly stand straight,
eyes wide open, and say: "I... am... a... friendly... alien... I...
have...
no... intention... of.. hurting... you".
To tell the truth, this scene was supposed to be tense and suspenseful.
But
it got a laugh from me, since I am indeed a young teenager and was more
into
black comedy than horror, but later it scared me.
Yuka says (or I think it was someone else) that she is "chased" by THE
GREEN
MONKEY (some sort of alien, I do not know. Or maybe a ghost. This is never
explained at all in the movie, not even at the end).
Is this all just an act? Or is there really supernatural events happening?
Who knows? What really happens is never fully explained at all in this
movie, only about 10% of it is explained, equally matched with the
disturbing climax.
In spite of its unpopularity and lack of profanity (actually, this movie
contain no swear words -- not even the "f" word or "s" word or even Damn!
That is just so cool!), I give this movie a 10/10. Bravo, well
done!
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Not as hypnotic as it might have been, 2 May 2003
Author:
pppatty from London England
Despite an involving opening and an intriguing premise, the film was undermined by choppy editing which left me wondering at times what the heck was going and on and which of the many characters was I watching. Despite getting scarier as it proceeded, the final revelation left me with more questions than answers. Perhaps I need to view it again -- but not today or tomorrow!
4 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Absolutely terrifying, 3 April 2001
Author:
rundbauchdodo from Zürich, Switzerland
This Japanese horror-thriller is easily one of the best shockers of the late
1990s and beats every (big budget) US genre movie by far. It gets one right
by the throat from the beginning, but don't think that there are moments of
relief - the film becomes more chilling from scene to scene until the
horrifying climax.
This is a genuine shocker that will leave even the most terror-used horror
connoisseur gasping for breath at some scenes; and this alone is extremely
remarkable.
But let's not forget: Besides the shocks the film boosts an intriguing and
innovative plot, believable characters (played by good actors) and a
thrilling direction. Rating: 10 out of 10, at least.
Great and original movie within its genre., 26 October 2010
Author:
Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands
To be honest, I'm just not the biggest fan of Japanese horror movies
because of the simple reason once you have seen one of them you have
basically seen them all already. All of the genre movies are more or
less being the same but every now and then they do something original
and unexpected, with this movie as a great example of that.
In the beginning of this movie it's being quite unclear which directing
the movie is heading toward. It began sort of good but formulaic and it
only took a turn and different shape at about its half way point. After
that moment the movie really took off and became a real great and
fascinating one to watch. It's really not a typical horror movie, due
to its original approach of the story.
I really like the concept of this movie and once Hollywood will start
to notice this movie they will deem it interesting and original enough
for an American remake, no doubt about that. It's really not a typical
average ghost or killer type of story. The movie actually has lots of
different horror elements in it, which all work out great together as
well. It also helps to keep the movie an unpredictable one.
It's also really a very well made movie. It's a little movie, that
without a doubt did not had an awful lot of money to spend but
nevertheless it's a very good and highly professionally looking one.
The directing is just great and the movie really manages to create a
great dark and tense atmosphere. The build up in some of the sequences
is just great.
The movie also has some very original killings in it. So horror lovers
that are getting fed up with seeing the same type of- and unimaginative
killings over and over again should be able to appreciate what this
movie is doing with its killings. It's quite insane and of course
everything is far from likely but I was absolutely loving it all.
An unexpectedly great and enjoyable original movie with its genre.
8/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
B-Movie with big Ideas, 10 October 2008
Author:
mcg80 from United States
In traditional JHorror fashion not much in this movie is explained and you are left with many questions. As you get started in this movie it seems like you are watching a thriller in the vein of silence of the Lambs or Seven, it is only in the second half of the movie that the JHorror aspects really start shining through. Unlike many of the other reviews here I was not really creeped out or unnerved by this film. In fact because of the not so believable acting of characters I was sometimes snickering and laughing. But I do have to give the film creators credit for coming up with a story that was interesting to watch and even though they were not able to fully effectively create it, I was still drawn in. And that is all that really matters.
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Sixth Sense goes to Japan (and becomes much darker), 17 June 2000
Author:
Homage (tgoult@ihug.co.nz) from Wellington, New Zealand
Not many movies are as effectively scary as Saimin manages to be. While filmmakers in the West (and, often enough, the East) build the scares on a central premise that, once revealed, loses its mystique, Saimin just gets more frightening the deeper the viewer is led into the plot. This said, revelation of the twists of Saimin's narrative wouldn't be very nice. Suffice to say, then, that (warning: comparison laced with hyperbole approaching) like The Shining, all is never completely revealed; and that what does gradually become apparent is that the mind is a pretty scary place to be. But in a good way, not, like, a Primal Fear way or nothing.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Routine stuff, but done to a turn, 25 January 2005
Author:
Libretio
SAIMIN
(USA: The Hypnotist /UK: Hypnosis)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Sound format: Dolby Stereo SR
Following a series of bizarre and apparently unrelated 'suicides', an
experienced Tokyo detective (Ken Utsui) enlists the help of a young
psychoanalyst (Goro Inagaki) who believes the victims were acting on a
post-hypnotic suggestion. But their subsequent investigations reveal an
even darker force at work, linked to a young girl (Miho Kanno) whose
life has been blighted by sadistic abuse...
Based on a novel by Keisuke Matsuoka, this densely-plotted mystery
takes inspiration from a variety of sources (Italian gialli,
traditional Japanese ghost stories, etc.), though some of the images in
the climactic showdown reveal a more immediate influence: The recent
commercial success of Hideo Nakata's RING (1998). For all its ambition,
however, SAIMIN is a routine potboiler which stumbles badly after a
powerhouse opening (the 'suicides' are particularly impressive, despite
some feeble CGI effects), though director Masayuki Ochiai - who
co-wrote the script with Yasushi Fukuda - rallies proceedings for an
extended finale in which the narrative's startling secrets are finally
revealed. Ochiai is best known for his film adaptation of
novel-turned-video-game PARASITE EVE (1997) - which also starred
leading man Inagaki (a member of Japanese pop group SMAP) - and while
SAIMIN echoes that movie's strong visual sense, it falls short as
drama, and most of the characters are mere ciphers, undermining the
storyline's emotional pay-off. Which is a shame, because the final half
hour is galvanized by a series of dynamic set-pieces - most notably, a
concert hall sequence in which Dvorak's 'New World' symphony is
transformed into an instrument of murder! - and Ochiai is well-served
by an excellent production team. However, those lured by the promise of
gory carnage may be disappointed - the film is long on atmospherics and
short on splatter.
Performances are varied, due to the script's limitations, but Kanno
(TOMIE) is outstanding as a young woman suffering from multiple
personality disorder - which, the subtitles on the print under review
assures us, isn't recognized as a viable medical condition in Japan! -
who falls prey to a sleazy TV hypnotist (Takeshi Masu), a prime suspect
in the murders. Inagaki is bland in a one-dimensional role, and he's
constantly upstaged by Utsui, a veteran performer whose career
stretches back to the "Sûpâ Jaiantsu" series of the 1950's.
(Japanese dialogue)
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Goro?, 15 February 2004
Author:
sarah (sarah.lloyd@durham.ac.uk) from Nagoya, Japan
Maybe I'm alone among people from the West who saw this film just because
Inakagi Goro was in it ... I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot of
Japanese
horror fans who didn't see it for precisely that reason.
This may well be a scary film if you don't know who the star is. But while
I
was
watching it, I spent most of my time either laughing at Goro-chan (who
plays
the
young man in this film) for being even worse at acting than he is at
singing
(no
offense, Goro), or just plain ogling at him. When there's someone that
famous in
a film it doesn't half take the fear out of it. (At least, that's what I'm
hoping by
going to see Chakushin Ari this weekend.)
(For those of you who don't know who Inakagi Goro is, he's the quiet odd
one
out of Smap. His main talent is standing looking sexy in the corner while
the
other members of Smap do silly things.)
I do recommend this movie, because the last ten or twenty minutes or so
are
so
damn funny. I don't think this is going to spoil the movie but just in
case
you
might not want to read it ....
It's pure genius the way she sets fire to his apartment in order to set
the
fire
alarm off! That's just great!
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
In Its Flame, 7 October 2002
Author:
frankgaipa from Oakland, California
I caught this on the off chance there'd be a connection with the television series, Saimin, whose final three episodes I'd happened to see. Aside from hypnotism, though, there's no discernible connection. Even on evidence just of those three episodes, the series may well have been superior, yet the film's a guilty-pleasure B-grade page-turner for about an hour before it implodes trying too hard to resolve things. Ringu one through three, Tomie, and now Saimin make three nearly interchangeable, if only in appearance, white-clad, bushy haired, big-eyed monster women. Could there be some myth here I'm not in on? (I'm tempted to include ...Jailhouse 41's Matsu, as well, even though there's no supernatural, she's victim, and her film's feminist in the end.) The Saimin film does provide some arresting images, usually with its hypnosis-inspired self-mutilations. In the single most shattering of these, really a throwaway that you could cut and do nothing to the plot, a brightly daylit man mistakes a gas stove burner for a basin and, calmly, washes his face in its flame.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Starts out silly, but becomes a rather effective thriller, 14 September 2001
Author:
otis von zipper from San Francisco
The Hypnotist begins with a series of strange, and rather cheesy, suicides.
It then turns into a whodunit thriller involving cops, psychoanalysts, and
a
shady TV hypnotist. Plotwise, that's as far as I go. What amazed me was
how engrossing the story became as it got closer to the end. Suddenly, the
story became more mysterious, eerie, and tense.
The acting is solid throughout, especially the older detective. The
special
effects are not the best, but on occasion quite effective.
Best of all, the movie contains some truly creepy and gripping moments. A
lone figure hanging on a neon sign, an interrogation that becomes rather
sinister, a race against the clock to save a potential victim, and the
actual villain at the end. I was really surprised how well the movie built
to its conclusion, especially after its average beginning.
| Page 1 of 2: | [1] [2] |
Related Links
| Plot summary | Ratings | Awards |
| External reviews | Plot keywords | Main details |
| Your user reviews | Your vote history |
Copyright © 1990-2012
IMDb.com, Inc.
Terms and Privacy Policy under which this service is provided to you.
An 
company.