Loose Threads in Asian Horror Films

Cross cultural studies.

Many movie directors are in desperate need of it.

The problem with many things originally created in other countries is that they are being remade here in the United States without a single ounce of understanding the culture. It’s happened many times before. With saddening results.

Most misfires have been bounced around in American movies trying their grungiest, most illicit affair in creating Japanese horror films for the American audiences. It ends with cheap shots, poor imitations of the real thing. Not only that, it’s a fair game to say that it is a burning insult to redo a Japanese horror film in the eyes of a westerner.

Most recent case? The Korean horror film called “Voice” which has appeared on the shelves in this country a short while ago. I didn’t grab myself a copy of it until only yesterday when I pulled it off for a halfway decent price. But something struck me.

The cover. It’s a pretty graphic picture slopped with gory theatrics displaying a profile of a screaming girl with something else pushing through her mouth with its hands. It’s a topnotch illustration of horror on the edge for those who are looking for a good spill of blood in their movies and looking for an excuse just to have a bloody good time.

I’m sure it’s an American cover as well slapped on the Japanese film.

But it’s a very great misunderstanding in the final product of the film which is about isolation and disassociation of young students in a school. The film is a very beautiful study of lonely girls without the hopes of finding friendship through the hardship of school. “Voice” revolves around the story of a music teacher who has latched favoritism to a couple of her students who sings for her. After the teacher loses her voice, she becomes more attached to a couple of her very highly prized students whose voices are like the winds of mercy, a reflection of beauty.

When a young woman student dies and disappears from the school grounds, she becomes a ghost walking around with a memory loss and tries to learn why she is still a lingering memory. Her voice is the only thing that connects her to her best friend who still hears her.

The most frightening thing in death is the loneliness. And this is what happens here to the ghostly girl.

There isn’t any gore in the film. Just a few snippets of good scares, a few bloody scenes. But nothing that could amount to the gory splash cover of the film “Voice.” Some horror fans may be disappointed if that is what they’re looking for in the film.

I thought the film “Voice” is a brilliant study in the mechanics of the spirit world which digs into the charcoal embers of one’s soul, leaving those ill-fated ones in the corner of darkness.

I can’t help thinking that the American distributer who brought this film to the shelf thought a hellraising cover would sell more copies. Which has nothing to do with the film itself. That’s unfortunate. Because the film is very excellent without the help of a violent cover that might draw some attention.

What are some of the other culprits that have failed to understand the Japanese culture, or even the eastern view, of the horror field? There are many of them as the list regurgitates itself with crappy remakes: you can find missed interpretations in American films like “The Grudge,” “The Ring.”

Perhaps the western filmmakers ought to leave the Japanese horror films alone from now on. Just let the Asians do their own thing because they understand their culture need of dealing with horror stories. Their horror movies tend to be far more introspective. There’s always a feeling of atmosphere in their movies that paint a picture of hopelessness, despair. The Asians are better equipped at creating their own source of films.

The American filmmakers can’t even scratch the surface in understanding the basics of the Asians horror film. It isn’t always about the looming spirit girl with long, dark hair running over her shoulders like an oily river, not always about rampant vengeful spirits looking for a bite to eat. The Asians understand that there are other reasons for spirits to lift into the sudden world of the real… and many times the isolation of a trapped soul can be far more frightening than dark hallways and gloomy buildings with windows looking like black holes.

The Japanese do have the tendency to overdo the gory factor. But still, I love the Japanese. And I'll let them off the hook. The Japanese have a nice sense of humor. That's okay by me. Such as "Machine Gun Girl" is a good example of this.

The United States seem to be digging into their gold mine of crappy appetizers such as Hostel and Saw which fail to understand the basic mechanics of horror. They seem to strive and struggle in bringing more brutal and hellish reruns of violence into their genre as if it is a bad joke. You see one, you seen them all. And a film like Saw isn’t that good of a movie to begin with.

Why would anyone in their right mind, here in Hollywood, would think they have a fraction of understanding how the eastern horror film works?

You may want to check out the box set called Asian Horror movies with fine examples such as Shikoko and Isola which gives a deep seated journey of atmosphere and the human thought. They are cheaply made films which have a greater insight into the imagination of horror than any American film could. And they’re worth the find if you come across it on the shelf.

Horror doesn’t mean you have to get your shirt soaked in blood. It just means you have to go deeper around the corner to find out what scares you. And then try to make it work as a film. Some Asian horror films can be very beautiful. In a strange way.