|
Written by Larry Clow
|
|
Wednesday, 05 July 2006 |
Oz Company Ltd., 2004
starring: Koichi Sato, Moro Morooka, Masanobu Takashima and Michiko Hada
directed by: Masayuki Ochiai
the plot: Doctors Akiba (Sato) and Uozumi (Takashima) are forced to start turning patients away from their understaffed, under-financed hospital. The remaining nurses can’t keep up with the influx of patients, and the other two doctors in the building are either too young and inexperienced or too old and weak to treat anybody. But once they close the doors of the isolated hospital, Akiba and Uozumi find their problems are just beginning.A desperate ambulance crew has dropped off a critical patient with a frightening disease—a blackish-green rash that slowly consumes a person’s body, reducing it to a puddle of green ooze. Akiba and Uozumi are shocked to learn that the rash is actually a symptom of a much more insidious sickness: a communicable disease that infests people’s minds and causes them to act on their horrific impulses. While Akiba and Uozumi race to find a cure, the staff of the hospital begins to fall prey to the infection. But as the two soon discover, the remedy may be more psychologically damaging than the sickness itself.
why it’s good: “Infection” is creepy, unsettling and gory in all the ways that Americanized Japanese horror flicks like “The Ring” and “The Grudge” aren’t. Sure, the pacing is a little weird and the ending ambiguous, but “Infection” is a solidly scary movie. Director Ochiai takes his time, using the first half of the film to set up the bloody conflicts that drive the heart of the movie. The characters are set into conflict with each other immediately, and Ochiai excels in establishing an overwhelming sense of foreboding with the very first shot. The hospital itself is a hall of horrors even before the ooze gets loose, and the unhinged nature of all the characters helps keep the viewer off balance and on edge. One sequence, in which Akiba and Uozumi struggle to revive a patient only to accidentally kill him, is wonderfully suspenseful without being the least bit bloody. The ending of “Infection” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense—there’s a series of two surprise twists that don’t add up—but a lingering sense of unease can be felt even after the credits roll.
why you should own it: “Infection” is a worthy rental, but only obsessive J-horror fans should add it to their library. Lion’s Gate Films’ DVD is woefully lacking in even the most basic of extras. |
Home
News
Features
Music
Film
Art
Literary
Food
Stage
Outside
All Stories
