Rated PG-13 for terror, disturbing images, sexual content and language.
86 Minutes

Directed By: Masayuki Ochiai
Written By: Luke Dawson
Staring: Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina, David Denman, John Hensley, and Maya Hazmen

Review

Horror films are notorious in my book for having no predictability as to whether or not they will be good movies based on their trailers, unless of course it’s hot bikini girls fighting zombies.  That kind of trailer gives you a decent prelude to what kind of movie it will be.  Shutter was a film that showed a curious trailer, done by producers that has been responsible for other horror films that have been successful (The Ring and The Grudge), so why shouldn’t Shutter fall into that same category?  The answer is simple: because it was uber lame and mostly, just not scary.

A happy new married couple takes their honeymoon in Japan where the newlywed hubby is set to spend a season in his profession as a photographer.  The couple couldn’t be more in love and happy about their future together.  When the new bride (Rachael Taylor) begins to notice strange white fogs in her photo’s she begins to get disturbed, and evenmore-so after she gets into a car accident after thinking she hit a girl passing the road.  With no body or evidence to support the suspicion she begins to believe it was in her head, until strange things begin happening around their new apartment, and then finally she sees the girl in the apartment.  Is she a ghost or is some other tomfoolery going on?

I’m a supporter of the creepy ghost movie that leaves more to the imagination that the jump out and scare you “Boo” type films.  Movies like “The Others” and “Poltergeist” is the kind of scary that I indulge in.  Shutter seemed right up that ally, but whether the director was getting over ambitious or just felt the pressure to one up his former work Shutter failed by trying to make too many twists and turns with a forced sense of fear driven into each scene.  Everything was so obvious and blatant.  It’s usually fun to know just a little more than our protagonists, or have the edge on what’s going to happen by just a small bit, but here you could pretty much see what was going to happen right up to the finale.  The foreshadowing lacked any ominous or spooky suspense.  The entire movie just felt like a fish dead in the water.

The performances by the actors weren’t anything to get excited about either.  Joshua Jackson was the only one who was really tested in his abilities and his awkwardness with his emotion and his “other” side with unveiling moments was naked for the viewer to see.  It was almost as though he didn’t even believe what his character was going through or what had happened.  If it feels like even the actor playing the role can’t commit to the story, how is the audience supposed to?  The character’s go through change after change by the five different finales you think the film gives you, until the actual conclusion, which had me laughing rather than gasping.

It’s a short film, but by halfway through you  just want it to be over.  The character’s never engage you, even Rachael Taylor, who was the only solid aspect of the movie, couldn’t quite connect the story with the events that were transpiring.  The disconnect killed any attempt at suspense or interest that could have been built.  The concept behind the photos was just kind of overplayed anyway, and lost most of it’s relevance halfway through.  When it’s brought up again at the end I had almost forgotten the earlier connection.  The ghostly moments were never frightening, if anything some were kind of humorous, though I don’t think they were supposed to be funny.

I really enjoy this taste of horror.  Ghost stories always intrigue me, and being a fan of “The Ring” I had some hopes for Shutter.  It should have been called “Flushed” and left at that.  I can’t imagine anyone liking this movie unless staring at a wall is a fun pastime for them, or a possible Dawson’s Creek fan that can’t seem to let go of their crush on Joshua Jackson.  Otherwise, who this film would appeal to is beyond me.  If you have eighty-six minutes of your life that you feel like tossing away with disregard, then by all means, watch Shutter.

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