Spiral (2000) User Reviews

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel...

[Gafke · 6/10 · 24 July 2004]

The residents of a small island community are slowly becoming obsessed with spirals. Young schoolgirl Kirie first notices this strange behavior when she comes across the father of her solemn boyfriend Shuichi videotaping a snail, lost in a reverie. Soon, other people begin to manifest the same strange obsession. A boy leaps to his death from a spiral staircase with a smile on his face. Shuichi's increasingly weird dad starts a spiral collection and throws a fit when they run out of spiral fishcakes for dinner. When he commits suicide by spinning himself to death in a washing machine, the investigation begins.

Don't waste your time trying to fathom the mystery behind Uzumaki, just enjoy it. Or, if you must, take the few vague clues that the movie provides and come up with your own theory behind the spiral madness. References are made to an ancient cult of serpent worshippers who spent a lot of time at Dragonfly Pond. Spiraling stormclouds are seen to touch down at said pond, where a beast-god may once have lived. Offerings of ancient mirrors are unearthed from the bottom of the pond...but none of these facts are ever tied together and handed to you with the words "Reasonable Explanation" printed on the wrapping paper. It doesn't really matter anyway. As the spirals consume the cursed island, the amazing visuals rule the film: bodies twisted into tight circles, hair coiled into gravity defying spirals, eyes spinning like whirlpools, people transformed into snails. It's as though Lovecraft penned a slightly disgusting comedy, and the film feels very much like the manga comic on which it was based - colorful, exaggerated and silly, but also sick and disturbing as well.

This is a beautifully shot and well acted film with some stunning effects. If you're not the type to concern yourself with sensible details and neat story lines, you may just enjoy the sheer weirdness of Uzumaki. It's a comic book come to life. Seven out of ten stars.

Good, old-fashioned fun...

[poe426 · 6/10 · 10 September 2007]

Logic never rears its ugly head, but that's okay: take this one for what it is- a good, old-fashioned monster movie that's just plain fun. Like ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE (though by no means as scary). If one were inclined to take lightly one's comments regarding a movie like this, one might say that the movie slithers along at a snail's pace or that it's slow as snail mail or... Well, you get the idea. (And don't get ticked off at me if you think I just revealed some secret about the storyline: I warned you up front that this comment contains spoilers.) (And I'm not rubbing salt in the wound, here.) (Salt being one surefire way to deal with people who turn into giant slugs...) Lightweight fun- but fun, nonetheless.

Entertaining (and silly)

[fuzbuddy · 7/10 · 8 August 2000]

As is frequently the case when Manga is translated into live action, there is quite a bit lost in the translation. However, this remains a highly entertaining film. The premise is unusual and it is presented in the quiet, understated style so prevalent in Japanese films (ha!). The special effects are a little 70s camp but, it adds to the comic book feel of the film. I wouldn't recommend this film to everyone but, if you are familiar with (and enjoyed) other Japanese horror films like "Evil Dead's Trap", this film will appeal to you.

Intriguing Horror

[teuthis · 8 April 2003]

Uzumaki is an entertaining film for any horror fan. True, cultural differences between Japanese and American perceptions create some difficulty in fully appreciating the horror aspects. I found some of the film slightly funny instead of scary; but it is captivating nevertheless. I believe that if I were to view more films of the genre I could fully appreciate the intent of this film, because it is skillfully done. There are subtleties that I perceived, but that did not fully impact me. I hope to see the film again soon. One reviewer lamented the want of a DVD that we can all play on our equipment. I must concur that it's a shame, because this is a film I would love to own.

The little lead actress is compelling and quite adept. Her delicate and minute facial expressions mirror her dialogue well, and this comes across even with the subtitles. I think her performance is what kept me intrigued with the film long enough to really get into it and keep watching. I recommend that if you are a horror fan, and see this film playing, take the time to see and enjoy it.

Twistin' time is here.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 4 July 2009]

Hypnotists can use a rotating spiral to send their subjects into a trance; director Higuchinsky risks achieving the same result with his dreamlike horror movie Uzumaki, which makes very little sense and crawls along at a snail's pace.

Fortunately, just like the many spirals that proliferate the film, Uzumaki is extremely twisted stuff and, with its impressive visuals and creepy atmosphere, should prove intriguing enough for fans of bizarre Japanese cinema to resist falling asleep.

Eriko Hatsune plays pretty schoolgirl Kirie Goshima, who comes to realise that her home town has fallen under the influence of spirals (that's right, you read correctly.... spirals). Members of her community are becoming obsessed with the shape, which results in some downright strange behaviour and even physical transformation: there is a spate of suicides, a man loses control of his eyeballs, a girl grows medusa-like gravity defying hair, and people even turn into snails!

The film is split into four chapters—Premonition, Erosion, Visitation, and Transmigration (although these titles do nothing to help explain what the hell is going on)—and each is weirder than its predecessor; by the end of the final chapter, almost nothing has been resolved, but viewers will at least have been treated to some very memorable scenes of Asian weirdness, a couple of unexpected, gory deaths, and some subtle subliminal whorls hidden amongst the action to keep sharper-eyed viewers happy.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Memorable, but Frustrating.

[JayJay_Scotland · 7/10 · 14 March 2004]

I've seen a fair few films from the Far East recently.....some were excellent (Battle Royale, Infernal Affairs, the Eye), and some were not so great (Versus, The Triple Cross). Then there are ones like Uzumaki and Returner, which while flawed I still enjoyed.

The basic premise involves the mysterious and horrific effects that a growing obsession with spirals has upon a community. Sound silly? Yeah, thats what I was thought. Firstly, the good stuff. Direction was top notch, sure a bit over the top in places but never the less interesting and stylish. Secondly the story, was original and like other writers commented very lovelace-esq...it was interesting. What it reminded me most of however was early Cronenberg; films like Shivers and Videodrome.

The acting wasn't great, but not too horrible either. To be honest I was actually bored on a few occations....I felt the pacing especially initially was a little slow. My main problem was that it was too silly and funny to be true horror, and yet not so enough to be considered a comedy. *SPOILERS* below.



*SPOILERS* Some good scenes (washing machine =)) and I liked the final shot/voiceover. At first I thought it ended far too abruptly but about 20 seconds later I realised the meaning and liked the end. However, because of the lack of seriousness in the story, combined with over the top scenes such as the news report at the school ment that I did not care for the characters much in the end. The final scene which was perhaps supposed to be a little poignent, while in reality I couldn't really care for the girl or her boyfriend. *SPOILERS END*



So overall I kinda did like this film, but it frustrated me and I think there was real potential in addition to some good scenes. Couple of other points, the main girl is quite pretty and cute, and the song that plays at the end is good too. I rated it 7/10.

Stylish mess

[cherold · 6/10 · 3 December 2003]

This movie is actually pretty good at first. Stylishly directed with interesting visual ideas and an intriguing start. In spite of some spotty acting it feels pretty professional and well made. But the complete absence of any sort of explanation for the film's rather absurd concept is increasingly bothersome. At first I thought, perhaps it's a symbolic movie shot like a horror movie, but by the last third it had made it pretty clear that it was just a bad horror movie with a dumb premise and no interest in explaining it's seemingly random slew of events. One is left with nothing but loose ends and some last scenes that are utterly laughable. Still, parts of it are really cool and I did enjoy most of it, so I give it 6/10.

Amateurish adaptation that does not stand on its own

[joodense · 2/10 · 23 June 2016]

I noticed a lot of reviews for this film were older, it seems like a number of people watched during the wave of the import DVD scene in the early 2000's. I read Uzumaki last year, and then saw a number of good reviews, so I expected a little more from the film. Still was managing my expectations that it would be a solid adaptation of the manga based off others. For that matter, I always try to separate adaptations and judge a product on it's own merits, however this film falls very short.

The film looks cheap - tacky spiral effects in the background and fast cuts (bordering on spastic at some points) do not do the film any favors. Also the editing is something like a school video project, using all kinds of odd "fades" and "screen wipes" that really seem dated to a modern audience. The film never takes itself too seriously and it is styled almost like a comedy, yet the tone is inconsistent. They toss in cheap jump scares that are out of nowhere. There are a few scenes that establish a creepy atmosphere, but that gets tossed out the window with a bad edit or goofy scene every time; the potential gets squandered.

The acting is pretty stale in a lot of parts, and I think some of blame falls on the director's camera techniques. Often I felt he was highlighting a weaker performance with his shots, zooming in on actor's faces like a soap opera. If he had instead spent more effort focusing on atmosphere or building tension I think the story really could have benefited. The story is somewhat vague and had I not read the source material I wonder if I would have been able to follow it at all. To me that is the biggest problem, by picking and choosing bits from the manga and changing too many other things to condense it into a film, it is a half-baked product to the core. Fans of the manga will be disappointed, while newcomers may not be sure what is going on.

Alright, I've gotta be that guy.... If you choose to watch this film and think it has some good ideas, check out the manga. It is much richer and more rewarding. Everything is better connected and well explained, the vibe is much creepier. I can pretty much guarantee you'll dig it. If you read the manga a while ago, and want to turn your brain off for 90 minutes, it does have some cool moments but really lacks any payoff. It is totally skippable otherwise. I only finished it out of inertia - I was ready to tap out around halfway through but decided to finish it off when I saw it a short feature. If the movie worked on it's own I would say check it out, but don't waste your time.

2/10

seriously creepy

[ShimmySnail · 8/10 · 15 August 2004]

A town in Japan is being taken over by a horribly brutal abstract shape: the spiral. It's becoming a theme in everything from animals to clouds to people and twisting them, mentally and literally. This film shows it happening to several groups of people. Some demonic possession is implied, but nothing is entirely sure except that the best bet is to get the heck out of dodge. The film progresses really well from normal life to abnormal phenomena (giant snails and crazy people) to the truly supernatural (walking dead).

As a jaded American horror movie fan, this was just what I needed. Maybe it was just the novelty of a different culture's film, but it seemed to have a very original progression, set of characters, and the premise was definitely new. The Japanese may think "horror shapes" (uzumaki means "spiral," I'm told) are old by now, but it was nice for me because I'm used to monster/alien/virus/disaster/undead films. In an American movie, you know who's going to die (the annoying/nasty/lascivious/racist characters) and who will live (the children/heroine/dogs/cats/nice guy). That's not true in Japanese horror. It was not predictable how they would fight the evil or how it would end up. Also, it had this really new (but probably typically Japanese) color leached Pacific Northwest style cloudy day thing going, which was a fresh visual effect for me. The horrific moments were seriously creepy, relying on a little gore but mainly just impossibly overdone facial expressions (think The Ring) and body manipulations. This should be one of the greats, up there with once-original ideas like the first Nightmare on Elm Street or Night of the Living Dead.

Strangely Boring

[plaidpotato · 6/10 · 18 July 2002]

There were plenty of good things about Uzumaki. Strange, beautiful imagery. Innovative bits of editing. General weird occurrences--people turning into giant snails, crematory smoke forming giant twisting spirals in the sky, a whirled-up corpse in a washing machine. I noticed a lot of David Lynch influence on Uzumaki, as has been noted by other reviewers, particularly in the use of disturbing extreme close-ups (the man eating the spiral fish cakes), in the establishing shots of the town, and in the use of music at times, but Uzumaki's definitely got its own unique style as well. Act 4, I thought, was particularly brilliant, with the bizarro comic-bookish montage of still images to finish out the story, slightly reminiscent of La Jetee.

But bad acting. I couldn't tell if it was intentionally bad to create a comic effect, like David Lynch uses to such great effect sometimes, or if it was just bad acting. It seemed like a little bit of both.

No dramatic tension. There were characters on screen, and they were doing things and walking around and driving around, and sometimes interesting stuff was happening, but there just wasn't any reason to care about any of them. Likewise, there wasn't much of a story I could care about. And while the imagery was fantastic, it wasn't enough to hold my interest for an hour in a half in an uncomfortable theater seat. I often seem to have the same reaction to David Cronenberg's and Peter Greenaway's films. No real emotional content.

Uzumaki could have been a brilliant short film, but there's not enough meat to make it a compelling feature.

Why is it that every theater that would screen a film like Uzumaki seems to have such incredibly cramped and uncomfortable seating?

In a spicy J-Horror genre, this title's as bland as it gets.

[theseus32 · 3/10 · 13 April 2009]

OK, let me start off by saying this isn't a horrible movie by any means. It's just not good. I recall one poster saying the acting isn't campy it's just nuanced. No. I've seen nuanced Japanese and Asian acting. I'm sorry, you're wrong. This is camp.

The characters are totally unsympathetic, the deaths are totally random and utterly meaningless. The writing is bad. I'm fine with suspending disbelief, I'm fine with not having everything handed to me in terms of plot. But this movie has no plot. One reviewer stated "This movie is set in a small town where people are going nuts over vortexes and spirals." That's not a blurb, that's the entire freaking film. Congratulations, I've just saved you nearly an hour and a half. There is nothing more to it. No character development, no plot development, no explanations, no resolution. And not even the "Acceptable within the realm of J-Horror" lack of resolution. Just nothing.

In addition, the musical score is done by someone who obviously wasn't actually watching the movie at the time because it's random enough to cause whiplash. Cognitive dissonance is one thing and done well it can be brilliant (see Dark Water), but here it just seems as if the score was designed to go with another movie all together.

The best example I can give is it's as if the Japanese remade Evil Dead without any of the clever bits or good acting. It just falls flat. It's J-horror without the horror.

Bizarre and entertaining.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 9/10 · 15 March 2004]

"Uzumaki" takes place in a small Japanese rural town,where people are going mad.They go nuts over vortexes and spirals.The crisis is getting worse,because people are turning into snails and vortexes appear everywhere."Uzumaki" has to be one of the most bizarre and original horror movies I have seen.The plot is really clever and the gore scenes are really funny as the film doesn't takes itself too seriously."Uzumaki" is wonderfully photographed and the use of colors is top-notch.The characters are likeable and there is enough shocking surprises to satisfy fans of Japanese horror.Despite of some hilarious scenes,the overall tone of this film is pretty dark."Uzumaki" is not as good as "Ringu","Ju-on" or "Audition",but if you like Japanese horror movies you won't be disappointed.7 out of 10.

The Spiral of Horror

[Fernando-Rodrigues · 6/10 · 17 May 2021]

It's entertaining and funny. The original plot is not well-developed, but what should we expect from a TV-made production, right? The manga obviously is way more atmospheric, graphic, and dark, but it is what it is.

Don't expect a horror...

[Gucek · 5/10 · 19 June 2004]

First of all - don't expect horror movie. I did and I was quite disappointed - not even by the lack of actual "horror" - much more by poor CG and lack of any sensible explanation(s). I could live with that, but what really bothers me - it looks like creators of Uzumaki themselves had no idea how to explain events (or at least develop a story). The movie IS twisted, like - well - home of a snail. Some people compare it to creations of David Lynch. There is one resemblance - Lynch also often has no idea how to clarify his story. Strange - or rather weird - things happen all the time but often without any particular reason. After the movie ended I felt like after watching "Twilight Zone" mixed with a pinch of "Tales from the Crypt" and all that shoot in "Ringu" style. Such blend sounds promising, but Uzumaki doesn't keep its promise - it's simply too uneven. In addition all actual action concentrates on scenes with CG effects, which are often so poor that they will make you laugh. Everything between them (while quite stylish) may bore you to death - especially if you're not a Ringu fan. A pity.

But there are two things that I actually "won" by watching this movie. The first one is end credits song (fortunately credited not with Japanese Kana, but Latin characters) - "Raven" by "Do As Infinity". I've found the video for it - and it basically contains all the action and special effects of the movie. If you will watch it before the movie - chances are that it will spare you the disappointment. And the song is really great!

Second great thing about Uzumaki is its origin - the comic book. After finding out it's based on a comic I understood why it recalls "Tales from the Crypt" so noticeably... But Uzumaki comic is simply great! The story is very well developed and everything makes *much* more sense than in the movie - and that's quite strange because the movie is quite heavily based on the comic! Unfortunately all threads are mixed and twisted (pun intended), and the final effect is much worse than its origin.

My final grade for Uzumaki is 5/10 - it doesn't mean that the movie is average. It's simple an average of what I want and would like to give it (i.e. 3/10 - 7/10).

A mind bending VORTEX full of weird stuff!!!!!!

[rogelioduron · 28 March 2003]

This film Uzumaki "The Vortex" is a pretty weird experiment in cinema and a proud part of my vast movie collection,its a strange movie about a town that gets posessed or cursed by the VORTEX damnation,A lot of people start going insane about the shapes of the spiral in the VORTEX to the point in which some choose to die by becoming a VORTEX themselves, I know that whats new is J-Horror or Japanese Horror as people know, but this film really takes the cake, it has no visible comparition to any other J-Horror movie (Ringu,etc,etc) because its a twister of twisted material for your eyes, its a nightmare from which its hard to wake up. I really recommend this film for Japanese Horror movie fans and weird movie fans like Eraserhead and stuff that plays with your mind, the movie is a little slow and has no start nor ending to the story, actually the ending is kind of stupid but the whole thing works. Check it out.Ill give it a good 9 out of 10 on Scare factor on J-Horror movies.

Spiral into weirdness

[Zombie_Girl_J · 7/10 · 27 September 2004]

I am a huge fan of the comic which was strangely addictive, I myself was becoming mesmerized by the spirals. The town where the movie is based is affected by a spiral curse driving people insane and causing very strange incidents to occur. The movie has great visuals but fails to tell the story as well as the books do. There is so much the movie left out, so much explaining that needed to be done. The movie I feel never ended. It's hard to give an example without excluding any spoilers. Overall it's a beautifully weird movie and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Outre. It can be compared visually to Tim Burton, or Jean Pierre-Juenet (city of lost children, Amelie).

7/10

Wild visual style that almost works

[freakus · 7/10 · 4 May 2000]

This film is full of bizarre images inspired by the Manga from which it is drawn. Rotating eyeballs, monster hair, death by washing machine...these are not your everyday occurrences. In the end though, I felt like I had missed something....it's an entertaining ride, but the story just doesn't go anywhere.

Interesting horror from Japan that kind of sputters in the end as it has no real end.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 23 June 2012]

I thought this particular Japanese horror film sounded interesting so I bought it. Turns out is is very interesting, but is seems to be missing something. As it happens, this film is based of a series of Japanese manga and apparently the manga had yet to be completed when they made this movie. So this explains why the film ends a bit abruptly, never really explaining what is going on. At one point in the film it seems they are about to clear up some things as a reporter seemed to uncover the truth, but he never gets to share what he learned as he has a bit of an accident. All you know that he found it is shown in vague and cryptic newspaper clippings and whatnot. Still, it had an interesting premise.

The setting is a small town, a girl along with her childhood friend begin noticing strange things occurring. The girl sees a few odd things, but the boy's father is becoming obsessed by spirals. The boy wishes to wed the girl and get out of town, fearing it has been cursed. To bad the girl did not take him up on that offer, but then if she had there would be no movie, or we would have to follow one of the less likable characters around more. Throughout the movie you are basically watching the town degrade as people in the town are becoming more and more obsessed with spirals.

The deaths in this film are a bit gruesome, but at times are shown so quickly you do not know what you are seeing. The visuals are impressive for a film with such a minuscule by Americans standards budget as there are a few impressive special effects. The actors and actresses are all well done, though some of the characters are underdone, such as the cute girl with glasses whose hair gets all coiled. There are a couple of other characters that I am guessing had larger roles in the manga, but seeing as this is a movie they focused only on the two main ones.

I think this film was okay, but it could have been so much better had they simply waited for the manga series to be complete before filming the movie. This is not the type of film where you can be ambiguous, this is a film and story that demands an explanation and from what I understand the manga this movie was based on delivers that. This film could have done the same, but they were in such a rush to make the movie they had to craft their own ending which is the typical ending for a Japanese horror film of the time. Still, it had plenty of good visuals, a solid story at the beginning and middle and lots and lots of spirals.

Don't try to understand it without knowing the Manga

[ArtWendeley · 3/10 · 16 February 2006]

I watched this movie a couple of years ago, and when I first saw it I was just annoyed by it, since the story didn't make any sense at all. There are hardly any hints about what might be going on in this village and in the end you're left with no clue at all. For some movies of that genre this works just fine for me to a certain extent, I just didn't like the way Uzumaki left you completely in the dark.

Maybe if you knew the Manga, you'd be able to understand a lot more, so this review probably isn't of much value for you and if you just want to watch something strange I guess this movie will satisfy you, and admittedly can be entertaining to some degree.

Don't be fooled by lazy critics...

[Monkhead · 8/10 · 28 December 2003]

It's very true that this film defies convention by not spelling out the plot for the viewer. While some may have a problem with having to figure it out for themselves, I embrace "Uzumaki" for its irreverence. There is a PLOT, it's just that it may not be immediately accessible to a lazy viewer. This is a film that invites numerous interpretations, as all great art does - however, this film is also very entertaining, making it a rare film experience. It's simultaneously provocative and fun.

As If Cronenberg & Lynch Went To Japan

[shark-43 · 7/10 · 29 May 2004]

This movie is a ride to go on - not to question and not to say - where's my A to B to C plot? It's as if David Lynch and David Cronenberg got smashed on sake and tried to make a Japanese creepfest. There are amazingly disturbing visuals through out the film - there are also loooooong dragged out parts that go nowhere and are slow and tired. But if you just go with it and enjoy some real creepy, odd and frightening sequences - you too may go down the vortex!!!! (By the way - the use of snails and snail's shells is pretty damn original and impressive.)Film might be better enjoyed if you partake in a alcoholic beverage or that wonderful plant that Mother Nature has provided. Just a suggestion for this particular weird little film.

Not the worst adaptation, still an awful film

[guy_from_may_98 · 1/10 · 28 October 2022]

The manga "Uzumaki," written and illustrated by Japanese author Junji Ito is something I've read in full only recently and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's not perfect but it is effective, extremely tense and it is one unsettling, creepy, sometimes terrifying experiment. In 2000, the manga has been adapted for cinema and I decided to watch the adaptation to see how it turned out. After finishing it, I honestly thought and felt that it is probably one of the worst movies I've seen in my entire life.

My issue with the movie is not even with how it adapts the source material. Sure, the plot only focuses on the manga's first two chapters and spends a lot of time referencing other chapters without really exploring much about them but it still is somewhat faithful. I believe that a TV series would have been more appropriate but overall, the movie does a decent job. A movie adaptation doesn't have to follow word for word its source material to be good and it could work doing its own thing.

However in that case, the movie also fails being its own thing. There is so much about its presentation that just doesn't work. First off, the movie is nothing particular with its cinematography and it sometimes feels very clunky and awkward: there are many shots that are focusing on a character's face and the camera is way too close.

The sound and special effects feel cheap and are ridiculous: there is a scene where a student just unlits a cigarette on a door and they added some explosion effect you'd find in a random low budget YouTube video. Most of those effects are making the movie unintentionally hilarious to watch.

The acting is mid with Fhi Fan, playing Shuichi being particularly bad. The film's tone is very inconsistent: it doesn't know how to be a horror film, how not to appear funny nor realise how much it fails with serious moments. The score and editing certainly did not help: the score is cheesy and very forced while the editing was simply an abomination. So many awful transition techniques and scenes faded into others were used. The editing is definitely the worst part of this movie.

This is already a really funny bad movie to watch sober but maybe the experiment would be greater being drunk. Unironically though, it is one of the worst, if not the worst movie I've seen.

Simply superb

[ouijaouija · 8/10 · 19 May 2005]

I happen to have read all of Junji Ito's English released manga. I watched the Tomie film and it was a big steaming pile of turd. THANKFULLY Uzumaki actually does justice to the manga. I think those who have read the manga will really appreciate this film more, as many screenshots and camera angles are exactly like in the manga and it is interesting to see how the book characters are played in the film. This film reminds me of eerie indiana. The ending differs to the manga, which I was expecting. Kirie looks like her manga counterpart, and her male friend suits the whole very well. Very creepy I have to admit, this film feels like a feverish nightmare, the kind you have when you were a kid. Not really scary at all, but freaky, if you get my drift? Another great horror from Japan, get yourself a copy.

Fast paced, entertaining scares but poor storyline

[Tokyo-1997 · 7/10 · 13 October 2010]

This is an average horror movie for me. This movie started off very well but ends very abruptly. The first 2/3 of this movie was quite good but the last 1/3 of the movie was just so abrupt and disappointing. I hated the ending and possibly one of the worst endings I have ever seen in a horror movie. The main characters were trying to stop the curse but what happened in the end?? The main characters just got possessed. The first 2/3 of the movie has its mystery elements has good suspense and some of the effects like the student who looked like a slimy snail was good. The suspense in this movie was good. I like the way they explain how the curse came about and finding more about the curse. It is good that the movie uses stuff related to spirals like snails, hair and even fingerprints. However, things were done very abruptly towards the end of the movie. After the centipede crawled inside the woman's ear, some silly GCI effects were used. A silly man was shown saying funny things like, "Why don't you let the spiral get into you,why?" Its not entertaining. And there was one part where the detective was trying to find out about how to break the curse was not explained any further. The good points of this movie are its mystery elements, its originality and its unique scares. The storyline towards the end was really bad. Still recommended though because this is quite a unique movie. Score: 7/10

Pros and cons

[benjyboom · 3/10 · 29 November 2019]

Pros: Certain shots, when they lean into the manga style action, can be visually entertaining Really solid soundtrack, catchy Very weird story, ends up being unique

Cons: Surprisingly bad acting Camerawork is mostly static, uninteresting A lot of the horror ends up falling flat, stuff that was full stories in the manga are condensed or deleted for the film Flat color palette

Best part: snail guy in classroom, right amount of weird/unsettling Worst part: ending, news report doesnt do anything, the whole theme of escalation of this problem just falls flat with the sudden, uninteresting death of our protagonist