Shutter (I) (2008)

A newly married couple discovers disturbing, ghostly images in photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate and learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved.

Director:

Masayuki Ochiai

Writer:

Giles Luke Dawson (screenplay)

Stars:

Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joshua Jackson	...	Ben
Rachael Taylor	...	Jane
Megumi Okina	...	Megumi
David Denman	...	Bruno
John Hensley	...	Adam
Maya Hazen	...	Seiko
James Kyson	...	Ritsuo (as James Kyson Lee)
Yoshiko Miyazaki	...	Akiko
Kei Yamamoto	...	Murase
Daisy Betts	...	Natasha
Adrienne Pickering	...	Megan
Pascal Morineau	...	Wedding Photographer
Masaki Ota	...	Police Officer
Heideru Tatsuo	...	Police Officer
Eri Otoguro	...	Yoko

Storyline

A newlywed couple Ben and Jane move to Japan for a promising job opportunity - a fashion shoot in Tokyo. During their trip on a dark forest road they experience a tragic car accident, leading to the death of a young local girl. Upon regaining consciousness, they find no trace of her body. A bit distraught the couple arrives in Tokyo to begin their new life. Meanwhile Ben begins noticing strange white blurs in many of his fashion shoot photographs. Jane believes that the blurs are actually spirit photography of the dead girl who they hit on the road, and that she may be seeking vengeance.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | car accident | photographer | newlywed | photograph | 

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Taglines:

Revenge Never Dies!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for terror, disturbing images, sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [fr] 20th Century Fox [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Okidač

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£72,574 (UK) (16 May 2008)

Gross:

$25,926,543 (USA) (20 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 90 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

DVD commentary is done by Luke Dawson (screenplay), Alex Sundell (production executive) and Rachael Taylor.

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Goofs

When Ben and his wife take a picture of themselves in the beginning, the camera is obviously not on.

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Quotes

Benjamin Shaw: I'm not your fucking father!

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Connections

Referenced in Stan Helsing (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Nasty Funky Crazy"
Written by Ali Dee (as Ali Theodore), Alana Da Fonseca (as Alana de Fonseca),
Zach Danziger and Joey Katsaros (as Joseph Katsaros)
Performed by Becca Styles
Courtesy of DeeTown Entertainment

User Reviews

PG13 rating says it all

Why do i do it? I keep complaining about these Asian remakes yet i keep watching them . Maybe i do it so you don't have to , maybe it's because I'm sadistic or maybe I'm just waiting for there to be one that's any good? Whatever the reason one thing that i know is true is that Shutter is worst i have seen yet.

For photographer Ben and his new wife Jane , his new assignment -- a lucrative fashion shoot in Tokyo -- was supposed to be a kind of working honeymoon. Ben and Jane arrive in Japan. But as they make their way on a mountain road leading to Mt. Fuji, their new life together comes to, literally, a crashing halt. Their car smashes into a woman standing in the middle of the road, who has materialised out of nowhere. Upon regaining consciousness after the accident, but they cannot find any trace of the girl .

Shaken by the accident and by the girl's disappearance, they arrive in Tokyo, where Ben begins his glamorous assignment. Having worked in Japan before and fluent in the language, Ben is comfortable there, and he eagerly reunites with old friends and colleagues. Jane feels very much like a stranger in a strange land as she makes tentative, unsettling forays through the city.

Ben, meanwhile, has discovered mysterious white blurs , evocative of a human form , that have materialised on an entire day's work from the expensive photo shoot. Jane's concerns escalate as she believes the blurs in Ben's photos are the dead girl from the road, who is now seeking vengeance for them leaving her to die...

Without watching Shutter you already know the format. Spirits that have pasty faces and fail to recognise the value of the slogan "rest in peace. Shutter is also another "ghost in the machine" story, except this time the machine is a camera.

The trouble is there is absolutely nothing scary about this movie . There is plenty of bangs and crashes and you are bombarded with noise but nothing at all visual that would remotely send a chill down the spine. There is one scene that i liked where the screen went black every few seconds as to imitate the flash of a camera but that is all i cant think of that i can say is good about this film.

The acting is irrelevant because the film is so dull . Fans of The American Office and Heroes might recognise a couple of the cast.

This is the first Asian remake i have seen that hails from from Thailand but it is still the same old dross that has been dished up over the last couple of years . Director Masayuki Ochiai has failed miserably to achieve anything worth while and it's a film that will fade from the memory very fast indeed.

The PG-13 rating says it all, while opening the gates to bored teenagers it will turn hardcore horror aficionados in the other direction.

I don't know about you but i want my Horror movies to be 18 rated and nothing less.

3 out of 10