Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

cloudsponge The natural images of forests, mountains, and lotus ponds were breathtaking, as were the interior shots of the traditional Japanese houses and workshops.To call the story childish, however, would be an insult to children. To call the story eye-rolling, and bone-headed, stupid would be more accurate.They should not rent or show this movie without asking for IDs to make sure no adults view it for fear that they may come down with regressive brain damage.Think about it for half a second: "I don't care if she is a thousand years old and my mother, I love her and want to marry her." Black humor? Nah, it's not even remotely funny. None of the movie is. With such an inane and brain-dead story line what else could it have possibly been aiming for but humor? It utterly fails even in that.

Alice Wakefield I can't really make a fair comment on this film as I wasn't giving it my full attention, and I gave up on it halfway through.I liked the way it looked, the mystery, and the exploration of Japanese traditions, history and equivalent of karma. These are all rolled in quite nicely with the horror, in this movie.Though it seemed like it had a lot of threads, I followed the main ones very easily. There were some threads which I couldn't follow at all, and that's probably why I gave up on it.Again, I wasn't giving it my full attention, and I'm not a particular fan of horror, so it may not be the film's fault.

jroman52 Many may find this slow going, but it is beautifully shot, and compellingly strange. This kind of folk myth is not often seen on the screen, and hardly ever in such a low-key, erotic style. And there is nothing so terrible about the soundtrack, except perhaps to opera snobs who can't bear to hear Verdi put to use in such an out-of-context way. Not a great film, but above-average for this genre. The Japanese countryside is gorgeous, the atmospherics are evocative, and the actors, particularly the women, are all first rate. Throw in some fascinating scenes of paper making, and on the other hand, some beautifully framed sex scenes, and this is certainly much more watchable than many of its American equivalents.

Manji INUGAMI is an interesting yet drawn out film. Though there are many wonderful aspects to the film (location, cinematography, directing) they just don't save the film from many bouts of tedium. The most overdone aspect being the Tomie character. However, for those who do give this film a chance they will surely be treated to an above par thriller set in a quiet village virtually disconnected from the rest of the world. Here, not only does everyone know each other's name but they know their secrets as well. This concept alone is easily fun to play with and we are treated to it quite nicely as we (the viewer) learn the secrets of the village along with Akira (a school teacher, and outsider) who has just arrived in the town.Personally, I felt the film should have omitted a few of the middle scenes of the movie involving Takanao. He had a certain mystique about him near the beginning, but with each additional scene involving him I felt a lack of interest growing. Also, I couldn't help but feel bored around every group meeting which took place in the film (of which, there are many). For some reason, it just didn't feel like they were getting anything accomplished asides from re-stating the basic purpose of the Bonomiya. These scenes were just so disinteresting, especially nearing the end.Also, from a western point of view, the whole idea of loyalty to a certain job, no matter what the cost, seems trying at times. This is basically a problem most westerners have with many Asian films. The sense of honour and commitment seems to also be a foreign thing to North American audiences. I have watched other Asian films, less engaging than this one. While watching the other films, I found myself very interested and downright intrigued by the "honour" aspect. But here, in INUGAMI, honour is certainly not essential. Even morality is utterly useless as the depraved truth is revealed.I really wanted to love this film, as I mentioned before there were good things going for it. However, I'm to conflicted by so many other things about the movie. This film is definitely not for everyone especially those who are attracted to the film due to it's underlying "horror" theme. You don't see any ugly demons strolling the streets, you only see the ugliness of human beings who have steeped themselves in tradition and the past. The two things which have been responsible for the downfall of so many organizations, societies, and people.Oh, and the music was rank!