ultradaikichi

The scoop at the centre of this movie unraveling through a hodgepodge of found footage styled like consumer video formats from the last 3 decades, glued together by normal third-person cinematography was a really interesting way to present a story and worked for me.

The cursed video is jarring as hell, and caught me off guard: definitely more like what generations who grew up on the early internet have experienced than, say, something like the cursed video from Ringu. Parts of this felt like bits of direct-to-video horror short compilations that are quite common in Japan (Shiraishi himself has worked extensively on these) and of course net urban legends, new and old. It’s perfect material to be handled by a veteran and legend like him.

The portrayal of the internet and stuff like NicoNico was really subtle and not overdone which I appreciated. I think the ending left a bit to be desired, which is the case for the other Shiraishi films I’ve seen. Much of that can’t be helped in a story like this, though, where the mystery and sense of the unexplained, not the truth behind it, is the most interesting part.