[Shutter 2008]
Plot:Remake of a thai horror film of the same name. In the redo...a young American couple on their honeymoon in Tokyo...begin seeing ghostly images in their photos as well as around them.

Cast:Rachael Taylor, Joshua Jackson, David Denman, James Kyson Lee, John Hensley.

My Thoughts:Although not perfect, it's probably the best we'll get this year as far as asian horror remakes go.

Review:Asian horror remakes have been a major letdown so far this year. "One Missed Call? *Rolls eyes*. "The Eye"? *Hangs head in shame*...see where I'm going with this? Then along comes "Shutter", a remake of the thai horror film where a young couple are haunted through snapshots by the ghost of a woman they hit one night on the road. Although the original is alot better spaced when it comes to scares, the remake certainly lives up to what it is supposed to live up to. Although not very scary, very chilling, or very creepy, it still manages to carry some intense scenes, and a few good to decent scares here and there.

This time around, we have Joshua Jackson (Cursed), and Rachael Taylor (See No Evil) playing the young couple in question, newlyweds in fact, who move to Japan due to the hectic career of Jackson's character Benjamin Shaw as a photographer. Things are going well for him and his new bride Jane, when all of a sudden they hit a Japanese girl who stumbled out into the middle of the road. It's not long after the incident before the two are being haunted by her spectre. So the question becomes...what exactly does she want? "Shutter" doesn't make use of it's cast too quickly, which is a plus for this movie because if it had, it could've been the pits very early.

Taylor shows her acting chops by being the first of the couple to notice the spectre of the woman in pictures. Similar to "The Grudge" remake, the lead female in this movie, Taylor's character Jane...goes on her own little expedition into the supernatural...trying to figure out what this mysterious white smoke-like streak is doing in their recent pictures. Where and who this investigation leads her to provide some of the films more interesting and intriguing moments, as well as a few well-placed scares.

The pic spends alot of time focusing in on Taylor's characters encounters with the spirit of the dead girl but as far as Jackson's character is concerned...the film really eases it's way into a confrontation between him and the angry woman's spirit. While this may seem slow and tedious at first, a very important plot twist later on reveals why this easing into the two crossing paths is necessary for the film to play out in a certain way. As decently as "Shutter" plays the eerie, spooky, scares game with a few well-placed moments...it still falls victim to what alot of other asian horror remakes fall victim to.

Those moments when nothing is going for it, and to make up for that, some needless dialogue or a quick ghost sighting is tossed in. I am not sure why there are always weaknesses in these remakes, but it seems to me that after some of the scares have been used up...the writer or writers just can't seem to figure out what to do with their characters for a few scenes. "Shutter" is not high on blood and gore, or violence. But that's normal and will seem normal to those who've seen the original.

The film does however provide enough dead rotting corpses to make gross-out fans happy, along with some very weird and trippy death scenes...including a very...VERY twisted suicide scene which you just have to see to believe. "Shutter's" final act is a strong and solid piece of work though, even though it's middle suffers from expanding the lacking career subplot of Jackson's character too much, and not making it's pissed off female ghost seem vicious enough. It's alice nice to know that some of the folks behind these remakes haven't forgotten how to finish off a movie and impress the audience with an intense finale.

The ending though comes in two parts, and contains a few surprises genre fans should enjoy...particularly the final scene which is really a laugh, but also kind of sad at the same time. "Shutter" will certainly not be the best horror film of 2008, but as far as asian horror remakes go, it is head and shoulders above the rest...atleast for 2008. If you're looking for a decent ghost flick to check out this weekend, then "Shutter" is a good bet. It will scare the easily scared, and will probably slightly creep out but mostly amuse most mainstream horror fans. The hardcore horror fan types however probably won't like this film very much, but it really all depends on how you approach it. If you're going into this movie with ultra-high expectations of something "6th Sense"-esque...might wanna lower them a few notches or you'll be grossly disappointed.

Positives:Rachael Taylor does well in her first lead horror role, decent scares, some pretty trippy scenes here and there.

Negatives:The film doesn't know what to do with itself at times, and can really fall flat after those moments where the ghost shows up on screen. It rarely is able to maintain any momentum after planned-scare moments.

Overall:A break even movie.





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