Koji Shiraishi is not a familiar name in world cinema, but the Japanese director is as prolific as Takashi Miike was during his peak. He’s released 60 Horror films this century, most of them made for the Video market on extremely low budgets and running about an hour in length. I’m curious to explore these films because I’ve seen five of Shiraishi’s theatrical features and four of them are very interesting and well-made. (The fifth is the silly Ringu/Grudge team-up Sadako vs. Kayako.)
Noroi is often grouped in with “found footage,” but it’s more accurate to call it a pseudo-documentary. Using a large cast, with some people playing themselves, The story pulls on several different threads before weaving them together to get to the creepy center of things. Like early M. Night Shyamalan, the pace creates tension because you know the film ultimately wants to give you the creeps… and it does. Some really strong images and moments. My biggest problem is using a mentally challenged character as a genre device, which I always have to get past when the rest of the film is working. (Like Ouija boards, it’s the worst thing you can put into a film aiming for ultimate realism.) It’s not too distracting here, but I can understand the character bothering some people.
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