J-Film Blog

A creepy murder-mystery with a ghost-story twist, Retribution (or 叫, “sakebi” actually isn’t all that bad!  Better than I was expecting, anyway.  Even if a bit predictable.

Police detective Yoshioka (Kouji Yakusho) is called upon to investigate a bizarre series of drownings.  They think that they’re dealing with a serial killer, due to the fact that all of the victims were found drowned in salt water, where there shouldn’t be any.

Turns out that the truth is much more sinister.  The ghost of an abandoned mental patient is out for revenge, and recognition, and has “infected” certain people who might’ve caught a glimpse of her before her death.

You won’t find (and I was expecting) a lot of the typical black hair/pale faces oni cliches here.  Sure there are a few, but this film runs on atmosphere alone.  It’s dark, bleak, and overall just plain creepy.   Most of the “scary” bits are driven by the suspense of the moment.

I won’t even spoil the twist ending for you.  Suffice it to say there are shades of “Angel Heart” going on here, and if you pay close attention, you might be able to figure it out as the movie unfolds.  There are clues to the near sixth-sense style ending, but you have to catch them.

It’s no masterpiece, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to.  Which is saying quite a bit!

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0843302/
Amazon:Retribution

Here’s the trailer, for a taste….