Seance (2000)

A psychic housewife and her husband become burdened with a kidnapped girl who escaped her assailant. Junko will not let her husband call the hospital or the police for purely selfish ... See full summary »

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writers:

Mark McShane (novel), Tetsuya Onishi (teleplay)

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Jun Fubuki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Sato
Jun Fubuki	...	Junko Sato
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	...	Hayasaka
Hikari Ishida	...	Junko's customer
Kitarô	...	Detective
Ittoku Kishibe	...	College professor
Ren Osugi	...	Restaurant customer (as Ren Ôsugi)
Shô Aikawa	...	Shinto priest
Daikei Shimizu	...	Tazaki, sound engineer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kazuya Horiguchi
Hajime Inoue
Shiuri Isobe
Michisuke Kashiwaya
Kôji Satô
Masahiro Toda

Storyline

A psychic housewife and her husband become burdened with a kidnapped girl who escaped her assailant. Junko will not let her husband call the hospital or the police for purely selfish reasons. The girl dies while still in their house and her ghost begins to haunt not only Junko but also her husband, Sato (Koji Yakusho).

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Plot Keywords:

psychic | ghost | police | remake | fire | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

User Reviews

Overwhelmingly sad

This moody Japanese movie by revered director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a loose remake of the classic 1964 chiller "Séance on a Wet Afternoon." Either that, or it's based on the same source novel, which I haven't read. Nearly every element of the plot is tweaked and twisted, with an emphasis on the supernatural. The lead actress is no Kim Stanley, and her character's predicament is a bit different, but she does a fine job as a psychic trying to come to terms with her powers. "Séance" was apparently made for television, but it really lacks the typical styling of typical made-for-TV movies. It's better and more somber than Kurosawa's "Horror Theater" TV segment. It features crisp, clean cinematography and the scary sequences are enhanced by inventive camera-work. Unfortunately, these scenes are too few and far between. The majority of the film moves at a snail's pace. Whereas "Wet Afternoon" features bizarre yet captivating characters that keep the film from being a complete bummer, there's not much in this film to distract from the overwhelming depressing nature and tone. This makes it difficult to get through in one sitting.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

12 May 2001 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Seance

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kansai Telecasting (KTV), Twins Japan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 98 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1