St. John's Wort (2001) User Reviews

Not bad

[Gafke · 6/10 · 12 July 2004]

This wasn't as creepy or compelling as "Ju-On" which also starred Megumi Okina, but it was interesting. Nami, a young girl with an artistic flair discovers she has inherited a mansion. She and her ex-boyfriend decide to check the place out with a video camera in hopes of using some of the footage for a video game they are working on, called St. Johns Wort. The huge house is in disrepair and is filled with disturbing paintings, all of which turn out to have been painted by Nami's late father, a morbid genius. As the young couple explore the house, they are monitored by a pair of friends back in the city who map out the mansion and its many rooms on a computer. The exploration turns up many horrible secrets; a photograph of Nami and a missing twin identified as Naomi, a cellar full of the mummified remains of children and a hidden room containing recording equipment. A caretaker who attacks Nami is later found hanging in the kitchen, and a secret stairway leads up to a hidden attic room, a room that Nami has seen before in her childhood nightmares.

This film is very much like a video game. The first half hour or so is spent exploring the many rooms in which clues are found and secret doors revealed. There are some genuinely creepy moments, such as a blue-lit room filled with rotting dolls and some great camera work in the bathroom, where Nami is showering. The climax at film's end involving the identity of Naomi is a little difficult to believe, but as it turns out to be just one ending out of an implied many (just like a video game) it is fairly easy to just go along with it. The characters are all quite likable, a fact which makes the multiple endings much appreciated. All in all, this is a decently clever film with an absence of violence in favor of a creepy atmosphere. It starts out a little slow, so impatient people be warned. The video game obsessed will appreciate this one.

Interesting lesson in new techniques but lacking bite and ultimately, scares.

[PyrolyticCarbon · 5/10 · 4 February 2005]

The movie doesn't exactly kick off it just flows on to a beginning. Mixing between future images, dreams, computer artwork and the real story, it's all very confusing. However, like many Asian films if you hold on in there things start to become clear, and they do just that. The problem is it takes so long to get out of the "exploration of the house" act, which contains scenes of incredibly drawn out silences, inappropriate dialogue. I even felt myself urging the main character to turn round when her friend told her to look behind her and she just kept looking at him while making confused noises.

It was a struggle, but I got through it. However, you shouldn't miss what's been done there technically. The use of hand-held and remote cameras, the clever movement of the camera into the hand-held to provide a new perspective, all new and interesting film techniques pulled together actually make for some interesting viewing. However, they don't save the story. It's almost as if the makers have tried to pull everything together that the current "kids" are into, videogames, matrix style action shot, technology...nah, doesn't work I'm afraid.

One problem is it's predictable, until the closing shock which is just railroaded over and doesn't seem to be a surprise that the film makers wanted to pursue. They brought out this great one liner near the end of the movie then just let it go.

So poor script, interesting ideas and some cool techniques, but the suspense is lost, as is any horror, surprise and effective story telling. It is mighty shame though, the overall story, once you grasp it, is quite a good and very uneasy one, although it is still left quite unexplained.

Style over substance, a "modern" horror film

[DVD_Connoisseur · 5/10 · 31 December 2006]

When video game makers decide to visit a decaying Gothic mansion (which belonged to one of the crew's deceased relatives) in order to produce their next video game, things go weird very quickly indeed. It's only a matter of time before things become deadly serious and long hidden secrets are revealed...

"St. John's Wort" (2001) is an example of a modern horror film. It's shot using digital cameras, giving it that unique hi-tech sheen that some may love or hate. The effects in post-production are interesting, for example, scenes going into fast forward, pausing and rewinding, etc. There's an interesting use of colour and an impressive use of sound effects, too.

Despite the modern look of the film, the script sadly did not hold me glued to my seat with fear and anticipation of events to come. In fact, there were moments when this film became a little boring. It tries to blend reality and virtual reality but doesn't really cut the mustard in the way I felt "Avalon" did. This film may be interesting for those interested in the geography / making of video games but that's where any deepness ends.

Still, there are a couple of attractive girls in the movie for those looking for eye candy, and mixed with impressive video effects and a top drawer soundtrack, this still rates as around 5/10. After other recent top-drawer explorations into Asian cinema, I felt this was disappointing but the DVD is inexpensive and still provides more entertainment value than many of its western counterparts.....

The first half of the film boasts excellent suspense, but all that withers away in the second act...

[willywants · 8 November 2004]

Nami has been creating artwork for a new video game based on images she's been seeing in her dreams. With one of the game producers, she travels out to an abandoned house that seems to match her visions. As they explore the old mansion, Nami begins to have more visions of a forgotten childhood, until at last she comes across a photo of twin infants, labeled "Nami" and "Naomi". As Nami and the producer go from room to room, an unseen person seems to be watching them from a hidden room. "St. John's Wort" (Not the most appealing title ever) is NOT, by any means, in the same league as "Ringu", "Ju-On" or "The Eye". It lacks the subtle suspense and substance that made those films so great. This film IS, however, one of the most stylish films I've seen. Director Shimoyama Ten went all out with wild camera angles, a slick look and a great atmosphere, which, unfortunately, he fails to sustain into the films second act. There are some truly hilarious plot twists--I won't give them away, but there so unintentionally funny that they almost make the film worth renting for that reason alone.

Don't come in expecting a suspenseful masterpiece. it isn't. Think of it as, say, the most stylish home video of all time, and you'll enjoy it.

6.5/10.

Not exceptionally good but still a good piece of entertainment a Saturday night

[scobbah · 5/10 · 24 June 2007]

I am really into Japanese stuff but I have been laying low the past year due to lack of time to indulge in such movies. A group of friends and I rented this one last night without having any expectations on it. The flick started out pretty funky using a lot of colour filters which we discovered were kept throughout the entire movie. I had no problems adjusting to it but some of my friends had problems enjoying the flick due to these filters.

As for the plot, I did not find it that bad. Conventional indeed with a few people going to an abandoned house so if you are looking for original cinema, I suppose this one will not save your day. I cannot really comment on the acting. The main actors did not do exceptionally well but not poor either. However the scenery was really nice, the interiors of the house coming to mind.

I was a bit unhappy with how the story unfolded. I suppose I expected something more. At any rate it was an OK time-killer and I think it is worth at least 5/10. The flick is not exceptionally good but still a good piece of entertainment a Saturday night.

Much ado about nothing actually that might be an understatement!

[lost-in-limbo · 3/10 · 7 February 2005]

Nami's is creating a video game with the images from her dreams. While visiting her estrange father's abandoned house that was inherited to her along with her workmate/ex-boyfriend Kohei, she discovers the dreams that she has seem to match that of the house and some hidden secrets too. It's basically a mystery/horror film about a creepy house and its dark secrets.

This was one really SLOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW film, with nothing really exciting happening at all… actually to be honest nothing much did happen. Though you might say it was slowly building up the psychological terror that was about to come- but towards the end it turns into somewhat of a bloodbath of graphic images that doesn't really gel. All it was about was two teenagers wondering around a dark creepy house and Nami discovering secrets about her family… it's too bad because it came across as very atmospheric- but it was really tedious sitting through this drag-fest.

The film looked great- but that's it, I had trouble trying not to fall asleep, as there was nothing engaging and mysterious about the story and characters. The plot doesn't make much sense at all, it was truly incoherent and all over the place as one scene slowly dragged onto the next without any real urgency, then you get a twist that you see coming- but then it would twist back on itself and your left scratching your head… fancy that? But this final twist lacks logic, as it's not fully explained and therefore is ridiculously laughable.

What I can't knock is the sinister and chilling atmosphere, with a misty house that is truly atmospheric and unnerving, especially the paintings on the walls, the menacing shadows, dim lighting and dark corners. The colours stood out as well and become somewhat of an impact, very bleak and depressing colourings of greys, browns and black, created a real emptiness. The flashy camera-work (something you would associate with Sam Rami) is quite out there and very arty at first- but it was over-used to a point that it became real choppy and distracting, because at times you couldn't tell what was actually happening.

The performances were the same as the plot, really flat and uninspiring. That's because they're given nothing to work with and they don't do anything of any interest. Therefore… who cares!!!

When the outlandishly grim conclusion happens and we start learning where the film is actually going, you couldn't really give a toss, as you were bored to death waiting for an hour for something good to happen. Instead for that hour we get look at dark rooms and more rooms, in many different stylish ways- but then something actually happens and it picks up in the last 15mins, though people might have given up already and I wished I did. To make matters worse the film ends with a very absurd and unsatisfying conclusion… *Shaking head*.

Like some fellow users have typed, the film does play out like a video game. Though I admit I'm no video game fanatic- but the problem is it's like your watching somebody else playing the game, which isn't that fun... I rather be playing it!

Just expect to see the usual harrowing images, a creepy house with spooky noises and things lurking. Oh don't forget an evil looking girl with long black hair in a white dress. I bet you didn't see that coming.

Looks visually good, but this yawner lacks punch as nothing much happens!

1/5

All style... No substance

[mighty_pickman · 2/10 · 18 August 2003]

This film tries to use "funky" camera angles & special effects to hide a terrible plot & rather uninteresting characters.

Completely lacking in atmosphere, a must for a good horror, this was so tedious I switch off half way through. Luckily I didn't fork out good money for this drivel as it was on cable TV when i saw it.

Avoid 2/10.

Interesting

[AwesomeWolf · 7/10 · 3 February 2005]

Version: Japanese, English subtitles (by SBS)

I don't know what to make of 'Otogiriso'. It was slow from start to finish, quite a feat for a movie that runs less than 90 minutes, but it built up a strange and creepy atmosphere and was crafted using some interesting concepts.

I can't say much about the plot without spoiling it: Nami (Megumi Okina) has been designing a video game based on dreams she has been having. After finding the house from her dream, Nami and Kohei (Yoichiro Saito), decide to investigate the house. Naturally, this is a bad idea, but video games and movies alike thrive on bad ideas.

The whole concept of 'Otogiriso' is that the movie is a video game. It plays out like a game - the characters are stuck in one location, they have a support team they can phone, they have maps and must find keys for locked doors. A nice idea, but probably one that would appeal to gamers and few other people. Others might appreciate the cinematography, but this is definitely not for everyone.

'Otogiriso' is a good movie, I would recommend it to gamers, and maybe fans of Asian horror movies - 7/10

Utter boredom

[dschmeding · 2/10 · 25 September 2007]

I won't get into the computer game style of the movie, maybe its different, maybe its just a cheap excuse for bad 3d graphics and lack of budget for Effects. I sure watched this movie too late at night and since the pacing is slooooow (and thats still a compliment) it got hard to focus on the plot. Basically St Johns Wort is about some kids designing computer games. 2 of them delve into the story for a new one which is based on a house the graphics girl inherited. So the girl and a guy go there and move through the old abandoned house unfolding the "shocking" history of her father who was also a painter. All that done in a mixture of computer game dialog, finding keys for hidden rooms and Blair Witch Handycam storytelling.

I think up to today i have never seen a movie that tried on the computer game-story and succeeded. Most are just ridiculous and except for the nice coloring St Johns Wort fails too. At first you get an eerie surveillance cam atmosphere which reminded me of "my little eye" but they just take it too far. I might have missed one or two details but i doubt that saves the movie. If you are out for a plot twist or something making the 90 minutes worth being spent... forget it, the finale is just plain idiotic. So altogether a waste of some nice visual ideas on a pretty stupid script.

Gorgeous filmmaking!

[Manji · 7/10 · 29 January 2002]

Absolutely astonishing imagery and camera-work elevates this simplistic horror film to a level that doesn't even have a name. In all honesty, the story isn't that bad to begin with but it's just utterly put to shame by the sheer look of this film. I was expecting another thuggish Japanese horror/thriller, a la INUGAMI, but there was none of that here. Just an amazing experience especially for those who are intrigued by the power of the new wave digital cameras which have been slowly taking over more and more independent productions worldwide.

There are a few scenes in the film with laughable CGI by North American standards, but to nitpick about something that is so boringly dispensed in North American films would be such a gratuitous waste of time. This wasn't some insane Hollywood blockbuster with the standard $70, 000, 000 USD budget, hence requiring 50 million dollars just for the effects budget!

In the end this film totally delivers what is necessary for your enjoyment. An awesome story, genuinely creepy as hell moments, hot girls (BONUS!) and hands down, the best freakin' cinematography that I've seen since..., well, since Fight Club!

This is it people, the future is looking VERY bright for digital films!

not so good...

[ms-roper · 1/10 · 12 January 2005]

This movie was of particular poor quality. While I can see that a lot of the images and camera-angles were in place to highlight the "new" technology of digital filming and video games, these images lost me and left me feeling a little nauseous. They were not effective in making the film scarier or more compelling. It seems the movie was made too fast, just to get on the market to show off the technology. It looks mass-produced and uninteresting.

The plot was nil and the ending atrocious. By the end, I nearly turned off the movie because I could not handle the unfinished story line, poor acting and predictability. The plot "twists" were unexciting. Unfortunately, this movie was absolutely terrible. I felt nothing for the characters, who were not well-developed and the plot did not entice me, and honestly, I'm pretty disappointed. The film case makes reference to the ring, but this film has no relation (in story or quality) to the ring, ringu, any remakes or any sequels.

A worthy film

[douglasdidier · 8/10 · 9 September 2004]

This was my second run at Oriental horror films and unlike the first try (some movie about spirals) I actually enjoyed this one. I have a hard time trusting anyone who says they knew the ending, it was pretty well disguised through most of the movie. In addition it was a unique blend of video game and movie. Things going against it were the colors and the fast-forward thing that both of the Japanese horror movies have had. I would highly recommend subtitles over the dubbed in English as the subtitles seem to make more sense and the dubbing gives the movie an undesired godzilla effect. A little on the artsy side but definitely accomplishes good suspense. 8/10 for an enjoyable time watching the movie.

Was it independent? felt like it

[siderite · 6/10 · 17 July 2005]

This movie is like a video game, Elvira style, if anyone remembers it :) Girl inherits spooky house, goes there, finds out about her family and childhood and "the terrible secret". The fact that the whole thing was done in order to create materials for a video game added an element of obvious to the movie.

I liked the actors, they played well for their parts, you might recognize the girl from Ju-On The Grudge, cute as ever. I felt that the starting idea was very promising and if the movie would have drifted in the "asian horror" area, it could have been a very interesting movie about teenager enterprise. This way, the film wasn't serious enough to be called a horror, nor was is funny enough to be called a comedy. And I have come to dislike movies that increase their level of complexity by mirroring themselves (let's do a movie about making a movie about...).

In the end it was OK, but nothing special. I would rather play Elvira again.

Bottom of the barrel J-Horror

[thither · 3/10 · 25 March 2005]

This movie was really pretty dreadful. It seems as though as the popularity of Japanese (and other Asian) horror films increases, more and more of these barrel-scrapers are appearing in my local video emporium. Two teens spend the night in a spooky, dilapidated mansion. Incredibly slow scenes of non-suspense follow, as we watch the teens... wander through the house. Slowly. The action, such as it is, is punctuated by completely unrelated scenes, apparently comic in intent, of some more teens, these ones game developers. The story creeps towards a ludicrous, lurid climax, which is followed by a really bad denouement.

All in all, a badly thought out movie executed without any particular skill. There are a few saving graces, though, which saved this movie from getting an even lower score from me.

1. The atmospherics are actually fairly good, although the pacing is slow. The mansion is creepy, and an unsettled feeling overtakes the viewer as the characters dawdle their way through it. The addition of creepy paintings heightens the effect.

2. There was one film technique that I thought was pretty cool, where the camera zooms in on the viewfinder of a camcorder, and the viewfinder expands to become the frame of the movie as a whole. Other reviews here have praised the film technique as "stylish" and "interesting", but I'm afraid I can't agree, except for this one shot. The rest of the movie has a lot of jittery, ripping-off-the-Blair-Witch-Project hand-held shots and a lot of garish, unnecessary coloring.

Overall, a great film to avoid.

The film looks superb......(Spoiler)

[sirarthurstreebgreebling II · 9 May 2002]

But sadly thats about as far as it went for me. The use of new techniques for post production are well exercised and considering the budget of the film they have done a damn fine job.

For me it was a shame thou that the plot and surprise ending was as obvious and blatant as "Sleepaway Camp", thou the two films only have that one shared thing in common.

I knew little about the film before watching it and it has to be said that I wanted more than I was offered, so I felt let down. With a tighter and more original script this film would be a modern classic rather than an mediocre experiment with new equipment.

Not worth your time

[paprikash2 · 3/10 · 27 December 2004]

At times like an Afterschool Special (Nami inherited a mansion, she and her boyfriend check it out while the two computer nerds offer advice via computer download), at times purposely made to resemble a video game (Nami and her boyfriend enter each room of the mansion, get a key or other object, exit room via secret door, etc.), at times like a predictable, over the top horror movie (Nami, I'm your crazy sister!), St. John's Wort would be a total turkey if it were not for a few arty special effects that quickly grow annoying and a gloss of Generation Y computerese. Skip this one and you won't be sorry -- try "Dark Water" or "The Two Sisters" (Korean) if you are looking for quality Asian horror.

A Major Disappointment

[mindless_junk · 3/10 · 26 January 2003]

I wish the movie would make a decision as to whether to be a horror movie or a suspense thriller, instead, it can't make up its mind and ends up being neither.

For the record, I guessed the "twist" of the ending 10 minutes into the movie... too obvious...

It must be my misfortune, lately, none of the Japanese horror movies seems to excite me anymore. I want Ringu back! Now, that is THE way to make a horror movie.

Amateur Garbage

[rioplaydrum · 1/10 · 23 November 2018]

If you actually submit this embarrassment of a production was any good, then you live under a rock and one of your little magic bunny pals who took you to the moving picture show for the first time in your life.

This putrid amateur student mess of a movie has everything you never, NEVER do in a movie.

Over-amped visual presentations of what's supposed to be scary later, English over dubbing that has worse production values than a 1970's Kung fu movie, and let's thrown in all the student actors who know how to do anything but ACT.

You can work all day long whipping up the perfect bowl of poop.

But guess what? You still have a bowl of poop!

Hideous, over done, promoted light-years ahead of its worth.

Be sure and miss it!

Game-Sized Worlds

[frankgaipa · 7/10 · 19 December 2002]

Another mystery-girl-in-white J-flick, along with the Ringu series, Tomie, Saimin the film, Dark Water, and others, surely, that I've forgotten or not run into. Not really though. Really it's a film about gaming or game-making, about building game-sized artificial worlds.

I'm not much of a gamer. My computer favorites are go and chess. I've played a very few first person shooters, sometimes cheating my way through firefights to get through levels just to see what really interests me: the worlds created, the degree of immersion. That's the same thing, in a way, I come to film for. But what the St. John's Wort programmers seem to be working on is a role-playing or adventure game, a game relying more on choice than dexterity. What little violence the game displays is so key that it would have to be scripted or portrayed in cut scenes, short films triggered by a gamer's choices. Much is made of mapping, on the home-base computers, Nami's mansion. I've always wondered whether the world of, say, Half-Life is geometrically true, whether four equidistant 90-degree turns would bring me back to a point of origin. I've even spent some time peeking, with cheat codes, through walls to try to test this. You see rooms connected, chained, yet hanging in black void, separated by spaces the programmers didn't bother with because you can't legitimately get to them. In St. John's Wort's slightly sci-fi world, every angle is true. The home base crew map the mansion, relying on nothing but live video over a phone line. Interestingly the work screens displayed sometimes do show that black void, as an area not centered or a room undiscovered.

If any of that intrigues you, don't fear to see the film. Just realize, dull characters in a cardboard plot are part of the show. The visuals, the color scheme, the maybe failed, maybe not concept, and your own perception of ideas about overlays of story, plot, reality are what, if anything will make it worth the time.

St. John's Wort is a yellow-flowered medicinal herb that once stood for revenge. Think of mad Ophelia: There's rosemary, that's for remembrance...And there's pansies, that's for thoughts (IV,v). Another touchpoint film is the 1969 Jigokuhen (Portrait of Hell). The paintings in St. John's Wort, possibly because you see them so fleetingly and unclearly, are more horrific than those in the older film. Yet another film about gaming is Mamoru Oshii's Avalon.

Finally, if you like St. John's Wort, then here are couple of extremely fine first person shooters that share none of its story but some of its atmosphere: System Shock 2 (out of print but if you find it) and Neil Manke's They Hunger, a trilogy of Half-Life mods. They Hunger 2 ends with such an odd, maybe existential, dilemma (trapped in a courtyard, you're supposed to hit a prominent red switch, blowing yourself up, to end the game, but you don't really have to hit it, you can just stand, or go hide in a shadow, and you'll be there alive, albeit bored, until your computer dies of old age or the next Enron shuts it down) that I wrote to the Manke and got a appreciative-sounding response.

Good for the eyes, bad for the brain

[mindless_junk · 3/10 · 20 January 2003]

5 minutes into the movie, and I have already figured out what the ending would be. Nevertheless, I decided to sit through the movie just to see the special effects.

The movie could have been much more. IMHO, too much time has been spent on the introductory part - wandering around the house, etc. But wandering is exactly how the movie is... It has a hard time trying to decide whether it is a horror or a psychological thriller and ends up being neither.

Minor spoiler: When the approached the chair and were about the turn it over, I kept telling myself - not another "Psycho" rip-off again...

End of minor spoiler...

You'll either love it or hate it

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 13 March 2004]

A game designer has already been turning the dreams and life of an ex-girlfriend into a video game when she asks him to go with her to visit the house she just inherited. As you can guess things get very strange from there.

The plot doesn't have more that I could reveal without spoiler alerts so I won't.

The film itself is interesting. It looks like the very game they are making with everything except a score of some kind displayed. There is an mix of video, film and other types of images that work to help breed tension and a sense of other worldliness. The weird designs of the house and of what is found there are suitably creepy and frankly the real reason to see the movie.

Visuals aside this is a slow film. Much of the first half is little more than a walk through of the house. Its creepy and gives you a sense of place but it goes on for so long. Its too much like a video game where you explore a house. Once the plot goes into real motion things become more interesting but not completely rational, even in the movies own logic scheme.

Is this a bad film?

No it just doesn't live up to the promise of the visuals and the beginning.

Is the film for everyone? No. I think it'll run about 50/50 as to love and hate. The visuals and the newish take on how to put a film together are whats the draw here. If you can take a visually interesting but slowly told film try it, otherwise stay away.

Could had been worse I guess.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 5/10 · 30 June 2011]

It isn't anything new or uncommon, a movie that tries to blend in with the video game genre. A movie that is being set in both the real world and a video game world. This is something especially the horror genre has explored but it's also something that has ever rarely worked out as a good horror movie in itself. As far as these type of movies go, this one isn't all that bad but it also isn't a very interesting or all that great of a watch.

You could say this movie is being a bit of a lackluster. It takes a while for things to finally start off and when they do, it isn't anything exciting really. Horror-wise this movie is also lacking in some good tension and scares. I can't really see a lover of Japanese horror enjoying this movie.

People still seem to enjoy this movie for its visual style but I just wasn't too fond of it. Especially the colors worked distracting. This seems to be a trend with Japanese horror especially; use manipulated colors, which gives the movie a sort of artificial feel and look to it. Also the editing, that was meant to give the movie pace and style, felt messy and made me not like the style and look of this movie.

It overall wasn't a movie I hated watching but it also wasn't one that really grabbed me with either its story, characters, or any of the events in the movie.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

a new perspective for the passive viewer

[ETCmodel02 · 8/10 · 9 May 2002]

Excellent production design within a tight scope that had enough room to breathe that the view should never feel cheated. I enjoyed the abundant MAC, Quick Time and Lycos product placements, a nice now to the media savvy. Some other nice touches, like a great video game level maker that is a Japanese go girl with blonde mane instead of the expected 20-something white male hacker stereotype.

Aesthetically I was enthralled with the stacks of amazingly, nay, beautifully disturbing paintings all about the home.

There is lots of playful stuttered editing, stylistically playing heavily on multiple planes of perspective (filmic reality vs. hidden cameras vs. the hand held camera one character is toting around). Reminds me at times of the aspects that I liked of the classic horror games like Seventh Guest. I think that really was why the film was nifty for me, a former video game artist / designer. The layers of real vs. game in the making and the tight interaction between the adventuring couple inside the mansion vs. the go girl artist and pensive programmer back in the design studio. The inter-cutting of the two locations combined with the playful changes moment to moment in virtual film stocks and perceived point of view really took this tidy, cute little yarn to a new level. Minute details like the miscellaneous brass keys helps convey the parallels as well; the keys seemed like level objectives true to genre. The design of the film further seems to question the movie's very existence as a construction in all as well as in layered fictional elements, wrapped up nicely with a sense of choices being explored without undermining the integrity of the narrative.

Admirably, throughout the film the narrative toys with the notion of linear versus interactive, which tends to parallel the comparison of film to video games respectively. This film actually approaches a sort of implied interactivity, a new perspective for the viewer in a time based medium to the proverbial backbone of the narrative that I've not previously seen, at moments both inside the story and as well a voyeur to the story. As linear progression without options is an abstraction of reality humans accept far too easily, this film did a splendid job of perverting the linear and can at least be viewed as a solid indication of the potential of newer technologies applied to film projects yet to come.

Escape Room Atmosphere with Creative Camera Work and Eerie Colours

[kluseba · 7/10 · 2 May 2023]

Otogiriso, internationally known as St. John's Wort is an independent Japanese mystery horror movie that walks off the beaten path. Some viewers might hate everything about it, others are going to appreciate what they are watching. I certainly belong to the second category and will explain to you why this movie is much better than its dreadful reputation in my opinion.

Let's start by describing the simple story that follows several horror movie tropes. A young woman inherits the mansion of her seclusive father who achieved fame as a deranged painter. Along with her ex-boyfriend who wants to discover the location for the development of a video game, she decides to visit the isolated house. Soon enough, a heavy storm comes up and a tree falls on the car. The two young adults have to spend the night in the sinister mansion and soon have to deal with seemingly supernatural phenomenons leading to shocking discoveries.

Among the positive elements, I have to point out the film's cinematography. Director Shimoyama Ten works with hand-held cameras, security camera perspectives and webcams to only mention a few examples. Each camera is used to support atmosphere, plot and settings cleverly throughout the movie.

Another element that deserves praise are the creative light techniques. Sinister colours turn trees into a dark purple, the mansion into a sinister green and old dolls into a bloody red. The use of colours gives the film a surreal vibe that serves as guideline from start to finish.

This horror movie doesn't rely on cheap jump scares or supernatural phenomena. It's actually much more like being in an escape room, except that the film was released decades before said phenomenon became popular around the world. The two lead characters are caught in a creepy mansion, have to find different sets of keys to advance from one room to another and must even find rooms hidden under staircases, behind shelves or in the attic. This film isn't particularly scary but it has an eerie, mysterious and surreal vibe that sets it apart.

As you can read, Otogiriso, also known as St. John's Wort, has more benefits to be watched than downsides to be criticized. The story might not be creative, the pace is indeed rather slow and the acting performances remain average throughout even though Matsuo Reiko convinces as energetic, extroverted and stylish side character Koseki Toko. However, the film's creative camera angles, excellent use of colours and shades and the eerie escape room atmosphere certainly set this movie apart. I'm glad that I have picked this movie up for a reasonable price, would recommend it to close friends and certainly watch it again.

It's like watching someone else play a video game.

[Caustic Pulp · 3/10 · 5 October 2004]

The idea of a video game as a movie (not a movie adaptation of a video game) isn't a wholly new one, and there have been efforts made on both shores to properly adapt the concept without adapting a game itself. "St. John's Wort" is in that vein.

"St. John's Wort" takes what it can from games like "Fatal Frame," "Silent Hill," and "Resident Evil," but unfortunately loses its way when forced to hold up the movie end of the bargain. Picture one of the aforementioned survival horror games and remove the interactivity. Just watch someone else play it. Someone who sucks at it. That's a pretty fair description of the movie.

It's clearly going for that "videogame as a movie" concept, heavily evidenced by the visual stylistic choices made by the director. Unfortunately, these choices are uniformly unappealing to the viewer. Scenes are high contrast, and frequently exhibit a very strong hue. This is not your television set, this is just an ugly movie.

The plot doesn't fare any better. The first twenty minutes at least is just watching our main characters wander around the haunted house. That's it. I wish I were joking. It's not even suspenseful, either; no hints that the house is haunted, nothing. By the time the alleged "scares" are supposed to kick in, you don't care what happens to these two. Any stabs at an actual coherent plot in the film seem forced and contrived.

The direction and plot were clearly going for more suspense than your average survival horror film, but they fail and the movie is a dull eyesore.

If you want to see a more lively, entertaining "videogame as a movie" I strongly suggest seeking out "Biozombie." Content-wise it isn't comparable, but the match in style is there except for an important distinction: "Biozombie" is watchable and entertaining, and "St. John's Wort" is not.