Premonition (2004)

While stopped at a roadside phone booth for transmitting his work through the Internet to the university, Professor Hideki Satomi finds a scrap of newspaper with the picture of his ... See full summary »

Director:

Norio Tsuruta

Writers:

Noboru Takagi (screenplay), Norio Tsuruta (screenplay)

Stars:

Hiroshi Mikami, Noriko Sakai, Maki Horikita

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hiroshi Mikami	...	Hideki Satomi
Noriko Sakai	...	Ayaka Satomi
Maki Horikita	...	Sayuri Wakakubo
Mayumi Ono	...	Misato Miyamoto
Hana Inoue	...	Nana Satomi
Masao Mukai	...	Nyûsu no Koe (voice)
Reiko Hiroshige	...	Nyûsu no Koe (voice)
Takahiro Takano	...	Nyûsu no Koe (voice)
Rui Tsurumizu	...	Josei Ripôtâ
Gaku Adachi	...	Dansei Kisha
Tarô Suwa	...	Kôchô no Koe (voice)
Daisuke Ban	...	Kyôtô
Shûichirô Idemitsu	...	Shinbun Haitatsuin
Kazuhiro Yamaji	...	Mitamura Ishi
Yûto Mizoguchi	...	Shônen

Storyline

While stopped at a roadside phone booth for transmitting his work through the Internet to the university, Professor Hideki Satomi finds a scrap of newspaper with the picture of his five-year-old daughter Nana in the obituary section. He sees his wife Ayaka Satomi trying to release their daughter from the seat belt, when a truck without steering hits his car killing Nana. Three years later, Hideki is divorced from Ayaka, who is researching paranormal persons who claim to have read an evil newspaper anticipating the future still trying to believe on Hideki, and she finds that there are people cursed to foresee the future, but without power to save the victims. When Hideki changes the future by saving Ayaka, he becomes trapped in hell and has to make a choice regarding his own destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | supernatural | slasher | newspaper | university | 

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Taglines:

If you see it... you will die!

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing images

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

2 October 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Premonition

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$652,525

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment Farm (EF), Fellah Pictures, Geneon Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Reincarnation (2005)

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Soundtracks

Mushi no koe
(uncredited)

User Reviews

Creepy spin on 'butterfly effect' theme

An effective combination of 'change the future'-style sci-fi thriller and traditional Japanese horror. PREMONITION tells the story of an ordinary man caught up in some extraordinary events…and the dark avenues to which he is eventually led as a result of this.

Things kick off with a shocking set-piece in which a young girl is killed in one of those accidents that are filmed so well in Asian cinema. Years later and the father blames himself for not saving her, as he was warned by a newspaper article in the moments before her death. Soon he becomes convinced that he can go back in time to save her, and becomes involved with various psychics who claim to be able to see the future.

What follows is both familiar and unpredictable at the same time. Director Norio Tsuruta, hot off making RING 0, shoots this as a horror rather than science fiction film, so incorporates various scare sequences that end up being very effective. There's little to no gore here, just a creeping psychological approach that pays dividends as the story progresses. I defy anyone not to jump in their seat at the 'faceless ghost' scene.

The pacing is rather slow – when isn't it in a J-horror? – but it gradually picks up as the film builds momentum, culminating in a blistering climax involving our protagonist hopping through realities at a dizzying pace. It reminded me of the hilarious extended fight climax of Wes Craven's SHOCKER, although of course it's treated seriously here. Hiroshi Mikami is excellent as the haunted protagonist – think of the calibre of Hiroyuki Sanada in Ring and you'll be close – and the film as a whole never pulls its punches.