The movie basically has the same good and bad points of the anime, but it adds a lot of trash here and there.
The story has an awesome background. The idea is something I really like about horror movies: a mix of urban legends, death, ghosts and school. The problem is that it just can't handle it and ends up being a weird wtf until the end. A lot of things remain unexplained, a lot of the explained things are non-sense and A LOT of what happens is just stupid, and that's a shame. For example, imagine that you're a detective in a detective novel and you have a superpower that allows you to find the culprit without any problem; then, why wouldn't you just use it to find the culprit? Why should you wait until he kills more just to let the novel be longer? That's the kind of non-sense that can be found in the movie.
The characters, just like in the anime, are the most anonymous thing I have ever seen. The acting was kinda bad overall, even though there were some secondary actors who splendidly did their job but they didn't appear in more than two or three scenes so they don't really make up for the general lack. In the second half, Misaki Mei's actress (one of the main characters) improved a little.
Another really bad thing about the characters is the lack of any emotion despite the fact that the characters are just students who began to see death in their everyday life. Their reactions are just so unnatural.
Surprisingly, the music was really good. The creepy soundtrack was really creepy. The ending song was good. Weird because it's dubstep/pop music, a genre that you don't really associate with the horror genre, but whatever.
So overall, I would recommend this movie only if you want some trash horror for fun or if you're a fan of the manga/anime. I don't really think that it would be easy to rewatch since it's basically just "emotionless character explaining things to emotionless character 2", "someone dies in a funny way", "emotionless character explaining things to emotionless character 2", someone dies in a funny way", etc. until the last section.
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I've read a lot of review and most of them said that this movie is pathetic and the anime is better than this. But I don't agree. This movie quite good, I can understand the whole story, being tense from the start until the end, being curious, and being "WTF" for the ending (^o^) Other than horror, this movie provide a twist plot, and that’s what I can tolerate (^_^;) The cinematography might be not the best, but it’s enough.
P.S. I had an insomnia after watch this (^o^;)
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We did laugh a lot too, but that was because we have a tendency to insert dialog during the slow parts. MST style
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STORY: This story has a lot of awesome potentials and the buildup through the background is great. There's a nice blend of urban legends, death, ghosts, the reality of trust between friends and safety in school. As someone who has read the book and watched the anime, I was able to fly by the movie and not question too much. That being said it can definitely be confusing for some. There are not enough clear explanations, nor is there a lot as far as investigation or stress and pressure from solving the mystery within a certain time frame. It is kind of presented in a blase tone of "oh another student died, maybe we should try to figure it out I guess". The anime was longer and capable of adding more detail and buildup in the story, something a 90 minute or so movie just isn't capable of. There was also quite a bit of filler that didn't need to be there. It's not a bad story though, it was just done in a lackluster way.
**the graphics are not the best, the filming techniques and cinematography are a little more than okay but not great.****
CHARACTERS: These characters could have definitely benefited from some more depth and better acting. Some of the younger actors seemed uncomfortable at first, and I do not think they were given enough time to develop their characters on screen (I blame scripting and movie length). There was a lot of vagueness overall. The older actors were very good but obviously, they are not on screen much because they are not main characters, and that cannot make up for the poor acting in other parts.
MUSIC: The music and sound effects were pretty on point for this movie. Nothing was distracting but amplified the scenes and created buildup. Like many of the Japanese horror movies I have seen, the end theme was a strange pop song with somewhat morbid/dark lyrics. I never understand why people use those rather than just more instrumental but that's just me.
REWATCH: If you're a fan of the novel, manga, or anime you would probably watch this (some fans may end up frustrated). If you feel the need for a horror marathon it's not bad. But honestly, I wouldn't really watch it again. I would rather watch the bloodier and more understandable anime. Some people might like it enough to rewatch though, to each their own.
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