the Color of Context

Shutter: The Ring is still king
Release date: 21 March 2008
By Joe Derosa

In the 1970’s, American moviegoers were introduced to a new kind of horror known as the slasher film. Based on the popularity of movies like Halloween and Friday the 13^th, more and more slasher films hit the theaters, each trying to capitalize on the elements that seemed to have made those films popular in the first place¾ a specific date or holiday such as April Fool’s Day, or a masked killer as in The Prowler. Unfortunately, even today, 30 years later, we are watching watered-down versions that just aren’t as good as the classics they feebly try to imitate. Though the slasher film doesn’t really have an audience in Asia, that doesn’t leave them without a horror genre of their own: the ghost story. When films like Ringu (The Ring) and Ju-on (The Grudge) first came out, they were fresh, interesting¾ and scary! But much like the American slasher film, we have seen, with the passing of each year, yet another movie released that tries to capture the same lightning in a bottle as the originals they sought to emulate.

Shutter is the latest in this ever growing line of Asian horror remakes. In this supernatural thriller directed by Masayuki Ochiai, the ghost haunts the protagonists, not through a videotape, but rather, the lens of a camera. This particular brand of haunting is dubbed spirit photography, an event in which images of the dead are caught on film. Of course, the notion that ghosts can be caught on film is not nearly as eerie as its implications; because if that blurriness of light behind the people posing in the photo truly is a visitor from the beyond, then not only are we the living able to see spirits, but even scarier, they can see¾ can watch¾ us, and without any physical boundaries to deter them. Scarier still, this particular ghost is out for vengeance.

When we first meet photographer Pacey¾ whoops!¾ I mean, Benjamin Shaw (Joshua Jackson) and his new bride Jane (Rachael Taylor), they are the picture-perfect couple. On their drive home from a night out with friends, Jane and Ben strike a young woman on a dark, wooded road. Strangely, they can find no trace of her afterwards. The couple is understandably shaken, and Jane in particular has difficulty dealing with the tragedy. They decide to take a few days to enjoy their honeymoon before relocating to Japan for Ben’s new photo shoot. Problems arise when unexplainable things begin to happen. In Ben’s newly-developed photos, they notice images of a woman who bears striking resemblance to the young lady they hit the night of the accident. As the pictures become increasingly weird, Jane’s desire for answers grows.

Spooked, the couple begin to see the ghost everywhere they go. When things get violent, they become desperate to find the connection between these strange happenings and the spirit of the woman in the photographs. But when Jane discovers the same apparition in old photos that were taken before the accident, she digs deeper to find out who the mystery woman is and why she insists on haunting her and her husband.

Taylor, as Jane, emerges as the film’s standout performer. She looks like a cross between Elisha Cuthbert and Rebecca Romijn¾ beautiful, but not distractingly so, and she’s by far the most believable character in the film. And TV junkies will enjoy seeing John Hensley (Matt from Nip/Tuck) and James Kyson Lee (Ando from Heroes) round out the cast. Not to mention Jackson, who, as noted above, will, for me, always be Pacey from Dawson’s Creek (come on, you know you loved that show.)

Since 2002, when The Ring was remade for American audiences, we have seen several remakes of Asian ghost stories, such as The Grudge, Dark Water, The Pulse, One Missed Call and The Eye. They are, as a general rule, not as good as their Asian counterparts. Usually, the subtlety and ambiance of the original, in the hands of American producers, translates into in-your-face, Hollywood-style special effects. And in that respect, this remake is no different.

But¾ and this is a significant but, so pay attention¾ if Shutter was not as good as some of its predecessors, it still was better than the original, 2004 Thai version it was based on. A PG-13 rated movie, Shutter trades out-and-out gore for atmosphere and tension by taking advantage of lighting and camera angles, and accomplished this more effectively than the Thai version did. Plus, the remake delves deeper into the characters’ backgrounds, which really helped me to get more involved in the story.

Ultimately, interesting characters and general spookiness make Shutter an enjoyable experience. But it, like so many others that have come before, could not recapture the thrill of The Ring or The Grudge. And I can’t help but lament, that genre which was once so fresh and new to American audiences is already becoming just as passé as the American slasher film has.