March 30, 2007

Shutter Review

(Posted In Asia DVD News Horror Reviews )

shutter.jpgThis review originally appeared almost exactly two years ago - March 28th, 2005 - and is reproduced here with some comments on the new Tartan DVD release added.

Thai horror flick Shutter is a film that has arrived a couple years too late. Had it been made in the early going of the current Asian horror boom it very likely would have been hailed a minor classic, mentioned in the same breath as Nakata’s Ringu and Kurosawa’s Kairo. Coming this late in the game, however, it seems that a good number of people have taken a look at the early materials, branded it a derivative knock off, and thought no further about it. Those people are certainly justified in their thinking – Shutter IS quite derivative, owing a large debt to Nakata in particular, but it also succeeds in taking what is now a rather tired formula and re-injecting it with life, creating a film that is significantly more than the sum of its parts.

Shutter falls neatly into the techno-ghost sub genre. Ringu had its haunted videotape, Kairo its website, Phone and One Missed Call revolved around cell phones and Shutter starts with photography, specifically the much rumored phenomenon of spirit photography in which a ghost or spirit is somehow accidentally captured on film. There are a host of variations on this particular urban legend ranging anywhere from captured auras to angry ghosts to angels captured in shots out of airplane windows and Shutter takes things from the vengeful ghost angle.

Tun is a professional photographer in Bangkok. Late one night, following a spate of heavy drinking at a close friend’s bachelor party, Tun and his new girlfriend Jane run down a young woman in the street and crash their car into a street side billboard. Seeing no signs of life from the woman Tun panics and the pair flee the scene without so much as calling for an ambulance. The next day he shoots a roll of film at his sister’s graduation only to find upon developing them that the entire roll has been spoiled by a series of strange phenomenon: smears of light, strange shadows, indistinct faces superimposed upon the pictures. Though he initially looks for a physical explanation it soon becomes clear to Tun that he is being haunted.

So, yes, the setup seems vaguely familiar, a fact the film makers seem quite aware of going so far as to give Nakata a nod with a ‘long hair rising out of water’ shot inserted into a dream sequence, but the film rises well above the level of the recent spate of cheap J-Horror knock offs. What makes the difference? A few things … first, there’s the execution. This may not have had the budget of other recent entries, but they certainly put it to better use with tight editing and more than enough solid jump moments and creepy atmosphere to keep you glued to the screen. Second, the film executes a brilliant reveal at about the half way mark that completely alters your read of the proceedings. This film sets you up to look in one direction only to turn you about midway through, adding a whole new layer of meaning to the story and characters without devaluing what has already come up to that point. And thirdly the film is actually about something. It seems like a strange thing to say given just how cluttered the genre has become but I think this may just be the first film of the type to actually be about something larger than simply making people jump since Kurosawa tackled the isolating power of technology with Kairo. Unpacking the main thrust of the film would spoil the reveal mentioned above but suffice it to say that Shutter has a good bit more depth than most and that deeper thrust leads to one of the most beautifully unsettling closing images I have come across in ages.

Taking a look at the film again a couple years later Shutter has held up remarkably well and proven that it firmly deserves its status as a minor classic. But has it gotten a North American DVD release that reflects this? Sadly, no. Tartan DVD releases seem to fall neatly into two camps. There are the prestige titles that receive the A-list treatment - Oldboy, A Tale of Two Sisters, the Tsukamoto titles, etc - and then there are the lower profile titles rushed to market with questionable transfers and minimal features. This falls into the latter camp. Clearly brought to market now to capitalize on the coming remake - the DVD artwork clearly labels this as being The Original version - the DVD features a very soft transfer taken from a noticably damaged print. Sound options - 2.0, 5.1 and DTS - are excellent, as are the English subtitles, but the transfer is soft to the point of leaving images looking slightly out of focus, taking away dramatically from the power of the cinematography. The features are quite limited, including a two minute cast and crew interview and very brief behind the scenes features that include roughly a minute each showing how a handful of scenes were shot.

» Posted by Todd at March 30, 2007 07:34 PM
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Reader Comments

Thanks for pointing it out, I hadn't actually caught up with this movie before now, I'll be hunting it down. Cheers.

Have you noticed Kairo is being remade as Pulse, written by Wes Craven? Check us out for the story just posted.

» Posted by Rich at March 30, 2005 04:42 PM

ey this movie is great! it is really scary but not really either, but a great movie to watch. i think this is one of the best thai horro moive! ;)

» Posted by Sweetie at July 19, 2005 12:40 PM

i just watched Shutter this afternoon with my boyfriend..at the very first time, we feLt so confused 'n annoyed with the TagaLog Language since we don't understand any singLe words of it, yet at the end of the movie, we came up with a simpLe concLusion that this Thai horror movie was so enjoyabLe..this movie was successfuLy fuLfiLLed by many unexpected suspenses. ^_^ we just can't wait to see next Thai horror movie..good work, Asian!

» Posted by esteemic at October 11, 2005 01:11 PM

excuse me esteemic.... Tagalog is the language of Phillipines. Shutter is a Thai movie, the language spoken is Thai.

or are you one of those people to whom all asians look alike?

What's up with the "good work, Asian!" stuff - Asians have been making excellent horror movie for donkey years now. The west still can only boasts about The Exorcist, which is an overdone movie with unrealistic make-up.

Grow up....

» Posted by grunge at October 21, 2005 02:40 AM

this movie is one of the best so far.. when will AMERICANs!!!! come up with idea like this.come on no more BS from stevin spilberg!!!ohh spread the good news about this movie!!!

» Posted by azn midwest boy at November 6, 2005 09:41 PM

hey, this was really good... the west who always try to snub the east is now trying to beg the story....the west should know that good films are made here and we dont seem to boast the way the americans do... East believes in Spirits.. West mock it... There we stand.

» Posted by avinash at November 9, 2005 06:51 AM

to me,this is the most entertaining asian horror movie ever.i've seen a few thai horror movies before (like the eye,bangkok haunted etc.).but this one is the greatest.not only in thai movies,among all the asian horror flicks,my favorite is shutter.

by the way,did anyone play the ps2 game named "fatal frame"?
you can take photos of the ghosts in the game.and its very scary.
i really recommend it.

» Posted by mert kutay at December 20, 2005 08:25 AM

hey! to the thai people star that this video is very scary and good.....i like it alot cause.....it make you jump......scare.....hide....shake....or even you think that some day you'll be like that......and that sound pretty scare......well....hahahaha i like it alot.....i it was a american version....cause the american people havent seen it.....well bye!

» Posted by Li Vang at February 20, 2006 08:45 AM

Film jest bardzo fajny... poprostu great! Wciąga bardzo... Był może taki moment kiedy nie było wiadomo dokładnie o co chodzi :) No Azjacie sie postarali 5 za filmik :) Oby tak dalej :) I know you don't understand my language, but my english is not perfect :) Sorry... Elo :)

» Posted by eliza at March 7, 2006 01:43 PM

I loved watching it.infact I watched it 3times and I sill haven`t had enough of it.It`s the best movie I`ve seen til now,seriously.

» Posted by viciousdoll at February 5, 2007 10:34 AM

I too have enjoyed watching this movie. In fact, I believe this movie to be the best Asian Horror Movie thus far. I seem to always compare other Asian movies to this movie, and I still can't find a movie equal to this one. It's an entertaining movie from start to finish. I can't wait for the second movie to come out from the same talented Thai directors.

By the way, when will this movie come out in theaters and dvd import?

» Posted by HorrorLover at March 19, 2007 03:15 PM

I love this movie even though there were no subtitles when I watched it. I still find it enjoyable to watch. Have you guys seen EYE 10? Eye 10 is an awesome movie. If you love Shutter you'll love Eye 10 - a mixture of horror and comedy!

» Posted by Horror lover at May 24, 2007 01:25 PM

I LOVED THIS MOVIE ^__^
it was so awesome
and i found it funny (i find all good horror movies funny >.>)
i loved it and i want another movie like it T.T
but i watched it on Youtube.com after getting whiff of it in a escape the room type of game...chouldent beat the game and i was in the mood for a movie anyways so i searched the name on google found it was already out long ago and then went on youtube and found it on there ^_^
first i found it in a diffrent language then i found it with english subtitles and some i found skipping sceens -.- which was anoying because i had to play the whole movie over again when i was near the end -.-'''
but if i find it anywere in america im totely buying it ^_^
i give it a 20 out of 10 ^-^'

» Posted by Jill at May 26, 2007 08:34 PM

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