StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

Ploydsge just watch it!

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

asian-cineblog 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

kluseba 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.

shinnosuke 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

massaster760 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.