Horror Movie Reviews
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Title: Kakurenbo - Hide & Seek (2005) |
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Review of Kakurenbo - Hide & Seek
- In this beautiful mixture of cutting-edge CGI and traditional animation, a young boy joins a game of hide-and-seek to find his missing sister. Along the way, he encounters grotesque demons and a terrifying fight for his very soul.
Description
- Shuhei Morita's 25-minute Kakurenbo (2004), which has received favorable attention on the festival circuit, is a moody film, appropriate for Hallowe'en. In a corner of modern Japan stands an empty, demon-haunted city where children who play hide and seek disappear. Eight children enter its portals one night: Hikora and his friend Yaimao are looking for his lost sister; the other six are looking for excitement--which they find. Daisuke Sajiki's designs for the mechanical-looking monsters and crumbling buildings are striking and effective. But the characters remain ciphers, with no recognizable personalities. Morita, who co-wrote the script, uses long, slow camera moves for mood, but ends almost every scene with a blackout. Kakurenbo feels more like an exercise than a finished work, especially its weightless CG figures and weak ending derived from the Matrix movies. Like Makoto Shinkai's Voices of a Distant Star, Kakurenbo suggests that it's becoming possible to create small, personal CG films in Japan. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon
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Comments for Kakurenbo - Hide & Seek
- Posted on 2008-07-03
Hide And Seek Was Never This Intense
Kakurenbo ranks with up there with the top anime films. I honestly didn't expect this movie to be as good as it was. Kakurenbo takes one of the oldest games and adds a twist that would give any kid the creeps. So many children go out to "Otokyo" in the ruins of an old city to play the game. It is rumored that there're demons who take the participants of each game.
The film mainly follows Hikora who is playing the game hoping to find his missing sister. In the movie, the myth doesn't scare the kids but rather encourages them to prove it wrong. They're in fact very courageous and are willing to play knowing that kids have actually been missing for a long time. 7 kids have showed up and but only some are anxious to start the game. All 7 no doubt want to leave with a victory rather than to never leave at all.
I loved every minute of kakurenbo even though it was so short (around 25 minutes). When you think about it, so much could have been added to make it longer and more complex. If anything, by making it so short it added a lot of mystery and this made the movie that much more intense. The animation was amazing; the demons were designed so well that they could really scare people. The animation looked so real and the way the demons chased the children it was unforgettable.
I think that this is a movie that could have a lot added to it meaning that a few sequels is possible if done right. They wouldn't even have to come up with new demons because they were too scary looking to just let go. Overall, Kakurenbo was a great surprise for me.I truly thought it was a kids anime and boy was I wrong.It may not scare everyone but it totally worth watching.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-06-02
kinda cute.
This is a story that is best suited for that 10-13 age range. Anything younger might cause nightmares, anything older might not be entertained.
Not a bad story, but many plot holes simply because the plot is one premise, hide-n-go-seek, and doesnt require that you know anything more.
There is no gore, no blood, occasionally a disturbing image, but still...not really that disturbing.
it seems like it could spawn a great series or movie based on the story, but its really far to simple and short to carry that much entertainment on its own. Not worth the full price of a dvd, find on ebay or get a cheap amazon deal if you really want to see it.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2008-01-17
Well Worth It, But Too Short
When I first got into anime, this is one of the first things I stumbled across while browsing the shelves. It's still one of my favorites. The story, though short, has some originality to it and features an interesting cast of characters. But, it's best feature is the graphics. Between the distintive and colorful designs for each character to the neon lights that decorated the city. The art is simply amazing.
My only complaint is the length. The movie isn't even a half-hour long, which doesn't leave enough time to really develop the story and characters. I'm really into character and plot, so it left me wanting to know more about these kids and some of the events that lead up to those in the movie. The extras- including a commentary and a couple collections of character and background production art- might be lacking. Depends on what you want. I thought they were interesting for a while, but not as good as some other anime DVDs have done.
Overall, it has it's kinks, but if you can find it, I'd highly recommend it.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2007-12-26
Hide and Seek, And so i always thought...
I remember seeing this a little over 2 years ago. At the time i had no idea what it was and although i'm not easily scared of anything, including the new movies out in todays workld, wow the mist? retarded. Ring? beh, Grudge? stick with Ju-on, This movie actually sent a chill down my spine. Not a horrible fear but an irritation. And than in itself made me satisfied to call this a great short film.
Finally remembering the name i sought it out. Watching this agian on youtube before buying it i was once agian satisifeid with that chill.
I love the monsters, and ther factors in the story, but the most negative things about this short is the voice actors. Not the best in the world i'll tell you that. But if you can get over the voice acting and even watch it in japanese with subs, its a whole new experience to satisfy even the most stubborn of people.
The music and sound effects? WOO!
Shaded Animation? best of its kind
Effort to the few people who put this together? good job! you did what you could.
unfortunatly American dubbing ruins the experience so boo to them.
I give it a 4.5 out of 5. (even though i picked 4. bleh).
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-10-07
a good Halloween flick
I don't think this a milestone in anime by any means, and I don't even think it's that great of a story. But one thing it does do right is portray the perfect atmosphere.
The lighting, the art, and the colors just scream "Halloween" when you watch this. It's very fluid, but as another reviewer mentioned, the CGI seemed unnecessary and it made it look more like a video game sequence than an anime. A little disappointing, but nothing to fret about.
I'd say don't expect a great original story from this because, let's face it, how much can they really do in 25 minutes? Rent this on Halloween with your friends and turn off the lights for a creepy half hour of fun, but don't expect to be scared senseless. Watch it more for the art and atmosphere than a good scare.
Score: 4