Really Surprised!

Am I Missing Something?

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Back in 1984, there was an episode of the series "Tales From the Dark Side" that was a lot like this Japanese short film. In episode 9's "A Case of the Stubborns", Grandpa dies and yet he is so incredibly stubborn that he refuses to admit he's dead or believe it when his daughter and grandson tell him that he died! And he is truly dead but manages to move about the house doing his usual routine...and slowly decomposing! It's all very dark and twisted--but also quite funny.Today I just watched a Japanese DVD with the English title 'Dead Girl Walking" and I think it originally was part of some Japanese TV show. All I know is that at 44 minutes, it sure doesn't seem like it was intended for the theaters.It begins with a hilarious introduction by the writer. He explains how the story you are about to see is so horrible that you should NOT continue watching. Then, when you do, he tells you that you are damned to hell and to enjoy the show! Pretty kooky! The story is set in the home of what initially appears to be a normal sort of Japanese family. However, inexplicably, their teenager's heart stops and she's pronounced dead by the doctor. But, just after this she wakes up and wonders what all the fuss is about--and everyone's reaction is strangely muted. After all, they have a zombie living with them--yet there isn't any excitement or yelling...at least at first. Later, however, the girl starts to decompose and stink and the family's reaction once again is odd. They first try to embalm her at home--then the family attacks her in a particularly bloody scene. Realizing she isn't wanted, she leaves home and begins wandering about....and decomposing more and more as time passes--the bits and pieces dropping off here and there! What happens next you'll have to see for yourself.While the film sounds totally disgusting, the gross scenes are really not that gross. Plus, to save the trouble of making her look nightmarish, much of the time she walks about with a black sheet wrapped around her. While this is a cheap device, it does solve the problem of making the film too gross for all but the most twisted viewers! While not exactly brilliant, the film is funny...and gross...and a bit horrifying...but well wroth seeing if you have a high tolerance for the very weird. Well made and probably best seen with some friends so you can all laugh together at this poor girl's plight.

HIDESHI HINO HORROR THEATER: DEAD GIRL WALKINGYuri is a teenage girl who inexplicably drops dead in her family's home...but it turns out she isn't exactly 'dead'. She still walks, talks, and acts as she did before her death (at least for a while...)-only main difference is now she's starting to rot. Her family is extremely cold to their daughter's plight-and are only concerned with how to dispose of her now that she's become a putrefying nuisance. Yuri eventually leaves home and is picked up by a seemingly helpful stranger...but the stranger is not so 'helpful' after all- and uses Yuri as an attraction in a freak-show, and then dumps her on the side of the road once she's used up. Her parents hunt her down to try to finish the job that her 'death' didn't-but to no avail...DEAD GIRL WAlKING is another very solid entry in the HIDESHI HINO HORROR THEATER six short-film series. The storyline ranges from sad, to amusing, to grotesque- all in less than an hour run-time...not an easy feat to accomplish. The family's attempts to dispatch of their semi-dead daughter are both harrowing and semi-comical, and Yuri's obvious feelings of isolation and alienation from family and friends because of her 'condition' are quite palpable. The stark b/w footage used after her death was a smart artistic decision on behalf of the director-and adds further weight to the dark tone of the film. The score of the film is really well-done as well, and is very 'classic horror' in nature- another layer that mixed with the b/w footage, adds to the overall impact. One of the best entries in a pretty solid series-the only entry of which that I didn't like was OCCULT DETECTIVES CLUB. Otherwise-I'd recommend the entire series-including this really solid entry. 8.5/10

What an odd little movie. At 44 minutes and shot on digital video, this is more of an art piece than a full-length film. Creepy and poetic, it proves that Koji Shiraishi is am extremely talented director. His underrated movie "Ju-Rei: The Uncanny" has been heavily trashed by American viewers online, but I think it's the very model of Asian horror. Deceptively simple cinematography filled with unexpected surprises, quietly creepy atmosphere, and a few good shocking jolts. "Dead Girl Walking" looks great for video, the story is surreal and haunting, and the ending is heartbreaking. Interesting. But I'd only recommend it to hardcore J-horror fans and avant-garde film buffs.

This short is both very grim and quite funny. The dead girl is such a good girl--a real sweetheart. Nevertheless, in spite of her inner goodness, she is subjected to horrible abuse by fate in general and by her parents in particular. The fact that she is such a sweet and dutiful daughter makes her posthumous abuse by her family the most unfair and confusing part of her death. And still, she literally plods on in misery, losing body parts and suffering humiliation with stoic resignation. In one sense, the film plays off of a universal teenage-girl fantasy of self-pity: "I'm always so good, and look how they treat me. I really don't deserve this. If I dropped dead, they'd be sorry." But part of the horrible joke is that she does in fact drop dead, and instead of being mourned, she only becomes a garbage disposal problem. By twisting this daydream to ludicrous extremes, the film both amuses and horrifies. The images are both surreal and laughably gory. Good job!