MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

FilmFatale According to my DVD, there are supposed to be framing segments with this, but I could never access them. As such, we have five separate stories. "The Spiderwoman" was my favorite, with some scary visuals and a fun story about the myth of the Spiderwoman. Not heavy on real spiders, which is a plus for an arachnophobe like me! "Crevices" could have worked as a longer film, and "The Sacrifice" was interesting but nothing special. "Blonde Kwaidan" was just silly and seemed to be missing a large portion of plot. I also found myself enjoying "Presentment," which concerned a rather unusual tour package."Dark Tales of Japan" is overall a decent intro to J-horror, but nothing to write home about.

Scarecrow-88 Five tales of terror from renowned modern Japanese horror directors is made in teleplay format. You could call this compilation the Japanese version of chiller theater.The Spider Woman:Reporters are sent on assignment to trace down the eye-witnesses who perhaps can prove that the urban myth of a spider woman is real. They might just not like what they find..Crevices:Removing red tape from the cracks and crevices, placed on items within a missing high school chum's apartment, might spell doom for a friend trying to find clues as to what might've led to his disappearance. What he realizes, after reading a repeated phrase, "I'm being watched" on the computer screen and seeing just what might've occurred to his frantic, mentally distraught friend on a camcorder recording, our protagonist will be visited by something with an eerie giggle as he races to replenish the place with red tape before harm might befall him.The Sacrifice:Mayu rejects the date offer of a co-worker Fukuda and finds out that he practices black magic & witchcraft. Truly terrifying is the fact that Fukuda has placed a legitimate curse on Mayu and it might just take someone else offering their life as a sacrifice so that she can be spared. Mayu brings up a haunting nightmarish image from childhood where she saw this monstrous head in the chanting room where her grandmother sacrificed her life so that her daughter would be spared. Could this be a repeat affair with Mayu's mother, who is shown chanting without ceasing, sacrificing herself for the love of her daughter? Blonde Kwaidan:A Japanese visitor in Hollywood on business has the misfortune of sharing the flat of a tragic suicide/murder where he is visited by a blonde ghost who doesn't look very happy.Presentiment:A man, stealing company files from his employer sure to bring in huge profit so that he can run off with his lover(..turning his back on the wife and daughter), is trapped in an elevator with specters awaiting an event to take place. Could that event have something to do with him? I really enjoyed this series of tales. Yes, they vary in quality, but most of them are solid little creepers which work well despite the low-budget, made-for-television hindrances which don't allow the directors to go very far in the gore department. Most of the tales, especially "The Spider Woman", "Blonde Kwaidan" & "Presentiment" have a dose of macabre humor to lighten things up. Strangely, the most accomplished director of the group, Takashi Shimizu, has the weakest entry being "Blonde Kwaidan" which lacks strong narrative and seems to end right as it was getting good. The first two, "The Spider Woman" & "Crevices" are probably the creepiest, while Presentiment and The Sacrifice were the most accomplished with care for characters and story. I'd say Presentiment is the most solid entry of them all.

dzong REVIEW: DARK TALES FROM JAPAN Apparently this anthology of horror tales from Japan was "Made for TV"....and it shows. All five main stories (interspersed by a sixth story taking place on a late-night bus) could easily be called "Twilight Zone-esquire" and like that famous TV show, some stories hold up better than others."Spiderwoman" (KUMO-ONNA), directed by the writer of "Dark Water" centers on a tabloid reporter who is selling a lot of magazines by reporting on numerous, unconfirmed reports of a lady who is half-spider, who has been terrorizing suburban roads at night. It's pure cheese, and not particularly well-done, but it gets better as it goes along. ** 1/2."Crevices" (SUKIMA), by the director of "Ring 0" is much better. After a tenant disappears, the landlord calls the man's friend over to investigate. They find every nook and cranny of the apartment sealed up, along with a video camera of the tenant's final days....Short and to the point. *** 1/2 "Sacrifice" (ONAMAKUBI) is the most developed story of the five. A woman is being stalked by her co-worker, who's obsessed with black magic. At the same time, her mother falls ill...and memories of a giant disembodied head (!) from her childhood plague her memories. Not bad. *** "Blonde Kaidan" (KINPATSU KAIDAN) is an embarrassment. By the same director as the Ju-on and Grudge films, it's about a Japanese guy visiting Hollywood. Pointless and pathetic. *"Premonition" (YOKAN) is the only story that could rightfully be called a good movie. Well-done on all levels, it's a macabre story about a dishonest businessman who meets three unusual souls when he is trapped in an elevator. Good from start to finish. **** out of *****.All in all, there's better Japanese horror out there, but this one is okay as a time-killer.

HEFILM If you're tired of little girls with long dark hair, this is something quite different for horror fans and Japanese horror fans. Though most look to be shot of video, which I know some people find off putting, the acting and production values and the FX, both make-up are well done. More creative than the American Masters of Horror series,though these are shorter some being under 20 minutes long and it's easier to support that shorter running time. Though there are funny moments in them they never go totally into a comedy pay off. This is really diverting stuff, imaginative, check it out.Giant heads, curses, evil blonds, elevators, spider people, a wide range of locations and types of stories. Music from The Amityville Horror shows up in one episode, rather strangely actually. No nudity but there is gore in decent amounts.