Curse Death & Spirit (DVD)

Curse Death & Spirit is the DVD version of a television show that aired in Japan several years back, and it features the early work of Ringu and Dark Water director, Hideo Nakata.

If you can look past the very low-budget, shot-on-video look and the really silly special effects, you just might enjoy this look into A-horror, TV-style. Somewhat reminiscent of a cross between Unsolved Mysteries and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?, Curse Death & Spirit offers up three reenactments of "true" ghost stories.

The Cursed Doll

The Cursed Doll opens on what is perhaps the Japanese version of a campfire tale; teenaged girls at a slumber party are gathered 'round several glowing candles while one of them, Satomi, recounts a chilling tale. Flashbacks reveal how she came to be possessed by an evil, black-haired, kimono-wearing doll.

At first, Satomi heard a voice calling her from somewhere within the house. The disembodied verbalizations lead to a secret hiding place, where she finds a beautiful porcelain doll. She assumes it's a family heirloom, and starts to grow obsessed with its origins. Before long, the doll is obsessed with Satomi, too — it calls her, taunts her, and scares her. The doll laughs, and it sheds long, dark hairs on the stairs between her bedroom and the front door.

Satomi tries to get rid of it, but the doll is "a part of the family" and won't be so easily cast off.

The Spirit of the Dead

The Spirit of the Dead opens on a father's death in the hospital. Left behind are his wife, Takako, and his young son, Yuta. Yuta sees his father's ghost ascend into the heavens, and from that day on the boy is sensitive to the spirit world. Unfortunately, not all spirits are as benevolent as his father.

A few months after dad's death, Takako decides to take Yuta on a camping trip. Along for the ride is another mom, and a young girl. No sooner do the campers enter a beautiful, isolated area, than Takako feels a eerie premonition. Yuta feels something, too — the pull of a mysterious ghost who lives in the waterfall and is trying to replace her own lost child.

This is the most sentimental and least scary episode, but it showcases some of Nakata's burgeoning mastery of suspense.

The Haunted Inn

Three schoolgirls are out on a holiday, videotaping everything. They're typical giggly, silly teens, happy to be out on their own for a few days, at least. The Yamate Inn may not be perfect — but the price was right, and it's a beautiful showplace, once the home of a very rich man. He was forced to sell the mansion, and now it's a quaint B&B. Like most such places, it has its very own ghost.

The moment they set foot in the Inn, one of the girls gets a niggling creepy feeling as she goes up the stairs. Later, a child's distant laughter can be heard. Red nail polish is found as if by magic in a previously empty drawer. The video camera starts showing some strange imagery.  

Unaware of the tragedy that occurred there, the girl find themselves in the presence of an insistent spirit who forces them to repeat the events of a fateful day.

Overall, Curse Death & Spirit was just too cheaply made and too basic for me to fully enjoy; but for diehard fans of J-horror, and especially Nakata's considerable clique of cheerleaders, it's worth the price of a rental.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson