Much criticism is being pointed at the new(ish) crop of Asian horror, due in part to a lack of originality. Yogen, aka Premonition, can at least be spared this criticism - not one grumpy long haired female spectre in sight! The story itself is also fairly original, with our protagonist stuck in an eternal hell as the curse of the 'Paper Of Death' weaves its evil spell over him and his family. Unfortunately, the director never quite delivers on the scares the premise promises, and too many missed opportunities to strike genuine fear into the audience leave us with yet another Asian Ghost flick that, whilst it has its moments, overall will disappoint those looking for genuine creeps.
Having watched the film several times, along with its J-Horror Theatre predecessor 'Kansen' (amongst others), one criticism I do have of the 21st Century glut of Asian horror is that most simply aren't that frightening, and Yogen is no exception.
The reason I began collecting Asain horror DVDs was that they brought a genuine breath of fresh air to a genre long since left stale by a seemingly endless run of American slasher flicks, with their annoying, half naked teen protagonists, cartoony killers and cheap 'scares'. The Japanese showed us that horror lurks, not in 250 litres of fake blood, but in the darker corners of the imagination. Using intelligent, often sensitive stories, minimal special effects and striking imagery, fans of the genre were buoyed by the knowledge that the Horror film was not, after all, dead. I quickly began to buy the films that I had read about; Audition, Ju-On, Dark Water etc etc and eagerly looked forward to new releases, only to realise quickly that I already had the creme de la creme of Asian Horror. It is with each new release, and subsequent purchase that I again look forward to, if not stunningly original, then at least frightening films, and can honestly say that that hasn't happened in a while.
Yogen appears (for the moment at least) to be the last of the J-Horror Theatre releases, the promised remaining 4 proving elusive. It also continues the trend of heavy atmospherics, interesting visuals and mainly scare free script. Not that Yogen doesn't have its moments, but the majority of the film follows the usual 'investigation' plot, where our heroes must find out 'why' the events are occurring. Surely much of the fear factor is 'not' knowing? Anyway, suffice to say that Yogen still entertains on a level, it's just that that level is more psychological than genuine horror, and with a (literally) big bang start and intriguing conclusion, the mid section drifts through a desert of scare free exposition and ubiquitous, sometimes dull plot development that sadly, I have come to expect from more recent releases. I'm just hoping that the next in the series, the writers and director remember that they are producing a 'horror' film.
Having watched the film several times, along with its J-Horror Theatre predecessor 'Kansen' (amongst others), one criticism I do have of the 21st Century glut of Asian horror is that most simply aren't that frightening, and Yogen is no exception.
The reason I began collecting Asain horror DVDs was that they brought a genuine breath of fresh air to a genre long since left stale by a seemingly endless run of American slasher flicks, with their annoying, half naked teen protagonists, cartoony killers and cheap 'scares'. The Japanese showed us that horror lurks, not in 250 litres of fake blood, but in the darker corners of the imagination. Using intelligent, often sensitive stories, minimal special effects and striking imagery, fans of the genre were buoyed by the knowledge that the Horror film was not, after all, dead. I quickly began to buy the films that I had read about; Audition, Ju-On, Dark Water etc etc and eagerly looked forward to new releases, only to realise quickly that I already had the creme de la creme of Asian Horror. It is with each new release, and subsequent purchase that I again look forward to, if not stunningly original, then at least frightening films, and can honestly say that that hasn't happened in a while.
Yogen appears (for the moment at least) to be the last of the J-Horror Theatre releases, the promised remaining 4 proving elusive. It also continues the trend of heavy atmospherics, interesting visuals and mainly scare free script. Not that Yogen doesn't have its moments, but the majority of the film follows the usual 'investigation' plot, where our heroes must find out 'why' the events are occurring. Surely much of the fear factor is 'not' knowing? Anyway, suffice to say that Yogen still entertains on a level, it's just that that level is more psychological than genuine horror, and with a (literally) big bang start and intriguing conclusion, the mid section drifts through a desert of scare free exposition and ubiquitous, sometimes dull plot development that sadly, I have come to expect from more recent releases. I'm just hoping that the next in the series, the writers and director remember that they are producing a 'horror' film.
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