Occult (2009) User Reviews

Pretty good with 10-star sound mixing

[hannah-mae91 · 7/10 · 5 February 2022]

The sound mixing and soundtrac of this movie genuinely got under my skin. I started watching with headphones but had to stop because my anxiety was going through the roof. The plot is interesting and enjoyable, and the not-great graphics at the end actually adds to the surreality. The twist seemed obvious due to the guy in the alley, but that's ok. It was well executed nonetheless.

The scariest scene to me was the hike up the mountain. I've never been to Japan but when I see those large swathes of forested mountains, it always gives me a similar feeling as the book House of Leaves, like Japan is bigger inside the island than it should rightfully be. I know that's not true, but it's my gut feeling anyway. And the way the camera focuses on the landscape and the person leading the hike, no words spoken between the two, it unsettled me deeply.

Good, but no Noroi

[grey1066 · 6/10 · 9 September 2016]

I enjoyed this film which, as many reviewers have already said, is of the Noroi "POV" variety, shot on hand-held cameras. I adored Noroi which I think is one of the best horror films ever made, which makes for a bad comparison with this film. The characters are interesting and kept me guessing, which is a definite plus, since most of the movie is from their point of view (i.e. their camera). The bad special effects some have spoken of are short and, while yes they are quite bad, really only serve to drive home the end scene; could've been done better, but you still get the point.

Sum up: Taken on its own, "Occult" is a good POV film, but it pales in comparison to many of its precursors. It's definitely worth at least one watch.

A Decent Watch

[Dorjee_Wang · 6/10 · 11 November 2020]

A Mockumentary by the director of the brilliant Noroi, Occult follows a documentary-making crew and a survivor of a cult-like accident. The film is scattered with lovecraftian imagery and themes of a higher being driven world. The score is very eerie and adds to the film's charm. Acting and direction are decent for a low budget film. The ending is incredibly weird and is well worth the watch. The main negative I'd say is the special effect but as it's a low budget film, the flaw is easy to overlook. Another thing is unlike Noroi, the film doesn't delve into the mythos in deep so that's a disappointment. Albeit it's still a decent watch.

Spooky, intense but not quite there yet

[gotafever · 6/10 · 4 February 2015]

I became interested in Shiraishi's work after watching the great Noroi: The Curse (2005). This film follows the same kind of narrative, which is based on a mystery. The difference is here we look at it from the mockumentary angle and not the found-footage type of story.

The acting is great, and it also includes a little cameo from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa - famous for Pulse (2001) and Cure (1997).The mystery is quite interesting and spooky and it keeps you on the edge of your seat up until halfway through the film.

At this point the mystery is abandoned and it becomes a different kind of story. It's still pretty good, but it feels like they're cheating, since they've been building up something and then simply abandon it for the sake of the characters.

Also, the special effects are quite terrible. Noroi had some great SFX, but this movie (made 4 years later) doesn't quite deliver. I could still swallow it if hadn't been for the ending. It's pretty crappy.

The SFX directly affect the story, because it doesn't make it "believable" enough, and the events that happen throughout the film demand more and more of that belief. I would even say it goes a little too far for me.

Still, the film delivers a good mystery but it eventually demands you to let go of it and just enjoy the ride.

A strange sense of nostalgia.

[arijitbiswas-76811 · 7/10 · 10 June 2022]

Since I was a child, I've always been fascinated with sci-fi conspiracy shows and documentaries. This film teleported me to my 13 years old self.

I would've never discovered this film if I didn't go on a j-horror binging. I started out with Audition (1999), Ringu (1998) and then I saw Noroi: The Curse (2005). And something about the found footage/documentary style of cinematography felt... Humane. So I decided to watch more of Koji Shiraishi's films and I stumbled upon Occult (2009). It's in the same style as Noroi: The Curse(2005), found footage film in the style of a documentary. Even though watching the plot slowly unfold is a sight to admire, at some points it gets too slow. But what truly keeps this film alive is the truly amazing soundtrack. The CGI was horrible but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

All and all, a wonderful mixture of Sci-fi Conspiracy, J-Horror and Lovecraftian Horror. It gave me nothing short of a strange sense of nostalgia.

{If you enjoyed this film, you should check out Resolution (2012) and Endless (2017) }

It's a killer not a filler

[neil-upto11 · 8/10 · 8 February 2011]

This director has really got the whole 'camcorder horror' schtick down to a fine art. The film is a great combination of realism, suspense and chills (both supernatural and more tangible terrors).

The pace is pretty good throughout and picks up nicely towards the dramatic climax.

All the actors put in a good turn and the lead role is outstanding. His character is difficult to define and this ambiguity adds nicely to the general feel of unease and confusion.

My only moan would be the special effects. Now I know that you can get away with very cheap effects if they are executed well (indeed, this happens regularly throughout the film) but on a couple of occasions (trust me, you'll know when) it becomes impossible to ignore the realisation that the SFX budget wouldn't have paid for a 2nd-hand television.

But Im nit-picking. The film really delivers. I am a big fan of Japanese horror and this one is right up there.

Delightfully creepy Japanese mockumentary does the business.

[wadechurton · 8/10 · 7 August 2013]

'Okaruto (Occult)' (2009) is a Japanese 'mockumentary' in which the movie- makers seek to investigate an apparently random stabbing attack on a remote bridge, and discover a far larger and very disquieting force is at work which is only growing in power and influence. It's a slow-builder, but once you're hooked, you have to watch until the end. The final CGI- composed shot is perhaps just a little bit of a letdown (as are some of the other 'filmed' effects during the movie), but it sure is fun getting there, as the clues mount up into an inescapable, tense conclusion. The acting is excellent throughout, and best of all is that you can see it for free on YouTube.

Excellent! Director of Noroi

[krakanova · 8/10 · 24 May 2015]

Documentary investigating a multiple murder partially recorded with a cell phone and the sole survivor of the attack. Eno-kun is homeless and sleeps in internet cafes if he can afford it. He is around and (with a camera,) captures supernatural occurrences frequently, and has a scar that was carved into his back by the murderer. He is befriended by one of the documentarians and admits his plans for a similar killing for his god, as he is a Chosen One.

Excellent! Very original story. Acting is par and above par for a found footage film. Director of Noroi: The Curse. Please add posters to this director's films

Do whatever you can to watch this film.

[trickpixel · 8/10 · 2 April 2011]

In my opinion if you loved Director Kôji Shiraishi's film Noroi, then you will absolutely love this film. It is done in the same mockumentary style as Noroi. I want to say the most similar US film to date to Occult/Okaruto is The Last Exorcism, but to me, this was a much more rewarding film. Shiraishi bravely manages to intertwine so many subjects and themes in this film: UFOs, the supernatural, ghosts, paranormal voices, seemingly random acts of violence and terrorism, and much more.

Part of what I loved about Noroi was following all the clues and tying together all the fake and real history right along with the film's faux dockumentary filmmakers. It just works really well within the mockumentary medium. This movie paces much more nicely toward a final climax, I feel much better than Noroi did too. I had a real hard time finding this film subtitled. I really hope it gets a proper US release, and I really want American filmmakers to pay attention!!

Spoiler: I will just run through the introduction to this movie, because its the "slowest" part of the film. The film focuses on a documentary crew interviewing survivors and witnesses of a stabbing incident at a famous national mountain park area. The stabbing happened on a bridge, where the "crazed" man kills two people and carves an odd symbol on a third man. Most of the film unravels as we follow this third Man/survivor as he undergoes changes from the stabbing incident. Unravels is exactly what this film does, as one clue after another leads to stranger and more frightening consequences. The acting is great, the main character of this film/the man who survived the stabbing incident, is so great at being this type of regular man who hides a secret greater plan. I feel like that could have easily broken this film, if that character was at any point too unbelievable/overacted/etc, but no, he remains so seemingly dismissive as a pretend ordinary joe but yet... I don't want to spoil any more, but I really appreciated that character.

This film is definitely not without flaws, but all of them can be easily forgiven. The greatest and most obvious weakness would be it's special effects budget.

Do whatever you can to watch this film.

One of Shiraishi's Finest

[Raptorclaw155 · 8/10 · 19 October 2019]

It's taken me years to finally get around to seeing this film and that's mostly because I've seen so many positive reviews of it as I have Noroi and I was afraid that this film would not live up to the level of quality that Noroi was. As it tuns out, however, this film definitely lives up to those positive opinions. I wouldn't say that it perfectly matches Noroi's level of quality, but it is pretty darn close.

This film is made in a similar style to Noroi in that it is a found footage mockumentary horror film- which seemed to be a favorite style of Shiraishi's in this period of time in his career. The way this style is executed in this film still feels quite fresh. I think what sets this film apart from Noroi and what might make it more engaging and enjoyable for some people is that the film is structured in such a way where it doesn't go too long without anything scary happening. This film is still a pretty slow buildup but there's enough creepy punctuations throughout it that keep it feeling like it's moving forward in a way Noroi doesn't.

The acting in this film is actually quite well done, I think. Everyone feels more or less like they are playing themselves which, since this is a found footage "documentary" of sorts it works really well. Although, there were some moments where Shiraishi, himself, whenever he acts scared, seems to be overdoing it a little bit. I don't know if he's overacting on purpose but that was something I found a little more funny than scary.

The filmmaking itself is low-budget as most found footage films have the tendency to be. Something I noticed throughout the film, though, is that there are some moments where it seems like it's being filmed guerrilla-style and, knowing how something like that is generally frowned upon in Japan, I couldn't help but laugh- not necessarily because it's bad, but because of how much guts it takes to do something like that. This seems to be the case, particularly, when they go into a Manga cafe and when they go to a movie theater. I found it a bit funny, also, how he shows the poster to the movie he's about to see (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) but the poster is blurred. I found myself wondering, "what's the point of showing it if you're just going to censor it anyway?" and started laughing.

A lot of people complain that the ending of this film is bad. Even though I, myself, didn't feel that it was as bad as some people have made it out to be, I can see where they are coming from. For a film that is so grounded as this one, you'd expect, maybe, something like and ending as grounded and realistic as Noroi, but instead we are greeted by an ending that, if nothing else, illustrates with the utmost transparency the budgetary limitations of the production. It might turn some people off- I've honestly seen better horror imagery done in flash games like Exmortis, for instance. While I, myself, didn't come away from this film feeling duped or offended by the quality of the ending, I would warn any newcomers to this film to not get their hopes up too high for the ending as, even though the escalation to it is done very well, the payoff might not be what you hope.

Another thing I liked about this film was the soundtrack. The soundtrack reminds me of The Shining in that it isn't necessarily music the way we generally define it, but more like unsettling noise. It helps to add to the atmosphere of creepy scenes and I enjoyed that aspect of it.

This film isn't perfect and it is hurt significantly by its ending, however, the journey to that ending is definitely worth experiencing. This is still high-quality filmmaking and story telling and the way this film escalates the scares I think helps to make it possibly more palatable than something like Noroi which is almost entirely buildup until the last few minutes. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who might want a more unique horror film experience.