Image provided by Fantasia Festival
Procedural Japanese horror films are ten a penny, and often revolve around an urban myth that is shared amongst groups of young people, before it eventually turns out to be true. The most notable of such films is Ringu, the one that started it all back in 1997 and has just this very year received a further instalment. However, that hasn’t stopped smaller and similar films trying to break out, which brings us to Stare.
Stare, if you couldn’t tell, revolves around an urban legend that involves the eyes and staring. Fittingly then, the punishment for not following this particular vengeful, long-haired, ghostly female, is that your eyes explode. It’s a horrific death that the film teases us with cutaways, aftermath, and eventually the act itself. It’s no Sadako or Kayako this time however, but Shiraisan. Shiraisan is a ghostly apparition that approaches lone strangers on the road, rings a bell, asks questions, and…well, we’ll keep it there. Shiraisan’s design is phenomenal, and may join the higher ranks of cinematic evil. I won’t describe her in detail, as her reveal is built up masterfully, but when she does appear it is difficult to look away.
There’s nothing really new here, it’s all just done very well. Mizuk (Marie Iitoyo) witnesses her friend die in front of her, and soon meets Harou (Yu Inaba), whose brother died in similar circumstances. Together they launch an investigation, retracing the steps of the deceased, before stumbling across an urban legend, which nobody seems to know the full version of. Otsuichi hits every beat on time, moves on, and gets us to another nerve shredding moment of slow pursuit.
There’s no faulting the performances here either. Iitoyo and Inaba both manage to collect themselves in moments of horror, shock, investigation, and even silliness. Their characters can seem a little too accepting at times, but having seen so many similar films, I don’t really want to sit around for an extra 20 minutes to allow characters to come to terms with the paranormal. Especially when the scenes of spooky goings on are so wonderfully shot.
Stare has memorable moments that will stick with the audience as individual set pieces, rather than working as a singular horror experience. You may find yourself in a couple of years asking “What was that film where…?” Like a person you once met who did something memorable, but their character was slightly missing, Stare struggles to find its own identity, and can stumble over its own sense of seriousness.
Stare was reviewed at the Fantasia Film Festival 2019.
