Premonition (2004) Yogen aka J-Horror Theater Vol. 2

Directed by Norio Tsuruta

Starring Hiroshi Mikami (Tokyo Decadence), Noriko Sakai (Ju-on: The Grudge 2)

Groundhog Day of the Dead.

Ill admit I was expecting this to be awful, thankfully it wasnt and in certain respects it was quite good though not exactly scary. Based on the cult manga Newspaper Of Terror, the story follows a husband and wife who split up after a tragic accident robs them of their only child. The husband blames himself because he believes he foresaw the event through a newspaper article that described the accident and he did nothing about it.

Reunited through a series of events including finding proof that others have the same type of premonitions, sometimes driving them to madness, the couple decide to make another go of their marriage. But, through another newspaper report, the man foresees a train crash and amongst the names of the dead is his wife! Despite everything hes learnt about these premonitions and how they have been decreed by fate, he decides to change the future and pulls his wife from the train.

By saving her life he has forfeited his own, taken from his mortal existence and revisiting scenes from the near past, each altered due to his crossing fate, he eventually ends at the start. This segment brings to mind Groundhog Day because he will relive the accident that took his daughter until he can figure out how he can change events and save the childs life.

In many ways this is similar to other recent Asian horrors but there is a strong air of Karma and Buddhism to it as well. The performances are generally fine, none of them really stand out (excluding the overworked bug eyed approach of Hiroshi Mikami) but they all gel together well. As far as the effects are concerned, theyre a mix of old school masks and make-up which work well and cgi, which ranges from good to awful. The DTS soundtrack adds a lot to the film, throwing effects all over the place creating an eerie atmosphere. The stereo and Dolby 5.1 tracks are fine as well.

Overall then, a lot better than I was expecting, could have improved some of the special effects, (especially when you see what can be done with a minuscule budget ala Shinya Tsukamotos "Vital"). A thoughtful story with at least a little basis in reality and pretty good performances.

I should mention one scene that is typical of the sort of bad directing you get in many horror films. 

The wife gets in her car but it won't start, leaving her car she grabs her bags and belongings and the camera zooms in on the mobile phone she's left behind (obviously important point!). The husband, desperately trying to contact her rings the mobile. Switch to train station, the wife fumbles in her bag realising she doesn't have her phone, zoom in again to the mobile phone, ringing unanswered on the car seat.

I found this sequence to be ineptly handled, it's obvious she's left the phone behind without the initial zoom, as it is also obvious that nobody can answer the phone. Showing her fumbling through her bag and especially the repeat zoom of the phone in the car are just excessively laboured and pointless. 

Recommended as a rental if you enjoy a decent horror film but are a little fed up of the tortured soul with long flowing black hair returning from the grave to reap revenge type of Asian horror.

BBFC rated 12 though for some reason the dvd carries an 18 rating?

Cheers Trev

R2 dvd released by Tartan video. The picture quality is good considering the low budget, excellent sound tracks, particularly the DTS.

A surprising amount of extras including:

Behind the scenes - Around 40 minutes long, which takes a fairly in-depth, look at several scenes.
A separate feature on the use of digital effects.
Cast and crew interviews, 6 altogether.
Press conference and original trailer.

Of course there are trailers for other current and future releases as well.