Chad

Trevor

Bump for those of you in Newfoundland.

rbrown498

Pretty good Japanese horror film is part of the "J-Horror Theater" series of six films that includes Infection and Retribution, among others. I enjoyed this film, but it's not one that I'm going to revisit often. It's certainly well-made, but it's just so somber that I don't see myself rewatching it anytime soon. The plot is rather convoluted, but it concerns a newspaper that contains stories of future deaths showing up shortly before these deaths actually take place. And, yes, it DOES sound cheesy, and the film could have turned out really awful, but it works amazingly well. The last twenty minutes take on a very surreal, Groundhog Day tone, but the ending is satisfying, if somewhat downbeat. If you like Asian horror films, you'll probably like this a LOT better than the average viewer.

And Trevor, your comment in Post #2 above made me laugh out loud. Noofies!

Shack

I agree that the movie has a cheesy premise but it was really well done. I appreciated how well the characters were filled out, and there were so many beautifully composed visual images throughout.

Also, although I can appreciate the frequent use of gore in Asian horror, it was nice to see one that didn't depend on it to tell the story.

Thanks for putting it on the list!

p.s. Yes I know I'm technically discussing it early, but perhaps that fits with the theme of the movie...?

Mondo Kane

Good start. Slowed down in the middle (When it began to resemble Early Edition) but it got engaging again once the freakiness occured when he plays with the paper.

Wonder how the little actress who played Nana handled that makeup process (For the nightmare sequence) I'm so not used to seeing little kids on the recieving end of a makeup job that extensive!

shellebelle

Surprisingly good movie. I totally enjoyed the whole thing. Will probably end up watching it again next year I liked it so much! Good job tarfrimmer!

Trevor

Sweet. I wasn't going to bump it until midnight of it's day, but started it a bit early, and remembered (slightly incorrectly it turns out) that Newfoundland is 30 minutes ahead of the eastern US.
No, we're on the right day. We can even post in these 32 threads days early if we want, since it's assumed that you won't care about spoilers if you're in these threads.

Trevor

And yeah, I really enjoyed the film too. First death really hit me hard. I'm very empathetic by nature, and well up at emotional commercials even, but wow, that was a powerful scene. Maybe because I'm about to get married and gain a stepdaughter, but I had a few real tears there.

And as usual, Japanese horror films tend to creep me out the most. There is just something about the way Japanese women look when made-up to be scary that really freaks me out. This didn't have any Ring-level scares for me, but I did go to sleep a little afraid to look into the closet.

Dick Laurent

Really enjoyed this. The beginning and ending complemented each other so well. It was hard to watch the girl die over and over. But the whole mood and effect was well done. I also agree it's nice not to be bombarded with gore or, for that matter, watery girl worms.

tarfrimmer

This one had been sitting in my Netflix queue for a couple of years. Glad it turned out to be a decent film!

Ha! Glad I'm not the only one to think of Early Edition.

Same here. Actually, I think the bit that creeped me out the most was the appearance of the faceless woman from the train accident, towards the end, when he was going through the different time periods. Faceless people freak me out. Didn't help that I'd just seen an episode of Paranormal Witness with one of those.

Anyway, I thought this film was quite effective, and certainly tragic, and a couple of days later, it's still on my mind.

Undeadcow

The ending didn't 100% make sense. The father had to die because he had intervened in destiny but only did so because he was aggressively chased by newspapers from the future. Was he killed by mean spirited supernatural forces using newspapers as a weapon or is this a morality play cautioning against workaholism (through premonition he learned not only to attend to his daughter but to die for her)? Am I missing something? Premonition was a thrilling movie with unexpected twists but also a missed opportunity to make deeper commentary on the nature of loss and destiny.

I got this very cheap at a Hollywood Video store closing and it has sat in my unwatched pile until now. The plot sounds bland but the execution was much better than I'd have ever expected. Very effective.

Spiderbite

The first death didn't affect me that much because I have seen The Changeling (1980). The first scene of this movie is almost exactly the same as The Changeling. I expected it (though I was surprised the wife survived).

It was the last 20 minutes where the movie gets great. And in that final 10 minutes was where the tears flowed for me (you are not alone Trevor...I am a crier at times too). Having to go thru that scene in several different ways was tough but when they put him in the truck...jeez that was the toughest one for me.

I think you can take the ending several different ways. The way I read it, the man died to save his daughter and at the same time ended his hell. But the questions then begin...did he really end it for his daughter? Did he truly save her? She sees a paper coming down at her at the end and we are left wondering...will the paper curse now follow her? Is she really safe? Lots of unease and unanswered questions that you can interpret in your own way.

I really enjoyed this movie but the last 20 minutes sealed it for me. Hell, it jumped an entire star rating for it. I agree the premise was a little cheesy but damn if I didn't hate seeing a piece of paper float up by the time this movie ended. It also hit me hard seeing what a father will do to save his family...especially his children. I would do the exact same for my son and that is why the end was especially tough to watch.

One of my favorites so far from the nightly suggestions! Thanks.

My rating: ****1/2 out of *****