By Simon Thompson
Director and co-writer Koji Shiraishi’s Noroi: The Curse is a disorientating, original, and genuinely creepy piece of horror which, although baggy in a few places, still gets under your skin and remains there well after the credits roll. While Noroi:The Curse isn’t a perfect movie by any means, it is still startlingly strange and different enough that it stands out, which is a praiseworthy quality indeed.
The plot of the movie follows a paranormal researcher named Masafumi Kobayashi (Jin Muraki) investigating a series of strange goings on for a documentary that he is making. As the production for his documentary rolls on, Kobayashi comes into contact with a supernatural/demonic entity known as Kagutaba, a malevolent force which Kobayashi takes it upon himself to defeat.
Narratively Shiraishi and co-writer Naoyuki Yokota’s script is in equal parts a structured documentary and a found footage movie at the same time. As someone who usually doesn’t care for found footage however, I was very impressed by how the sections of the movie in which it is used to tell a story really immersed me into the characters and world that Shiraishi and Yokota are trying to create. In particular, a scene involving a ritual with a bloody mask is an extremely effective piece of horror that leaves you scared and fascinated at the same time.
Almost every other found footage horror movies present themselves as being real and use every contrived trick in the book to convince the audience that they are. Noroi: The Curse, on the other hand, convinces you that you’re watching real footage by creating a genuinely interesting mythology and through the use of clever editing techniques, meshing together the found footage sections of the movie and a series of TV interviews done in character by Jin Muraki and the supporting cast.
The acting in this movie is solid across the board, with special praise going to Jin Muraki’s understated yet likeable performance as Kobayashi, Satoru Jitsunashi’s Rasputin-after-a-dose-of-speed-tablets-infused performance as Hori, a madcap psychic who Kobayashi interviews, and Rio Kanna as Kana Yano, a disturbed young child whose visions provide clues for Kobayashi. Given that she was roughly twelve years old when this movie was made, Kanna gives an assured and confident showing that would be impressive for most adult actors let alone someone her age.
Where the movie falters however, is with its pacing. As interesting as the world and mythology that Shiraishi and Yokota have created with their script, some of the tv interview sections of Noroi: The Curse do drag on a fair bit. While this isn’t a complete dealbreaker, it still slows the film down to a noticeable extent and takes up time which could have been used for some of the more interesting plotlines.
If you want to seek out a horror movie which truly does do something different then Noroi The Curse might just be what you’re looking for. This is a film which will drag you out of your comfort zone in the best way possible and if you’re into Japanese horror in any way shape or form this is at least worth a cursory glance.
Noroi: The Curse is available now in Arrow Video’s J-Horror Rising box set.
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