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I've liked a handful of Koji Shiraishi movies before, but this didn't do much for me. It's three-quarters of an hour long, so could qualify as a long short film or potentially be as short as feature films get. It's about a teenage girl who's pronounced dead, but continues living. It didn't make much sense to me, and I just didn't think the premise worked. It's the sort of idea that might sound simple, but I feel like actually executing something like this effectively might well be impossible. It's a frustrating mix of abstract and specific, and my brain wasn't able to get on its wavelength.

It has some striking imagery, and doesn't waste much time, thanks to that runtime, so I almost get the appeal (and can't call it terrible). But I wasn't able to get a handle on the horror, feeling frustrating; to me, it was almost like watching a film in a language you don't speak without subtitles.

I don't mind low production values provided that earnest care and effort is applied in their stead. Unfortunately for "Hino Hideshi's theater of horror," the series of six diminutive films barely ever had a chance in the first place to get off the ground as the filmmakers, casts, and crews were given scant opportunity to tell these stories in the manner that served them best. Shiraishi Koji has sadly not fared much better with his contribution, 'Dead girl walking.' The root story boasts strong potential as a girl is declared clinically dead, but somehow her body and mind continue to function normally even as she begins to decompose. There is much to possibly explore with that concept. Right from the start and in various ways, however, Shiraishi embraces an odd mix-and-match of sensibilities: silent film, art film, existentialist student film, stylized horror-comedy, wry humor, surrealism, body horror, zombie flick, and more. The conglomeration isn't specifically bad, but it desperately needed more specific focus; as we see it the film feels regrettably scattered.

Despite that smorgasbord, I actually like this all told. There is a bounty of smart ideas on hand that simply needed more careful consideration at the stage of developing the screenplay. (At least, I assume it's the screenplay; I'm not familiar with Hino's manga but presume it is tighter.) Shiraishi's direction would have unquestionably followed in turn. While some creative choices are more dubious either in and of themselves or in combination with others, there is much to appreciate in these abbreviated forty-odd minutes. It is beautifully shot at some points in its black and white presentation; the hair and makeup work, as applied to star Maeda Ayaka, looks pretty darn good. Maeda gives a commendable performance as beleaguered dead protagonist Yuri, and the supporting cast is just as swell. The practical effects are quite excellent. The somewhat whimsical music is a nice touch to complement the proceedings. In fact, compared to its sister movies, 'Dead girl walking' is rather well made.

Again, however: would that the tiny feature had a more singular, unified vision. It's sort of all over the place, trying to be many different things at different points, and the whole absolutely suffers as a result. It's a good horror picture as it exists, and with a smidgen more mindfulness in its conjuration, it could have been even better. Still, while hardly a must-see, the end product is darkly enjoyable when all is said and done, and sometimes that's all a title needs to be. Definitely don't go out of your way for 'Dead girl walking,' but if you do have the chance to watch and are open to such genre pieces that are far less than perfect, it's a decent enough way to pass some time.

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!

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.