Seance (2000)
UHM is an independently owned site that relies solely on ad revenue, so we ask that if you like this site and what we do to help support by temporarily disabling ad block (if you're using one). If you'd rather help in other ways you can also send a tip by clicking here (or the button below). Any amount helps and will go towards the costs to maintain the site. Anyone who donates will also be listed in our thanks page.
This is another one of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's horror films that I was lucky enough to check out. Another film by him that I liked was Kairo. I didn't think I would be able to check this since it was basically a movie that was made for TV and only shown in certain festivals and such. It's not as good as I thought it would be, but it's still a good movie overall. The story is about a plain married couple, with one exception - the wife is somehow able to see ghosts. The movie starts off with the wife seeing ghosts at her work and other places. At another location a little girl is kidnapped by a strange man. Fast forward a little and we meet the husband, who is a sound mixer that's out in the wilderness collecting sounds. At one point the little girl escapes her kidnapper and sneaks into the trunk that carries some of the husband's equipment. He brings the trunk home and after a while he discovers the unconscious little girl. Thinking she's dead, he panics.
She awakens and thinks she's still under her kidnappers care. The husband is scared and doesn't know what to do, so he and his wife keep the girl in the bedroom. At one point a police officer stops by to talk to the wife while the husband is in the room with the girl keeping her quiet. He ends up killing her, which causes even more trouble for them. It doesn't take long before her ghost begins to haunt them. The movie is a mix of a horror and a drama film. A lot of the movie has to do with the couple taking care of the girl and making sure she stays quiet and doesn't escape. A lot of people compare this movie a little to The Sixth Sense, because the woman is able to see ghosts and there are some small similarities to the two, but the director himself said he got his inspiration from actual accounts of people claiming to see ghosts.
The performances are excellent and so is the directing. It had good atmosphere and the story was original. My only real complaints are it moved a little too slow and there wasn't much ghost action. I also didn't really like the couple too much. Their problems could have been solved easy if they just had the balls to notify the proper authorities. Oh well. At least it had some decent creepy scenes.
A good horror film with some decent creepy scenes. It does run a little slow and turns into somewhat of a drama later on, but it's worth a watch at least once.