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Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara, Miho Ninagawa, Shun Sugata

Terror takes on both human and mechanical form in this independent horror film from Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Masuoka (Shinya Tsukamoto) is a freelance photographer who has become malignly ob... read more read more...sessed with fear. Masuoka believes there is a physical component to terror, and he is determined to find it. While his rattrap apartment has become a shrine to documents of fear, he's particularly fascinated with a videotape of Furoki (Kazuhiro Nakahara), a disturbed man committing suicide in a Tokyo subway tunnel by stabbing himself in the face. Masuoka think if he can recreate Furoki's experience, he might be able to find out what he saw at the edge of panic, and after throwing away his antidepressants he makes his way down to the place where the suicide was recorded. Masuoka finds a mysterious passageway in the tunnel, and discovers Furoki is alive and unwell underground. Masuoka also learns of a strange breed of robots who terrify people both beneath the Earth and on the surface; he also finds a strange feral woman and attempts to rescue her, but someone else has already claimed her, and wants her back immediately. Marebito (aka The Stranger From Afar) stars Shinya Tsukamoto, himself a noted Japanese horror filmmaker, best known for his experimental feature Tetsuo (aka Ironman). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

49% liked it

10,383 ratings

Critics

39% liked it

28 critics

R, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Takashi Shimizu

Release Date: December 9, 2005

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DVD Release Date: March 14, 2006

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Stats: 315 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (315)

  • WrenchLT
    December 9, 2011
    WrenchLT
    A slow but eerie and interesting bit of urban horror as a man enters a subterrainian hell via the metro system and finds a naked, animal-like woman who he brings to the surface in an attempt to tame her. There's more going on than meets the eye and it's down to the viewers patien... read morece to stay with it and get what you will from the plot, which isn't explained in great detail in some cases. I thought it was watchable and intriguing enough to see it through. It lacks the usual thrills that I look for in horror films, despite the occassional bloody moment. It's a decent effort overall, especially as it was made in just 8 days. But not my favourite from Shimizu, miles better than Shock Labyrinth though!
  • ceWEBrity
    October 8, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Cryptic, self-important pabulum, Marebito is just a cheap side project between the Grudge movies, as admitted by Takashi Shimizu himself. There's nothing like hiding a low budget and a total lack of ideas behind smoke, mirrors and psychobabble; J-horror in general does this, but ... read moreit seems particularly fatuous here, as the film flirts with some concepts that would make it seem deep but really are complete dead ends. It name-drops Madame Blavatsky, Kaspar Hauser AND M.C. Escher in a span of about five minutes, but the climactic action is a schoolgirl getting stabbed on video camera, so there's a clear conflict of interest here. It's as if the movie thinks it's hot shit for flashing its intellectual feathers and then turning around and SHOCKING YOU with left-field violence, but seriously, zzzzz.

    This isn't to discredit Marebito completely, though. Maybe it's my long-standing bias for the genre, but it does achieve a basic sense of intrigue. There are some pretty sharp visual representations of voyeurism and the unknown, and the horror imagery sometimes works (but sometimes doesn't, such as the ridiculous-looking man in sunglasses). The performances are a mixed bag. Shinya Tsukamoto is bad as the insulated, unhinged loner, unable to rein in his inherent ridiculousness. Tomomi Miyashita fares better as F, although the part's degrading and not particularly wide expressively. They don't really seem to have much chemistry, which really causes the ending to fall flat, much like Marebito's other attempts to shock. It's a little bit more brutal than most of its compatriots, but also a lot dumber and a lot cheaper, and its attempts to depict madness really just make it risible. I can't recommend this to much of anyone, unless you're a total J-horror completist.
  • bbcfloridabound
    April 9, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    There is something that?s always a litte different about Asian Horror, thou this one isn't one to send a chill up or down your spine, it does have its moments, like near the end of the film when our free lance camera man puts a box cutter in his mouth and slashes away. Story is ... read moreabout this cameraman and his dwell into the netherworld or sub world in which he finds a girl chained up in a cave, he rescues her to try and save her, only to find out she lives off Human Blood, ahh so now we have a serious problem. Worth 3 1/2 stars
  • newvogueravyn
    May 20, 2008
    newvogueravyn
    The style of the film takes a while to get into, but if you can manage it, it is worth it. The dialogue strays at times into philosophical/conspiracy theory/pretentious (depending on your view) areas, and the surrealism will turn a lot of viewers off, but aficionados of Asian, 'e... read morextreme' and vampire cinema should give it a try - if only to say that you've watched it.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    February 27, 2007
    DragonEyeMorrison
    A very different turn to Shimizu's redundant Ju On flicks. A more Lovecraft type of story (heck, there's even a reference to him) with none other than Shinya Tsukamoto playing the main lead, which adds a bonus of extra weirdness to the whole thing. Anyone tired of the all the rin... read moregu derivations should give a try to this one.
  • alanjayh
    June 1, 2008
    alanjayh
    strange..more like david lynch..just got bored waiting for smoething to happen..interesting concept and dark visuals...jut lost my interest with this one ..yawn
  • threefolddado
    June 4, 2007
    threefolddado
    How much you like it depends on how you interpet the ending.
  • cacutshaw
    February 23, 2007
    cacutshaw
    When I first saw this I was really impressed. The more I thought about it though, I was more and more fascinated by the story, that seems to go anywhere it damn well wants to. A brilliant film by Shimizu and a nice break from his Ju-on series. A director I will follow for life... read more. Also, a great lead performance by Tetsuo director Tsukamoto.
  • soulxside
    January 22, 2008
    soulxside
    Mr. Grudge occasionally makes movies other than Grudge (not often though, he's currently working on his 7th), and they aren't always very good... Here we have such a case...

    The biggest problem is perhaps the most obvious one - budget. This movie clearly has lofty cinematic aspi... read morerations, but only a television bankroll. Some of the more elaborate scenes end up looking very "Land of the Lost" - in other words, cheesy. The Japanese have pretty active imaginations, so they don't always require things to look fantastic and their effects don't always have to be special.

    This movie moves pretty slow trying to build tension, but the story is so absurd that it seems more like a fantasy than a horror film.

    Basically, it's about a guy who is a complete social leper - he carries around a video camera and is obsessed with documenting everything and then reviewing it. He finds himself in some underworld where he finds a naked chick chained up. He takes her home like an adopted homeless cat and discovers she's a vampire... this doesn't bother him at all.

    Eventually of course, he discovers she requires blood to survive, so he starts feeding his stray naked kitty vampire lady on his own at first -then on other animals he finds or kills. Eventually he starts bringing her blood from the human animals he murders.

    There's more to it than that, but I'm not going to give it completely away... It's an okay story - the execution just isn't there. They needed to put this in the hands of a more creative director or perhaps have given it a larger budget. Either way, it's just going to end up being okay. There's nothing really scary about it and all the gore is just red syrup and squishy noises - more laughable than horrific.

    I suggest passing on this one.
  • joyouskiss
    July 12, 2007
    joyouskiss
    Not frightening, but twisted. A father loses it, turns his daughter into some blood drinking freak and doesn't realize it until the end. He kills and feeds his daughter humans. Sick bastard.

View All Marebito Reviews

Critic Reviews

Wesley Morris
February 3, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

It's actually a pretty lousy thriller. Full Review

Richard James Havis
December 30, 2005
Richard James Havis, Hollywood Reporter

Marebito is a disturbing supernatural drama that leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Kevin Thomas
December 9, 2005
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Marebito is no conventional vampire movie but a speculation into the notion that ancient people could sense alien beings in their midst. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
December 9, 2005
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

And if the trip doesn't have the clear-cut directions of a Hollywood film, it has all the ideas -- and cold, unsettling flights of fantasy -- of a nightmare, where faceless people look and look and lo... Full Review

A.O. Scott
December 9, 2005
A.O. Scott, New York Times

For Japanese horror aficionados only, and even they are likely to be underwhelmed by this stew of half-baked ideas and creepy sensations.

V.A. Musetto
December 9, 2005
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

An outrageous horror flick from Japan.

Jami Bernard
December 9, 2005
Jami Bernard, New York Daily News

Marebito never gives us what it promised: a glorious, totally new sense of horror. Full Review

Jan Stuart
December 8, 2005
Jan Stuart, Newsday

Marebito, a piece of soft-core trash disguised as pop art from director Takashi Shimizu, marks a new low in the genre. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
December 6, 2005
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

This all-digital indie is, by genre standards, either a misfired doodle or an attempt to Lovecraft-ize the popular movement. Or both. Full Review

Mattias Frey
April 23, 2009
Mattias Frey, Boston Phoenix

It neither musters the campy horror of Ju-on nor follows through on its art-house potential. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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