Marebito (2004)

Takuyoshi Masuoka is a cameraman obsessed with capturing the sensation of fear near death. He sees a man commit suicide near Tokyo’s subway and wonders what the man must have felt before he died.

He wants to experience the same fear and so he goes to the subways of Tokyo. It’s where according to an urban legend, spirits haunt the living. What he sees there changes the course of his life but also fulfills his quest.

Takuyoshi sees a naked woman chained to a cave. He takes her home and names her F. He tries to feed and tame her but she doesn’t want food or water. She wants blood.

Marebito is a slow but eerie film that borders between fantasy and urban horror. The protagonist’s venture into the subways leads him into another dimension, that of the underworld, where the mysterious woman and other creatures live.

Meanwhile, the horror dwells in the gruesome acts the delusional Takuyoshi does in order to quench his guest’s thirst. The acts also give him a reason to satisfy his curiosity about fear.

There is also something scary about the image of faceless people staring at you and talking to you telepathically. Of course, as with Takashi Shimizu’s other films (The Grudge, Reincarnation), Marebito has a few surprising ghost appearances here and there.

This Japanese horror movie has a disturbing twist at the end. The revelation comes to a head when Takuyoshi confronts his inner demons.

The realization will leave a sour taste in your mouth. It will leave you re-watching and perpetually analyzing every detail of the film to understand the story better.

Director: Takashi Shimizu – Screenplay: Chiaki Konaka – Cast: Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara, Miho Ninagawa, Shun Sugata, Masayoshi Haneda, Junko Amagi  – Run Time: 1h 32m