Shutter (2008) Movie Information:

Shutter (2008) Directed by: Masayuki Ochiai Shutter (2008) Written by: Luke Dawson Shutter (2008) Cast: Rachael Taylor, Joshua Jackson, David Denman, John Hensley, James Kyson Lee

Shutter (2008) U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox Shutter (2008) U.K. Distributor: 20th Century Fox

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Shutter (2008) Synopsis:

The story revolves around a young American couple on their honeymoon in Tokyo who begin seeing ghostly images in their photos as well as around them.

Shutter (2008) Movie Review:

Despite the slick and seductive production values, this Thai film is so similar to J-horrors like The Ring and The Grudge that it's like watching a straight-faced parody. And unless you're new to the genre, it's not remotely scary.

Tun (Everingham) is a photographer out driving one night with his girlfriend Jane (Thongmee) when a woman (Sikamana) steps right in front of their car. They run off after the collision, and soon the woman's ghost begins to haunt their every move, appearing as a shadow in Tun's photographs and then popping up in dreams and night visions. But Tun knows more than he's letting on, especially when his friends start committing suicide. Clearly this dead girl is refusing to rest in peace.

About 10 minutes into this film, we can see why it's taken three years for it to reach our cinemas (in America, it's going straight to video to pave the way for the inevitable Hollywood remake). Everything about this film is lifted from Japanese horror, from the vindictive freak-out ghost (complete with long black hair obscuring her freakishly white face) to buckets of dripping water. If you've seen any of these movies--and there have been rather a lot of them--there's not a single surprise in this one. The only jolts come from extremely loud noises on the soundtrack.

That said, this film is extremely well-filmed, with stylish sets, lush cinematography and solid acting. And the directors clearly had a great time stirring in lots of red herrings and extremely orchestrated horror-movie moments. Plus some grisly violence, a brutally vicious flashback and even a tranny sitting on a toilet. Not to mention the increasingly nutty, gravity-defying ghost herself.

But without something original, the whole thing feels both pointless and utterly interminable, as it shuffles through one overly familiar set piece after another. We keep waiting for something new, a surprise, anything that makes us sit up and take notice. But even with a big climax, an epilogue and a final coda, the filmmakers never snap out of copycat mode.

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Shutter (2008) review written by: Rich Cline