Kuchisake-onna (2007) User Reviews

A creepy urban legend

[adrian-her · 5/10 · 4 October 2021]

Kuchisake Onna is a solid horror film, which tries to impress with its creepy atmosphere, and interesting storyline.

The acting is ok, there are some good scares, and its quite bloody.

Unfortunately, a lot of potential has been wasted, otherwise this would have been a great horror film.

Total score: 6/10.

A Typical Asian Horror Film, Slightly Better Than Average

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 2 August 2007]

Children tell the story of the slit-mouthed woman, a killer with a deformed face, surgical mask and very long scissors ready to slice up the kids while asking "Am I pretty?". As rumors of the woman spread, the panic in town grows and the rumors become true -- remarkably so, as they seem to come from nowhere. What is the origin of this killer?

Something about Asian horror is both appealing and distressing. I can't pinpoint it. The films are different enough from American films to give a special feel to the viewer for when we've had enough of the classic slasher. Yet, no matter how different one Asian film is from another, they seem to all co-exist in the same universe. This film is no exception: while not relying on the same techniques as "Pulse" or "The Grudge" or even "The Ring", there's a sense that we haven't left those worlds too far behind.

Like many Asian horror films, there is a sense of the supernatural here. American horror often tries to explain its stories in a reasonable way (even when the villains are of an other-worldly nature). Asian horror is less likely to do so. Here is another example of that. As the film progresses, we learn more about the slit-mouthed woman, but we never really understand how or why she does what she does.

I enjoyed the rumors element. I think this was very clever and if the film were longer, I wish they'd have gone into this more and made the plot and background deeper. At one point, a child is asked where the slit-mouthed woman lives and she responds in a house with a red roof on the hill. Despite having no reason to know this (she never saw the house or even the woman), the rumor invariably turn out to be true. I found this very interesting.

I also liked the makeup. Having recently seen "Pan's Labyrinth" I saw how cool it was to have a person with a mouth slit open to their ear (and, by the way, if you haven't seen this film you really must). This film makes it the selling point of the movie, not just a brief scene -- the way the woman is shown with the mouth and dead eyes is pretty cool. I didn't find her particularly scary or creepy, but an interesting villain just the same.

Perhaps some of the film is lost in translation. A key aspect of the film is that the kids think the woman says "Am I pretty?" and later we are told she says "Aim my neck." I am under the impression that whatever the original wording was, these two phrases are even more similar to create a parallel. Here, the words "pretty" and "neck" are a bit of a stretch. But it slid.

If you like Asian horror, I suggest checking this one out. The copy I watched was pre-release, so the picture wasn't fully touched up and there were numbers counting across the top. Once the official DVD is out, I suspect this will be a bit crisper and the sounds even creepier (maybe like the comb noise from "The Grudge"). Either way, I liked it, and it was a good vacation from the same old teenagers in the woods movie.

Actually pretty good !

[lizxypopcornkid · 6/10 · 23 June 2020]

Thought this movie was alright in my opinion, the plot is very well coordinated and despite the films obviously low budget it does well with what it's has! I would love to see this film as a bigger more money invested in project it could really develop into something more. Ending was a shocker by the way !

Disappointing to say the least

[asian-cineblog · 4/10 · 28 October 2013]

After penning Noroi: The Curse, one of the scariest J-horror movies of the last decade, Kôji Shiraishi decided, two years later, to focus on the Japanese urban myth of the slit mouth lady, which has been known in Japan for several generations. The legend has survived and has spread as any other urban myth, with the story of a woman asking the ones who cross her path if she is pretty and consequently showing them the hideous scar on her face and thus either killing them or disfiguring their face in a similar way. Among other terrifying (and sometimes hilarious) details, the slit-mouthed woman is supposed to carry with her a pair of scissors as her weapon, being able to run up to 100 km/h and having a bizarre interest in special Japanese candies. Interestingly enough, the director has however decided to distance from the urban myth, although one character refers the fact that the rumors of the slit mouth lady have been heard for decades. The appearance of the evil entity is, as always, explained on the basis of a cruel vengeful spirit that comes back for revenge, as it became a cliché in the J-horror panorama for the last few years. The plot lacks consistency, and even though the history of the slit-mouthed woman is well explained and detailed during the movie, bottom line, her initial appearance appears to be left to interpretation although a few possibilities may come to mind – the result of an earthquake and the opening of her own tomb, the result of a critical mass of believers sharing the rumors of the story of an evil entity, or simply the fact that her appearance may seem to symbolize an explanation for adult's cruelty towards children.

Unfortunately during the movie, events simply seem to carelessly pile up, with a few scenes being particularly dumb to say the least. No effort is put into creating an atmosphere of intrigue. The repressed memories of professor Matsuzaki simply came back off a sudden when he visited his old home. No crescendos were registered, no increasing tension or hype were observed before each appearance of the slit mouth lady. Something could have been said regarding the abusive treatment and negligence towards children during the film, as well as the consequences of violence and these abuses. Unfortunately, the number of abusive or neglecting mothers would just serve as a way to keep the evil spirit coming back. In fact, violence is somehow excused in these cases as a result of insanity or an abrupt change of the familiar background.

Apart from the female teacher, the remaining characters were particularly uninteresting. The majority of the scenes lacked credibility, the abductions were always particularly random, and no patterns were observed with the slit-mouthed woman usually coming out of nowhere. Contrarily to what is usually common, the present ghost entity exhibited a physical body. For some reason however, the characters would not be able to fight back, being hilariously knocked down unconscious after being slapped by the slit mouth lady herself. Which is usually used to explore supernatural powers, was in this case a sequence of characters staring at the ghost, gasping, screaming and crawling, as the slit-mouthed woman, wearing heels, would continually kick each one of them.

The making-of suggested Kôji Shiraishi didn't put a particular effort or thought into the plot, with the movie being shot in a considerably short period of time. Probably as a result, the film seems to lack consistency and interest for the most part, with a few elements of interest being nonetheless terribly explored.

Asian-cineblog.blogspot.com

Half slasher and half drama

[kluseba · 7/10 · 19 May 2013]

This is the first relevant "Kuchisake-Onna" movie. It's a dark slasher vaguely inspired by true events that hit Japan back in the seventies. Several pupils are kidnapped on their way home. Soon rumours are spread about a possessed woman with a long trench coat that wears a mask to cover its mutilated face that kidnaps the children to cut their mouths up to the ears as that evil woman has lived the same torture in the past. The police doesn't find any relevant trace but several pupils seem to know more about that mysterious woman. A young and sometimes unstable female teacher who has been through a difficult divorce and who has a troubled relationship with her daughter joins a shy and young male teacher who seems to have telepathic powers and who hears the voice of that mysterious woman but always arrives a little bit too late at the scene of the crime. Together, they try to find the hideout of that evil woman. They soon realize that the evil woman is more some sort of a spirit that can easily possess anybody if her head isn't definitely cut off. As more and more innocent people die or get kidnapped, the young male teacher understands that he has a very special connection to the killer and that the final showdown will lead to unnameable sacrifices for both teachers.

I really found this first movie very intriguing. It convinces with a very dark atmosphere and a good balance between gripping slasher scenes and a surprisingly well done character development. The two young teachers incarnated by Eriko Sato and Haruhiko Kato play quite convincing roles and both characters have to face their own inner demons before they confront that evil woman. The movie doesn't only belong to the horror genre but has also a few dramatic and emotional moments. I really liked the unconventional attitude of this movie. One could think that a soft love story would develop between the two young teachers but this isn't the case and one doesn't get distracted from the solid main story line. The film also includes some minor twists and some tension filled and unexpected moments. I also like the polarizing ending of the movie that really send shivers down my spine. I guess that this ending wants to make sure that you won't forget this movie all too soon.

All in all, this is a very atmospheric and well played dark slasher movie that also focuses on some dramatic scenes and a very well done character development. This mixture of two distinctive genres is very well done and makes this flick more accessible to a larger crowd in my opinion. It's nothing revolutionary after all but surely a quite gripping and entertaining movie. Fans of Asian horror cinema should surely grab this solid movie and will have quite some fun.

Almost a Slasher

[gothic_a666 · 5/10 · 4 March 2011]

This movie mixes elements from the Western tradition of Slasher movies along with a peculiar kind of creepiness so typical to Asian horror. An interesting combination that should have been much more successful. Unfortunately 'Kuchisake-onna' is overall mediocre and downward pedestrian at times. It fails whenever it adheres to clichés such as making sure that everyone confronting the villain in the grand finale is without weapons of any kind but there are a few redeeming points. The positive parts include the child abuse angle that pervades and drives the plot, the fact that the villain does not only lurk in dark shadowy places but actually acts in broad daylight and a possession story that is original.

With so much going on for it, it is a true shame that the movie manages to fall into tired recipes that do away with so much potential. After all, in a story in which the villain targets children is open to horror as perceived from their point of view. That approach would have elevated it from the usual supernatural thriller to something more unique. And the movie itself seems to be aware of this on occasion.

With some psychological bits and a decent slasher angle this is a movie that fans of the genre will probably find worth watching but it does have a limited appeal without being part of the elite in the competitive world of J-horror.

A different J-Horror

[vmorda · 7/10 · 6 November 2010]

Carved is different from most Asian horror flicks in the regard that the story doesn't become overly convoluted and confusing, yet at the same time, it does little to add complexity to the explanation or back story of the Slit-Mouthed Woman. Essentially a really evil person dies, so naturally their ghost continues to have the same actions of the person that they once were. If you can go into this movie accepting this fact, and not with the mentality of expecting something smart or challenging from the story, then you should easily enjoy this.

With that said, this is indeed another norm of the Asian horror genre, "vengeful ghost girl." However the concept of the ghost, and the urban legend revolving around it (which is based on a real legend), does feel fresh and unique. The main selling point of the Slit-Mouthed Woman's motif is that she specifically targets children with overly sized scissors. Which naturally makes for perfect, innocent victims in this film, as they are easy to sympathize for. Carved is not shy in having the kiddies get hurt or killed. I wouldn't say the visual execution of such is excessive any way, but the idea of it may be too disturbing for some viewers. So if you're sensitive to the idea of child abuse (which this film's story is primarily based on) or seeing a corpse of a kid, then avoid watching this. Though I feel that this reason alone is what makes Carved successful as a genuine horror flick. Unlike American slasher films, where horny teenagers make stupid decisions quickly and you ultimately we care less about what happens to them in the end (not to say that there isn't some merit in that).

The main characters are as interesting just as well, as Matsuzaki was once a victim of child abuse, and Yamashita was regretfully an abusive mother herself. So there is motivation for their characters to stop the Slit-Mouthed Woman from kidnapping and harming another little tot, while over coming their own, personal conflicts.

With a visually grotesque and interesting antagonist (regardless of having a nonsensical weakness and catch phrase, that is more related to the actual legend then the movie's character), I can't help but to recommend this for those who feel tired with most Asian horror flicks and are looking for something different.

Snip-Snip Gouge...

[azathothpwiggins · 24 September 2020]

CARVED: A SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN is another grisly creeper from Japan.

As ghostly killers go, this scissor-wielding ghoul certainly delivers! She attacks ruthlessly. Even outdoors in broad daylight! Children are especially targeted, and even they're not sacred! We have no idea who will survive, regardless of age, gender, or seeming heroic status!

If you're searching for a disturbing, unpredictable twist on urban legends / folklore, then you've just found horror heaven!...

Average Asian horror that never fills in the blanks

[FionaGoode · 5/10 · 14 August 2007]

Pretty average Asian Horror film that still seems to linger in the "long hair creepy woman" category but, the storyline is promising and the creep factor is there, (in small doses,thanks to makeup) but if you are not a fan of plot holes or unexplained elements, (which sometimes work in horror, IMO) then you will not enjoy this film. There is very little gore and what is there is usually in a "cut-away" scene (this is a film that would probably just get a pg-13 by American standards)-Overall the film just doesn't satisfy, absolutely no character development and not enough "suspense" to really make it an enjoyable film.

Jap horror clone film

[siderite · 6/10 · 12 June 2010]

If this would have been released before The Ring and the plethora of Asian movies that went on the same formula, I would have said it was average. A story that is slightly original and a factor of fear and hopelessness that could have made this a watchable, maybe even good horror movie, with low production values, probably because of budget limitations.

However, the film being released in 2007, I can only say that the bad acting and the low production values made this film below average. The story was simply suffocated by the fakeness of it all. The few good things in the movie I can now assume that were cloned off of successful Japanese horror films and dismiss them altogether.

Bottom line: ridiculous as this sounds, this story would (in my mind) have created a great movie. However this version was just a fail.

Good Idea, Mediocre Direction

[redrobin62-321-207311 · 5/10 · 22 February 2016]

Maybe it's the way J-Horror was written back in those days - slow, moody, atmospheric, overly dramatic, etc. Sort of reminiscent of a Hollywood horror, circa 1935 or so. The action moves so slowly that you can practically hear the director shouting just off set, "More passion! Look more scared! Tremble your hands! Walk slower! Give a wide-eyed gaze as if Godzilla was trampling your poppy field!" Pretty cheesy stuff.

The reason I'm willing to overlook the melodrama is, to be fair, back in the day for instance, all zombies walked liked they were constipated. Now, in todays' movies, they can give Usain Bolt a run for his money. In that sense I'm willing to go easy on the film's lethargic development. Some of the writing was just poor, though. Why would you go yelling blindly into an unknown house knowing that the slit-mouthed woman can hear you as well as the girl you're looking for? Why, in the midst of the search, suddenly stop to tell your history of the slit-mouthed woman? Shouldn't you check the house quickly to see if the little girl is bleeding to death or something? 911 (or 999 in some countries) is your friend. Don't be afraid to call them for help.

Stands Out To Me

[Necrotard · 8/10 · 21 December 2007]

A town is haunted by the myth of a woman whose face has been mutilated in a very awesome looking fashion. She wears a mask over her mouth and shows up to people asking "Am I pretty?" Their answer almost always leads to their death.

I loved this movie. The story was different. I haven't seen anything too similar to it before. The story was interesting, even a bit touching at points. It never got laughable to me. The whole thing stayed pretty dark and serious. (I'm sure the horrific involvement of children in the story helped that...) The camera work was really slick. I loved the lighting and the atmosphere towards the end. It had a great pace. It moved fast, even by American standards. (This is surprising for an Asian flick.) The ghost was unique by Asian standards. (She didn't have the hair over her face, nor did her hair seem to be alive.) The woman with the sliced mouth was a very cool visual.

This has been one of my favorite Japanese horror films yet. Another big difference from most Asian films I've seen is that IT ACTUALLY MADE SENSE. Many Asian flicks like to have ambiguous endings that don't seem to have a definite meaning, so the audience can discuss their take on it. That, or the films are just made very bizarre, outlandish, and hard to follow. But this one actually made sense to me all the way through.

Most of what I've read say it's "average"... I'm sorry, but all of the really famous Asian horror flicks I've seen seemed to be very similar to each other... I'd call those "average". In my eyes, this shied away from Asian routines, (which are sadly becoming American ones now...).

I highly recommend this to any supernatural horror fan. I thought it was a great little ghost flick with a good story and some awesome eye-candy.

Not One Of My Favorites But Still An Average Watch

[Foutainoflife · 6/10 · 9 August 2018]

Though this won't make my favorites list, it still had enough to keep it interesting. Our villainess spirit had a creepy look but she didn't seem ominous. One thing that I didn't care for was how she was possessing mothers at random. I didn't really see a pattern as far as that went but her evolution story was fitting. I don't recall a moment that revealed why she was abducting these children aside from her being a cruel mother while she was alive. I was also confused about her tagline. It was "Am I pretty" but then she started saying "Aim at my neck." I wasn't sure if it had changed or if it had always been "Aim at my neck" and it was simply misunderstood. Why she was asking "Am I pretty" wasn't explained either. At least I don't remember it being part of her backstory. These are the reasons I have for my 6 star rating. All in all, she was a creepy, child killing, hopping from one mother to the next, evil spirit or demon. If that's what you've been looking for it is all in one package right here.

Great movie, great story, just suffering from half-hearted production...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 23 April 2012]

"The Slithmouthed Woman" was a nice new approach to Asian horror. It stands out from the endless sea of Asian horror movies that have ghost women in white dresses with black hair covering their eyes, and 90% of the movie shot in near complete darkness. "The Slithmouthed Woman" was quite the opposite, and that was a nice change of pace.

The story in "The Slithmouthed Woman" is about a woman with a mangled face (her mouth is slashed open) going around abducting and killing people. Just before she appears and drags you off, people will hear her saying "Am I pretty?" Now, being shot almost in nothing but daylight, "The Slithmouthed Woman" was really a nice change, because you got to see everything that was going on, and not kept in the dark by the lack of lighting. Plus, the movie here was more of a psychological horror movie, than it was a visual horror movie. Sure, the make-up and effects on the woman was really great, I just personally would have liked to see more of that mangled face. But still, done with moderation, it worked out well enough.

The acting in the movie was alright as well, I don't recall having seen the people here in other movies before, and still the people put on great enough performances.

However, "The Slithmouthed Woman" is a very predictable movie and you know how it will end early on in the movie. And also the story takes forever to go anywhere, and that was a notch down in the entertainment value. Had they opted to go with a more adrenaline-filled approach and more action, the movie had worked out all the better.

The idea and concept behind the story was really unique and well thought through, it just could have used another set of eyes on it to offer a different approach to the direction in which the movie went. But still, it wasn't a bad movie, not at all. If you like Asian horror movies and want to see something that isn't a mainstream ghost horror movie, like most of the Asian horror movies have a tendency to be, then "The Slithmouthed Woman" is well worth checking out.

Truly abysmal

[ebeckstr-1 · 1/10 · 3 July 2019]

This movie fails on every level. In the first place, the screenwriter and director never develop any sense of mystery. In the movie's opening minute we are dropped into a conversation in which the slit mouthed woman is already being described. No mysterious, dramatic, creepy, or suspenseful action precedes this exposition, signaling the movies primary weakness, which is a truly awful script. The police don't investigate past disappearances or search places which would clearly would have been searched; there is no sense of urgency among the police or other characters; no explanation is ever offered for whatever it is that began the cycle of events we see unfold repetitiously throughout a movie which seems too long at 95 minutes. This lack of explanation is not artful ambiguity or mystery; the explanation isn't missing because the movie is so very clever and subtle that "explanations" just aren't the point; and the explanation isn't missing because the movie is so defined by visual style in the manner of an Argento flick, from which we just don't expect complete coherence because that really isn't the point. The explanation is missing because Slit-Mouthed Woman is poorly written. To top it all off, naturally it concludes with one of those stupid, clichéd gotcha endings which renders all of the preceding action pointless, and which is the true hallmark of unimaginative writing.

J-horror classics such as The Grudge, Ring, and Pulse succeed because they are expertly paced, have interesting characters we care about, and develop a strong sense of mystery, suspense, and creepiness through literate scripts, competent editing, moody cinematography, and skilled direcion.

Slit-Mouthed Woman lacks every single one of these strengths. And by the way, be forewarned that this movie contains some of the most brutally depicted child abuse I've seen in any movie, with punches, kicks, and slaps realistically depicted rather relentlessly throughout the last half an hour or so of the movie.

Not so much a plot as a large piece of Swiss cheese.

[fedor8 · 6 August 2020]

Bland direction that doesn't allow for suspense, plus there's a sleazy, exploitation-like child-torturing premise. Muddled plot full of logic holes.

If demon-frau promised not to kill her son if he got rid of her, then why does she kill him anyway decades later? How the hell did demon-frau kill two of her kids without the authorities noticing that they were missing from school? Does Japan have no Social Services, or is it normal there for kids to come to school continually bruised and beaten without anyone taking any measures to protect them? Why does Mika's mother just push demon-frau to the side and then turn her back to her to be then very predictably - and stupidly - killed? Why does everyone move in extreme slow-motion once they enter the murderess's lair? How come some of the victims are found wandering the city - how the hell did they escape? How come they escaped but Mika - who was cutting herself loose - didn't? Why didn't the demon-frau's son report to the police what he knew?

I am always fascinated how much less critical (horror) fans are of non-English-speaking horror films. If this were an American film, it would be almost uniformly trashed for its glaring flaws. Somehow American (horror) films are held to higher standards (not counting the hyped big-studio films with fake reviews and swarm-voting), more nit-picked on, while non-American ones are forgiven even when they're blatantly stupid or mediocre.

Decent

[vengeance20 · 7/10 · 24 December 2015]

Heard about this through YouTube saying it was some Urban Legend which from what I've heard it is, to a point.

The film starts with a school in a small town gossiping about a facially disfigured woman known as, The Slit-Mouthed Woman! Then an earthquake trembles & somehow 'summons' the Slit-Mouthed Woman's body out from the dead & she goes on a rampage killing people as a malicious spirit! Kid's start to go missing & a teacher & a young man go in search for the missing children & try to stop the Slit- Mouthed Woman.

The film was alright, & had a very unnerving & creepy atmosphere to it! The blood effects were OK, but there could've so pretty good kills & more graphic violence at work here for a film of it's concept. I also felt the film was abit slow paced & dragged on too long like it was in slow motion almost! It seemed like the film was abit too dreary & didn't have any actual life in it, but it was a decent film all the same!

I also liked the way the demon was creepy & scary along with the appearance of the Slit-Mouthed Woman face when it opened which was disgusting but horrify too! The way she was able to jump from person to person & still continue killing was also a good concept.

But the biggest plot hole I'd say was the Earthquake being the cause for The Slit-Mouthed Woman being awakened again. I mean if she was dead as a doormat for 30 years like the guy said in the film then how come in between that time didn't an earthquake waken her up before? I mean there were stories being mentioned but it just seemed abit coincidental to me!

I overall thought this was a creepy dark horror film! 7/10

👎A very easy idea for a movie executed extremely poorly.

[junshiwilda · 4/10 · 25 March 2019]

Kuchisake-onna is perhaps one of the most well known and "beloved" urban legend in Japan. It is essentially about a woman with a split mouth roaming around the streets kidnapping children on their way home. This perhaps was anticipated by many Japanese people since they finally got to see the classic monster in the silver screen, and it is still enjoyed and loved by many today. Though I enjoy this movie since there are quite a few scary moments, this is a movie that is very poorly made.

How the screenplay is lazily written is very evident from the way the characters are written. The two lead characters are the teachers of the school Kuchisake onna targets, and they are introduced as normal, flat characters. However, as the movie goes on, it feels like the screenwriters were finishing the script as they were shooting the movie and decided to cram in backstories for the teachers in the last minute. In addition, the screenwriters added Kuchisake onna herself a backstory. What they decided to do is make Kuchisake onna the mother of one of the lead teachers, and the way that is executed is literally like a your mama joke. Beyond that there are many unclear explanations on the rules of this Kuchisake Onna virus, which does not show any patterns and is just possesing random moms. If they could have just done a straight forward slasher movie without adding unnecessary back stories and depth to the characters and Kuchisake Onna herself, this could have been just a very enjoyable B grade horror movie. However by trying to be overly serious with a source material that works without seriousness, it backfired and just became plain silly.

But what absolutely kills this movie is the horrible acting. From the child actors to even the lead characters are played with underwhelming skills. It is clearly evident that the actors didn't take their roles seriously at all, and it feels like they were reading the script at the front of their face as they were shooting the movie. The only good performance was by Miki Mizuno who plays Kuchisake Onna. Overall, this is a movie that should have been better than it is, but is ruined by very poor acting and writing.

Good

[ashfordofficial · 6/10 · 20 March 2022]

AM I...PRETTY?

Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman or A Slit-Mouthed Woman is a gruesome and brutal tale based on the Japanese urban legend, Kuchisake-onna.

As a big fan of creepy Japanese films based on urban legends and folklore, Carved is a fantastic film with an amazing performance and a well written screenplay. It's ending is bit complicated because of the inadequate backstory and lots of unanswered questions.

Average J-Horror entry with some major faults.

[massaster760 · 5/10 · 10 August 2007]

A small town in Japan is facing a serious crisis... the curse of the Kuchisake Onna (a.k.a. The Slit Mouthed Woman). A facially disfigured spirit of a woman who sports a huge pair of scissors and an immense hatred for children. After an opening which features the legend of the Slit-Mouthed woman being told through several sets of characters. The film wastes no time and goes right into the children's abduction. The only thing standing between the spirit and innocent children are two teachers at the local elementary school; Ms. Yamashita and Mr. Matsuzaki. As the list of children whom have disappears begins to lengthen, the two teachers set out to solve the mystery of the Kuchisake Onna.

Slit-Mouthed Woman is not necessarily a "bad" film. The plot has a dose of originality and the premise is great. Also, some of the scenes involving the spirit and the abducted children are truly horrific and harrowing. However, the delivery is stilted, and the film has two major faults (as listed below).

Kuchisake Onna is plagued with (in my opinion) the worst horror cliché in the book. Anytime the Slit-Mouthed Woman appears, the films protagonists stand around, frozen like rabbits in car headlights, seemingly incapable of running, or defending themselves. In 2007, this type of lackluster horror formula is played out. Especially considering that the Kuchisake Onna can't be killed, it would have been much more fun to watch the film's characters give the demon some serious beat-downs... but alas, all they do is scream and try their best to look terrified (while the viewer does their best not to look bored).

My other major reservation about Kuchisake Onna, is that I was struck with the feeling that Director Kakesu Shuichi just might have a deep seeded hatred of women. Because the film's female characters-including the ghost-all have one thing in common... they beat the holy hell out of their children. The film's misogynistic tomes seem to come out of nowhere and the female characters (while not beating their children) stand idly by while the Kuchisake Onna steals children from under their noses. My question is, "Where's the Motherly instinct?" I couldn't help but feel that most women would go frantic if placed in similar situations, risking life and limb to protect their offspring... but not in this film.

To be sure, the film has some redeeming qualities (I did enjoy how the film played the plot straight out, instead of throwing in the gratuitous plot-twist) but when coupled with the faults mentioned above, Kuchisake Onna stands out as an average J-Horror entry at best. One wishes that the director would have made the female parts more interesting, willful, and less fiendish. It would have made the film a lot more interesting.

Bottom Line- Average J-Horror entry with some major faults.

Awful ghost tale that is neither scary nor horrific...

[jmaruyama · 3/10 · 29 July 2007]

What was once thought of as a mere urban legend (a tall, surgical-masked woman who spirits off with young children during the twilight hours) turns out to be something much more than a scary tale. This is the premise behind Shiraishi Koji's latest horror/thriller "Kuchisake Onna" (Slit Mouth Woman).

"Kuchisake Onna" begins with the abductions of several children in the Kanegawa prefecture of Japan. Neighborhood gossip attributes the kidnappings to a wives' tale of a horrifically scarred ghost called "Kuchisake Onna" (Slit-Mouth Woman) who wears a surgical-mask to hide her deformity.

The local elementary school, where many of the abducted were students, steps up efforts to protect their students by having teachers escort the students to and from school. Teachers Yamashita Kyoko (Sato Eriko) and Matsuzaki Noboru (Kato Haruhiko) are among the teachers assigned to help out.

Amid the hysteria of the kidnappings, Yamazaki learns that her student Sasaki Mika (Kuwana Rie) has been physically abused by her mother (Kawai Chiharu) and does not want to go home. This strikes a raw chord with Yamazaki as she herself lost custody of her own child whom she abused a year ago. As they talk, the "Kuchisake Onna" appears and spirits off Mika. Yamazaki tells police that what she saw was definitely not human. Police Officials dismiss her claims as nonsense and she is put on administrative leave. Matsuzaki is the only one who believes her and suspects that "Kuchisake Onna" is the inhuman vengeful spirit of his own mother (Mizuno Miki) who abused both he and his siblings and who suffered from TB (Tuberculosis).

Together they attempt to unravel this ghostly mystery. What they find however is even more dark and tragic than they were led to believe.

"Kuchisake Onna" is a lackluster bore with cheap thrills, a silly story and embarrassing acting. I'm a big fan of both statuesque, model/actress Sato Eriko (Playgirl, Cutie Honey) and stunt woman turned actress Mizuno Miki (Senrigan, My Lover Is A Sniper, Odoru Dai Sousasen) but frankly their acting here is terrible.

The movie is neither horrific, thrilling nor suspenseful and is almost like some cheap TV movie you'd find late at night on subscription cable.

There are one or two somewhat frightful scenes but they unfortunately are too few and far in between.

The "Kuchisake Onna" character definitely has a freakishly interesting look, which bears a resemblance to Christopher Nolan's new Joker design for the upcoming "Dark Knight" movie as well as Asano Tadanobu's Kakihara character in "Koroshi No Ichi".

Shiraishi Koji (who also wrote the screenplay) is no stranger to the genre having directed other cheap horror projects like "Noroi" and "Ju-Rei" but is unable to elicit the genuine shocks and thrills like his contemporaries Nakata Hideo (Ring) or Shimizu Takashi (Ju-on: The Grudge) did in their movies and what we get is just a tame ghost story with no bite.

The central focus on "tween" characters seems to suggest that this film may have been aimed towards children and hence the relative low volume of bloodshed (although as mentioned above there are one or two scenes that are somewhat frightening).

The overall themes of child abuse are used merely as a provocative and exploitive vehicle. It is a cheap shot used in the hopes of sparking some sort of emotional response and we don't really see it examined in any serious or meaningful way.

"Kuchisake Onna" reminds me of Clive Barker's "Candyman" in spirit with perhaps Wes Craven's "Nightmare on Elm Street" thrown in for good measure but with none of either films' inventiveness.

The predictable ending leaves open the unlikely chance of a sequel but I hope that this does not transpire as just the thought of another "Kuchisake Onna" film...well, that would be the true horror!

Cheesy and predictable, with mediocre acting... BUT I LOVED IT!

[larrylare · 8/10 · 22 February 2014]

This is probably one of the cheesiest films I've seen in awhile. I'm really used to seeing perfectly executed scenes with extremely complex story lines so it was nice to watch a horror where I was able to just sit back, relax, and kind of 'laugh' at the holes in plot and the really cheesy physical violence scenes.

The plot is all over the place at the beginning but by the end, somehow they manage to successfully make sense of the main plot and subplots that took place throughout the movie.

"Kuchisake-onna" is different from most cheesy horror films I've seen because it actually evoked emotion. About 45 minutes or so in I was already rooting for the two lead characters, and there were also several moments throughout the film I actually found heartwarming.

This film deserves at least a 6.5 in my opinion, don't expect it to be the best movie you've ever seen and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

HorrorVixen is right, Great concept, lousy presentation (writing & acting)

[joonchan69 · 4/10 · 23 August 2010]

When I moved to South Korea a few years back, I heard about the Red Mask urban legend and discovered this movie. Based on the urban legend I was really stoked to see this movie. Great concept but failed to deliver on everything. There were no scenes that made me jump out of my chair like "Paranormal Activity" or Blair Witch did.

What really upset me was the fact, the male school teacher helped in the hunt, but he was a girly man and the sliced mouth woman moved slow as molasses yet he got his butt whipped. An average man would have kicked her butt based on how slow she moved. There was also a scene where a boy sees his mother killed, yet he has no psychological trauma from the experience at all.

If you want to watch some good Japanese movies, watch the Ring or Battle Royale, The All Night series, watch anything else but this movie. You'll want 90 minutes of your life back after watching this movie

at least she has nice teeth

[chelano · 5/10 · 14 October 2011]

First I will say that I don't really need to mention the cast. Well I will mention Miki Mizuno who plays the slit-mouthed woman. She was pretty scary. I only really liked her character, but thank god the others kept dying. This movie was based on a myth, which always gives a horror film an extra creepy film. Don't get me wrong, I did like the story and how it was laid out. The acting was OK. That is why I thought the film was decent. But it had things in it that did seem to upset me. I understood the story line, but parts of it they could of left it. Seemed to cheesy at some parts. That and some of the characters seemed why too scared at one moment and then they would get this courage to be brave. Wouldn't work though. I think the film as potential. If they made another, they could probably make it more scary and better. The film runs an hour and a half, but I think if they added about twenty more minutes, they could of explained a few holes.

Ew

[rishavdevrani · 1/10 · 21 April 2020]

Ew, you call this a movie. How dare you. I need this level of confidence in my life, the level which the creators of this movie had, in order to release it.