Nao (Hiroko Satô) works as a cashier in a convenience store that occupies a plot of land previously owned by a mass murderer and which is built on foundations made from crushed gravestones. As a result, the place is a centre for negative energy, its aisles are haunted by menacing soul-less creatures (a bit like my local ASDA), and anyone unwise enough to shop there winds up dead soon after. Will Nao also fall foul of the curse on her creepy workplace?
Low-budget Asian ghost flick Cursed is a mish-mash of frustratingly familiar themes inspired by a whole slew of other (but not necessarily better, IMHO) J-Horror 'classics'; but although it doesn't demonstrate much in the way of originality in terms of actual content, Yoshihiro Hoshino's unconventional directorial style and random approach to plot development does ensure that his film offers just enough novelty and individuality to prevent it from feeling too stale.
Hoshino opens with a rather predictable but still very effective jolt, quickly develops a suitably creepy atmosphere that is sustained throughout, and delivers at least one genuinely tense scene (featuring a sledgehammer wielding killer) amidst the more routine J-horror elements: eyes staring out from unexpected places, a spooky girl crawling from an electrical household appliance, a silent faceless figure in a Parka coat... y'know, all that malarkey.
