Kaidan (2007)

Japan, 250 years ago. Soetsu is a moneylender who is killed by the cruel samurai Shinzaemon. His body is dumped in the Kasenega-Fuchi river. According to legend, all who drown in the river ... See full summary »

Director:

Hideo Nakata

Writers:

Satoko Okudera (screenplay), Enchô San'yûtei (story)

Stars:

Kumiko Asô, Takaaki Enoki, Reona Hirota

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kumiko Asô
Takaaki Enoki
Reona Hirota
Teisui Ichiryûsai	...	Storyteller
Mao Inoue
Tae Kimura
Taigi Kobayashi
Hitomi Kuroki
Ken Mitsuishi
Shôji Murakami
Naomasa Musaka
Taeko Nishino
Kikunosuke Onoe
Asaka Seto
Yumi Shimizu

Storyline

Japan, 250 years ago. Soetsu is a moneylender who is killed by the cruel samurai Shinzaemon. His body is dumped in the Kasenega-Fuchi river. According to legend, all who drown in the river will never surface again. 20 Years later, Shinkichi, the handsome son of Shinzaemon, coincidentally meets Toyoshiga, the daughter of Soetsu. They fall in love. It is a doomed love, as the spirit of Soetsu is far from dead.

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | impossible love | supernatural | common law marriage | tokyo edo japan | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

4 August 2007 (Japan)

Also Known As:

J-Horror Theater Vol. 5

Filming Locations:

Inashiki, Ibaraki, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avex Entertainment, Eisei Gekijo, Kaidan Seisaku Iinkai

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Kaidan iro zange: Kyôren onna shishô (1957)

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Soundtracks

"Fated"
Performed by Ayumi Hamasaki
Courtesy of avex trax

User Reviews

A real mixed bag.

This movie is not at all what I expected. This really isn't an horror movie but one that is a real costume drama, with some supernatural elements in it. So you could say that it's a positive thing that this movie surprises and tries to do something original but unfortunately the end result is a very mixed bag.

I can still say that I was really a fan of the movie its look and style. It's really a beautiful looking movie, that at times picks a more surreal look, which enhances the movie its atmosphere. Most of its money and efforts really went into its visuals but I had only wished they had tried to spice up the story a bit more, instead.

The movie really didn't had a very engaging story in it and it seemed to be all over the place at times. It besides just isn't a very exciting story, since you're constantly waiting for something good or interesting to happen. Sometimes there does but overall it's far too little to make this movie stand out.

Perhaps director Hideo Nakata was simply trying too hard, by putting in far too many different movie elements and genres together. He needs a good movie again desperately, since his last few movies haven't been received too well, though I'm sure he still has plenty of credit left with movies such as the original "Ringu" and "Honogurai mizu no soko kara" under his belt.

6/10

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