Fatal Frame (2014) User Reviews

An okay J-horror movie

[RueKurei · 5/10 · 21 October 2015]

Having watched this film, the only notable thing I can say about it is the lesbian relationships and how the relationships between girls are handled, and how its so rare to see in horror movies, or movies in general to be a focus.  But even then, you have the Whispering Corridor movies, which have handled such matters far better, while being more interesting than this.

The acting is fine, serviceable I'd say, but not great. The music, though I don't remember any of it was fine, due to it not annoying me or thinking any choices were bad or distracting. The plot though, is not very good.

Things are pretty interesting at first, a girl who locks herself away and students seem to be infatuated with her, then a photo shows up and a ghostly apparition of her shows up and then people start disappearing. Nothing groundbreaking, but you want to know what happens with a setup like that. Unfortunately, none of the characters really stand out, and are mostly forgettable, and by the third act when things are getting revealed, you start to realise that it's rather stupid and some character motivations start to make a lot less sense. There are no scares here really, no real tension, except maybe with the girls in a 'will they, wont they' thing and some ham-fisted symbolism, no thrills, not even that malaise that occurs in some horror films, where it's not necessarily terrifying you, but you still feel uncomfortable. I'd say it barely qualifies as even creepy.

At times this movie feels like a low rent Whispering Corridors knockoff(where some of the same criticisms could be leveled at some movies in the series, but they at least have better plots with more engaging characters), with very loose ties to its license. The plot and overall tone feel quite trite with a been there, done that bland feeling. It does nothing new, and what it does, it does adequately well and nothing more.

Watch the Whispering Corridors movies instead if you want a horror movie tackling lesbian relationships or tackling female relationships within an all girls environment. If you want to see the Fatal Frame series on the big screen, well buy a projector and get a PS2 and Wii, because you wont get it here. And no, I haven't approached this movie as a fan of the game and wanting to see it represented in movie form, I just wanted to watch a good movie.

"By his Cockle Hat and Staff"

[daisukereds · 6/10 · 30 October 2023]

I do have to say, it's nothing like the game's plot, while it does share some core similarities. It might even have a Camera Obscura reference, but that's it. Twisted and warped into something creepy and potentially interesting.. until more information is given, and the magic is lost. You could argue that this is the kind of adaptation that takes inspiration more than trying to recreate, and I commend it for it.

Personally, I feel the "final revelation" was completely unnecessary!

Had it reached that point where it was confusing enough to not really be sure as to what was happening, it would have been really memorable.. but it didn't stop short, and it kind of ruined it (not to mention a few moments where it goes too far with silliness like the Shaman moment). In retrospect, parts feel overwritten, and could be better condensed into a simpler script. Still, the creepy moments and really interesting visuals, editing and effects throughout made this an enjoyable movie for those interested in the genre. It also felt longer than it is, which means I was lost in it. I would recommend it if you have the patience for it.

... As a side note, I was shocked the see the annoyingly over-energetic Ayami Nakajou on a primary role in a "horror movie", but now I can see why. And I'm also not sure about the constant "curse only girls are affected by" and the possibility of a subtext (girls falling in love with other girls) and the people involved trying to say something about it. Maybe there's more to it..

Sorry...

[BlossomingCorgi · 3/10 · 6 March 2021]

If you're a huge fan of the Fatal Frame series or a huge nerd when it comes to Japanese folk culture you would probably be just as disappointed as I am.

The Fatal Frame series always included the Camera Obscura and several vengeful spirits that have major occurring roles. This movie barely has both except for a few occasional appearances and cameos.

Also, call me biased just because I'm an ex-Catholic, but I didn't really like the fact that Christianity, more specifically Catholicism, plays a role in this film. It just seems very foreign and more akin to western horror stories that have more Abrahamic themes to them. The original game series had a dark Shinto/Buddhist motif to them, even more faithful to the traditional Japanese horror theme it always conveyed. Meanwhile this film had none of that. Not a single torii, or Buddha statue was seen, and those two are even major cornerstones of Japanese culture. Yes, this is pretty much opinionated as I like Shinto and Buddhism more than Christianity, but still.

Sigh..

[warshaman-1 · 4/10 · 7 May 2015]

If you played the Fatal Frame video games you will probably be very disappointed after watching this. (heck even if you haven't played them)

To give a few examples:

The spirit camera barely plays a role in this movie, a child carries this around in a few short scenes.

Don't expect haunted houses, abandoned buildings or anything like that.

There is just one spirit that keeps popping up the first half of the movie, she's pale and cute..not scary at all.

To me it felt like i was watching a drama / romance rather than a horror movie

The acting is fine, and that's the only positive thing i can think of.

Decent Japanese horror movie, but a lousy big screen adaptation of fatal frame

[Cipher_64 · 4/10 · 31 May 2022]

Adaptation of the novel "Zero: A Curse Affecting Only Girl", which is based on the acclaimed Japanese horror game series, "project zero".

Let me tell you if you are a lover of either the series or Japanese horror based on the folklore of their culture, it can be a rather disappointing starting point.

Having as a reference the character Ophelia by William Shakespeare, the story does not take much presence of all the themes that the games present us, now we are facing the life of some teenagers in an orphanage of Catholic nuns, where a phenomenon is present that includes the disappearance of girls who end up being found dead out of nowhere, This plus touching taboos such as lebianism, a topic that is quite partial to understand the subplot between a girl who does not feel attraction for a boy and the other (whose life was undone by the assumption of her curse, supposedly guilty of these phenomena happen).

Maybe Mind I could have expected a lot from all of this, but without the presence of the magic of the series it is relying on to make its own adaptation, it feels inspiring to see them change the mere appearance of Buddhist/Shinto religious themes and is now of the Christian religion, maybe you might think this doesn't change the implication of the curses causing the girls to be possessed by a spirit, but it feels flat throughout when there is no moment that makes you feel tension, being that the whole moment is waiting to see how all the mysteries are solved until the last few minutes and the whole thing is the key moment to explain what makes these disappearances haunt the all-girls religious school, the cinematography meets its standard as a movie set with teenage girls, you may feel attached to see growing girls begin to feel forbidden love and thus something that involves its own ritual of commemoration, but as I said, it doesn't feel like what you'd expect when you see the name of a franchise so recognized and acclaimed by the public and the media.

Just imagine if there was an adaptation of resident evil (which already exists and I won't say much about how little it sticks to the original work) but this time it is presented with its own characters surviving the waves of zombies without the need to finish them, what I mean, the first fatal frame showed us the story of a haunted mansion, where the protagonist has to use a special camera called "Camere Obscura", which is not used at any time (being at the end only an element in the background to show us that the camera of the son of a school graduate, could observe the ghosts of the girls who had died) while something that may be something that was seen, was while playing the theme of the twins, which is part of what was presented in Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly, here we have a subplot where two twins have to decide which one to live for and the other one has to die, this until the end explains us what is the point to know which one is the girl in the picture that made the missing ones turn out to be dead.

At the end of the day, it's just witnessing paranormal events where it starts to get interesting almost half way through the production, it might be something interesting if you look at it as another horror movie that involves suicidal themes or that relates to teenagers, but don't expect the same experience that the franchise has been carrying, I recommend it only if you expect something that is not fatal frame.

Japanese lesbian coming-of-age Gothic ghost mystery with a very Victorian flair

[Perception_de_Ambiguity · 8/10 · 7 November 2016]

'Fatal Frame' is a Japanese lesbian coming-of-age Gothic ghost mystery with a very Victorian flair, all romanticism, no kink, all yearning, and no consummation. Innocent love? Yes. But anything but harmless.

To go into the film's plot without missing the point its mysteries (and even its main characters) are a bit too ever-changing and evolving, instead I'll say that the main motive of the film has to be John Everett Millais' 'Ophelia', and the film does justice to that evocative painting that is as beautiful as it is tragically sad and even unsettling. The supernatural element (ghosts) can easily be read as manifestations of extreme (often suppressed) emotions like unrequited (and forbidden) love while also being manifestations of a traumatic past. The mysteriousness and eeriness of the film doesn't just exist for its own sake but serves as an apt reflection of what its teenage characters are going through, with their feelings being new, mysterious or even scary to themselves.

If you want to know what you can expect from this film, 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is probably a good reference point in terms of the Victorian girls' boarding school setting, the ethereal beauty, as well as the eeriness in broad daylight. The plot also involves girls suddenly disappearing, but the way in which this fits into the narrative and its function has much more in common with 'Ringu' and its dooming curse than it does with the inexplicable mysteriousness of nature in the Peter Weir classic. But in terms of the general look, feel and pacing it can be somewhat compared to 'A Tale of Two Sisters'. The way in which the mysteries pile up without ever losing the plot and having everything neatly come together is more in line with Vincenzo Natali's 'Haunter' or maybe a compressed version of a mystery anime series.

Even though its eeriness I thought was at its highest towards the beginning and in the last section the piling up of mysteries and their explanations exceed the film's climactic point, the atmosphere never lets up, nor does the subdued beauty of its visuals (I love the texture and color palette of its 16mm Kodak film stock) ever lose its classical magic. 'Fatal Frame' is conceived in the modern Japanese storytelling mode (teen-centric, lots of emotion-centric voice-overs that never leave you in doubt about character motivations, etc.), which isn't to everyone's liking, but if you are OK with this or maybe even have an affinity for that mode and if my other descriptions also sounded good to you then this one comes highly recommended.

Classy, high quality horror

[ebossert · 8/10 · 8 April 2015]

Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.

Zero: Fatal Frame (2014) (Japanese Horror).

Using references to the character Ophelia from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", this film revolves around a Catholic girls school in Japan where strange events occur after a girl inexplicably becomes an anti-social shut-in. This has a classy, Gothic Euro vibe to it that is supplemented with horror elements that utilize zero jump scares. As one online reviewer noted, "the director builds her fright effects more from whispered rumors, girlish crushes and the nebulous border between dreams and reality, the living and the dead." The atmosphere is thick, resulting in a dreamy, hypnotic experience. There are some very cool, lengthy shots to enjoy. Good scoring too. The ending is somewhat run-of-the-mill, but this is high quality stuff.

This film is loosely based on the popular video game, which I have not played. Internet rumblings say that this movie is entirely different, and not as scary.

High quality Japanese thriller.Deserves to belong in the Fatal Frame universe.

[rigzer · 9/10 · 28 July 2015]

This movie is an adaption of a novel with the name ~Zero: A Curse Affecting Only Girls~ which is based on the video game series ~Zero(or Fatal Frame in US)~.

I haven't read the novel so I can't really compare them but the story of the film was really interesting and well done.While the plot was moving slowly and sometimes it was confusing it never made me feel tired.I don't remember a scene that was pointless.I liked that the way the story unfolds make u connect all the pieces together.My only complaint is that there was no real climax when the Big mystery was revealed,it was more like an inquisition,listening to the character explaining what happened there and stuff,it wasn't a bad way to reveal the mystery,but i kind of missed the climax that we see in the endings of the games.So overall the story was pretty damn good.I wont get into details because I don't want to spoil anything to you.

The directing was really well done,it drew you the attention and it made an already beautiful scenery even more beautiful.The actors were convincing,they did a great job.The sounds are really good too and the soundtrack beautiful.

I wouldn't call this movie a horror since it's not scary at all.It's eerie at times but not scary.Its more like a mystery movie,thriller is a better way to describe it than horror.

There are many complains that this movie has nothing to do with the games.Well as we already said its not based on a Fatal Frame game but its based on a Novel which is based on the Fatal Frame series(with a storyline and characters completely different from any of the games).The main complain is that there are no ghost fights like in the game which is a key element.But the atmosphere,the story,the characters & their personality,the music,the way the mystery unfolds the feel of this movie makes you feel that you are watching something that belongs in the Fatal Frame universe.Of course this is something that only the hardcore fans of the series can recognize.My personal opinion is that they handled the camera obscure(in the games you can see and fight ghosts with it) really great,there might not be fights with it(God only knows how that would work in a movie) but it plays a key role.

So overall its a really well done movie with a really interesting plot and great directing taking place at a beautiful scenery.Japanese horror/thriller fans and the hardcore fans of the games will appreciate ~Gekijô-ban: Zero~ (aka Fatal Frame : The movie).

Calmy executed ethereal horror

[falseprophet616 · 8/10 · 10 April 2018]

Actually quite creepy and haunting when it's not getting in its own way with awkward exposition and weird tropes. Significantly though, I get the feeling that's probably due to being 'lost in translation'.

Recommended regardless for horror hounds.

Beautiful exposition of female relationships

[tiffmasters · 9/10 · 24 December 2018]

Ghost stories are often mislabeled as "horror" and found disappointing by American standards, but once you remove expectations and watch the movie as a cultural exploration of female relationships, it becomes quite beautiful. Yes there are horror elements, but fall into the story of love and female bonding, and find significance in the evolution of feminine roles in Japan. It takes a little while to unfold, and the repetition early on can be discouraging, but eventually it makes sense. We need to see how invasive this curse has been, and how necessary it is to be removed.