Marebito (2004)

A fear-obsessed freelance cameraman (Shinya Tsukamoto) investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo.

Director:

Takashi Shimizu

Writers:

Chiaki Konaka (novel), Chiaki Konaka (screenplay)

Stars:

Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shin'ya Tsukamoto	...	Masuoka
Tomomi Miyashita	...	F
Kazuhiro Nakahara	...	Arei Furoki
Miho Ninagawa	...	Aya Fukumoto
Shun Sugata	...	MIB
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ayumu Saitô

Storyline

In Tokyo, the freelance cameraman Takuyoshi Masuoka is obsessed investigating the fear sensation near death. When he photographs a man stabbing himself in the eye in the access to the subway, he seeks what the suicidal man might have seen to experiment the same sense of horror the man felt when he died. He finds a passage to the Tokyo underground where he meets a mysterious naked woman that does not speak, who he calls her F. He brings F to his place and he tries to feed her, until he discovers that she drinks blood. Masuika becomes a serial killer draining the blood of his victims to nurse F.

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Plot Keywords:

fear | video surveillance | blood spatter | psychopath | female reporter | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site - DVD release [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Stranger from Afar

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,852 (USA) (9 December 2005)

Gross:

$13,893 (USA) (10 March 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adness K.K., AtEntertainment K.K., Culture Publishers (CP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Takashi Shimizu shot the film in just eight days, between the production dates for Ju-on: The Grudge and its remake, _Grudge, The (2004/I)_.

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Quotes

Masuoka: They didn't see something that terrified them. They saw something because they were terrified.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

User Reviews

Horror or ancient wisdom?

A strange film by Grudge writer/director Takashi Shimizu.

Shinya Tsukamoto (Ichi the Killer) is consumed with finding out the source of terror that caused a man to stab himself in the eye. He wants to experience the same terror - terror so horrible that it would cause you to want to kill yourself.

He goes underground looking for the beings that inhabit the tunnels under Tokyo and finds a naked girl, who he brings home to live with him. The girls is more animal than human and he kills to provide her blood rather than give her his own blood, which she wants.

It is not certain throughout whether he is going mad or finding what he is searching for. He even tries to escape, but resumes the search until he finally succumbs to the terror.

Despite the shaky camera work, which some like, but which distracts me, it was a fascinating look at terror and certainly a film that contains much more than available at first glance. A blend of mysticism and horror, it is a worthy view for fans of Japanese horror.