We learn from the DVD extras from an interview with the Director, that "Premonition" is based on a 30 year old Japanese horror novel titled "Fear Newspaper". The plot involves people who are sent newspapers from unseen forces that foretell the calamitous events or murders in the near future. Premonition reminds me of the 1944 American film "It happened tomorrow" where a man receives a copy of tomorrow's newspaper which predicts his own demise.
In this Japanese version, the protagonist is Hideki Satomi. He's a high school teacher obsessed with his work so when traveling on a vacation with his wife, Ayaka, and 5 year old daughter, Nana, the power fails on his notebook computer and he insists that his wife turn their car around and backtrack to a pay phone a few miles away where he can plug the computer into a power source and recharge the battery. As he's waiting for the battery to recharge inside the phone booth, his wife is having trouble extricating Nana from the car as the little girl's dress has gotten stuck inside the seat belt. Meanwhile, Hideki is dumbfounded when a burnt up piece of newspaper comes floating from the sky and rests in front of him inside the phone booth. The newspaper has a picture of his daughter with a caption announcing her death in a horrible accident. Seconds later, as Ayaka leaves the car and goes across the road to get Hideki to help her get Nana out of the car, a truck plows into the car, causing it to catch fire, explode and kill the hapless little girl.
Flash forward three years later. Hideki and Ayaka are no longer together (we later learn that Ayaka no longer wanted to hear about the mysterious newspaper that Hideki kept harping upon). Ironically, when the 'fear newspaper' (otherwise referred to as 'newspaper of terror') suddenly starts popping up in Hideki's life again predicting ghastly events, Hideki wants nothing to do with 'newspapers' and is oblivious to their clues; but Ayaka is now a researcher of psychic phenomena at the local university and is intent on getting to the bottom of what might have happened with the 'fear newspaper'.
Ayaka is working with an older woman, a psychic who uses her power to produce images on Polaroid (instant) film. The psychic tells Ayaka of a researcher, Rei Kigata, who has disappeared but prior to his disappearance discovered there is a place in the cosmos where all thoughts and memories coalesce. Certain people (like Hideki) become privy to incidents in the future through the fear newspaper which appear (as previously stated), out of nowhere. This is perhaps the weakest aspect of Premonition's story. Unlike the aforementioned "It happened tomorrow", where an old man delivers the newspaper, and there is some kind of relationship between the old man and the protagonist, the 'fear newspaper' arrives as a result from an unseen, vaguely defined force in the cosmos. It would have been much more compelling if there was some kind of devil-like figure that was delivering the newspaper instead of the random delivery which simply wasn't suspenseful.
Ayaka soon finds the psychic dead in her research laboratory. Meanwhile, Hideki is powerless to stop the murder of one of his teenage students despite receiving prior notification that the ghastly event will occur. Hideki continues to receive warnings of catastrophic events (such as a landslide) through the fear newspaper and again he's unable to do anything. We're even past the midpoint in the film and the central question is not askedwhat can Hideki do to reverse the events that led to the death of daughter? Finally, Ayaka's research assistant finds the address of the mysterious Rei Kigata and Ayaka and Hideki go to visit him. However, when they arrive the house is deserted. By watching various old videotapes (some 12 years old), they see that Kigata attempted to alter the future interfering in the very events that are predicted to come true. We can see that Kigata begins developing plague-like symptoms on his body as a result of his meddling with the future.
Finally Hideki realizes that he can change fate but at a cost. Three quarters of the film is already over and finally a suspenseful event occurs. Hideki (after receiving another newspaper) prevents his wife from getting on a commuter train before it crashes and kills most everyone on board. However, Ayaka's research assistant was with her in the train and Hideki doesn't realize it when he pulls his ex-wife off onto the platform right before the train leaves the station.
Now Hideki finds himself caught in some kind of vortex where he's going backward in time. Before he knows it, he's back at the scene where his daughter was killed. He tries to interfere, saves the daughter but this time the wife is killed. Then he finds himself inside the cab of the truck with the truck driver who's had the seizure; again he can't stop the truck from plowing into his car. Finally, he remembers what the psychic had told him: you can change your own fate. This time 'he gets it'. He's able to save his daughter but must sacrifice his own life to save the little girl.
There's a ton of great material on the DVD extras including numerous scenes that show us how Premonition was made. I was impressed with the degree of cooperation between the director and the rest of the cast and crew. Nonetheless, director Norio Tsuruta resorts to introducing too many horror clichés (e.g. the drooling serial killer) at the expense of a tight and suspenseful plot. Without a clearly defined antagonist and the failure of the protagonist to be proactive throughout most of the film, Premonition fails to accomplish its goals: consistently scare its audience and keep it in a state of suspense.
In this Japanese version, the protagonist is Hideki Satomi. He's a high school teacher obsessed with his work so when traveling on a vacation with his wife, Ayaka, and 5 year old daughter, Nana, the power fails on his notebook computer and he insists that his wife turn their car around and backtrack to a pay phone a few miles away where he can plug the computer into a power source and recharge the battery. As he's waiting for the battery to recharge inside the phone booth, his wife is having trouble extricating Nana from the car as the little girl's dress has gotten stuck inside the seat belt. Meanwhile, Hideki is dumbfounded when a burnt up piece of newspaper comes floating from the sky and rests in front of him inside the phone booth. The newspaper has a picture of his daughter with a caption announcing her death in a horrible accident. Seconds later, as Ayaka leaves the car and goes across the road to get Hideki to help her get Nana out of the car, a truck plows into the car, causing it to catch fire, explode and kill the hapless little girl.
Flash forward three years later. Hideki and Ayaka are no longer together (we later learn that Ayaka no longer wanted to hear about the mysterious newspaper that Hideki kept harping upon). Ironically, when the 'fear newspaper' (otherwise referred to as 'newspaper of terror') suddenly starts popping up in Hideki's life again predicting ghastly events, Hideki wants nothing to do with 'newspapers' and is oblivious to their clues; but Ayaka is now a researcher of psychic phenomena at the local university and is intent on getting to the bottom of what might have happened with the 'fear newspaper'.
Ayaka is working with an older woman, a psychic who uses her power to produce images on Polaroid (instant) film. The psychic tells Ayaka of a researcher, Rei Kigata, who has disappeared but prior to his disappearance discovered there is a place in the cosmos where all thoughts and memories coalesce. Certain people (like Hideki) become privy to incidents in the future through the fear newspaper which appear (as previously stated), out of nowhere. This is perhaps the weakest aspect of Premonition's story. Unlike the aforementioned "It happened tomorrow", where an old man delivers the newspaper, and there is some kind of relationship between the old man and the protagonist, the 'fear newspaper' arrives as a result from an unseen, vaguely defined force in the cosmos. It would have been much more compelling if there was some kind of devil-like figure that was delivering the newspaper instead of the random delivery which simply wasn't suspenseful.
Ayaka soon finds the psychic dead in her research laboratory. Meanwhile, Hideki is powerless to stop the murder of one of his teenage students despite receiving prior notification that the ghastly event will occur. Hideki continues to receive warnings of catastrophic events (such as a landslide) through the fear newspaper and again he's unable to do anything. We're even past the midpoint in the film and the central question is not askedwhat can Hideki do to reverse the events that led to the death of daughter? Finally, Ayaka's research assistant finds the address of the mysterious Rei Kigata and Ayaka and Hideki go to visit him. However, when they arrive the house is deserted. By watching various old videotapes (some 12 years old), they see that Kigata attempted to alter the future interfering in the very events that are predicted to come true. We can see that Kigata begins developing plague-like symptoms on his body as a result of his meddling with the future.
Finally Hideki realizes that he can change fate but at a cost. Three quarters of the film is already over and finally a suspenseful event occurs. Hideki (after receiving another newspaper) prevents his wife from getting on a commuter train before it crashes and kills most everyone on board. However, Ayaka's research assistant was with her in the train and Hideki doesn't realize it when he pulls his ex-wife off onto the platform right before the train leaves the station.
Now Hideki finds himself caught in some kind of vortex where he's going backward in time. Before he knows it, he's back at the scene where his daughter was killed. He tries to interfere, saves the daughter but this time the wife is killed. Then he finds himself inside the cab of the truck with the truck driver who's had the seizure; again he can't stop the truck from plowing into his car. Finally, he remembers what the psychic had told him: you can change your own fate. This time 'he gets it'. He's able to save his daughter but must sacrifice his own life to save the little girl.
There's a ton of great material on the DVD extras including numerous scenes that show us how Premonition was made. I was impressed with the degree of cooperation between the director and the rest of the cast and crew. Nonetheless, director Norio Tsuruta resorts to introducing too many horror clichés (e.g. the drooling serial killer) at the expense of a tight and suspenseful plot. Without a clearly defined antagonist and the failure of the protagonist to be proactive throughout most of the film, Premonition fails to accomplish its goals: consistently scare its audience and keep it in a state of suspense.