30 in 30: A MONTH OF HORROR. KAIRO
DAY 4
KAIRO (2001)
KAIRO or PULSE, as it was released in the US, is a different film. Scary to its core. It can be terribly boring to some people or one of the most terrifying experiences of a lifetime to others.
There are movies about people going into a psychotic spiral and turning completely insane, like “THE SHINNING”, then there are movies where the film itself turns completely bonkers. In this second category is where we find “KAIRO”.
For my convenience, let’s take a look at this brief summary taken straight out of IMDB:
“After college student, Taguchi, commits suicide, a number of young adults living in Tokyo witness terrifying visions transferred across the Internet. As more people disappear throughout the city, the Internet becomes a breeding ground for malevolent spirits. Three seemingly disconnected stories follow Michi, Ryosuke, and Harue as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the ghostly visions that are seeping beyond their computer monitors.”
So, if you as seen the film you know that summary doesn’t even begin to describe what goes on in this movie. But we are not here to discuss the incredible plot points of this film, I have seen it maybe 5 times and I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on, but I can tell you this much. It’s pretty darn scary.
What makes this movie scary?
This is probably the first film of the J-Horror fad, the one that started it all. It is my contention that the Japanese deal with horror is a little bit different than their western counterparts. In KAIRO the mood and the sound design are super important to what makes the film scary, but what makes it truly different is the way it approaches the supernatural.
At moments where a western director might’ve made a quick cut and a jarring sound, KAIRO stays with the object of fear. It doesn’t cut away. You either see it or you cover your eyes, but the ghost is still there slow-walking towards you.
I want you to see this clip right here:
This is how you create a creepy scene with almost nothing. It relishes in terror.
The writer Orson Scott Card gave three definitions of fear. First comes Dread, the feeling of tension when you know there might be something on the other side of the hallway crawling its way up to you. Clicking its fingernails against the floor. The second is Terror, which comes when you finally see the thing you are afraid of coming at you. And third is Horror, which comes in the aftermath, it’s the defigured face of whatever has been eaten by the thing. It’s blood and guts.
In western scary movies they are very good at dread, anticipating what’s about to come, that’s what “The Conjuring” is all about. They are also very good at Horror, which is why “SAW” was so popular. But nobody beats KAIRO when it comes to terror.
KAIRO is an existential film about loneliness. About how connections that are supposed to bring us closer can make us disappear. It’s techno-horror at it best. It’s not scary as in scream and shout, but it’s unsettling and haunting. Terribly melancholic and sad.
It’s scary because of it about death, which to some, is nothing but eternal loneliness.
Tomorrow: [REC](2007)
Yesterday: THE CONJURING
