is a 2005

Japanese horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...

film, directed by

Takashi Shimizu Takashi Shimizu (清水崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Japan and the U.S. Accordi ...

. It centers on a hopeful actress who won a role in a film that takes her, the cast, and the crew to a hotel where the present soon collides with the past. It was released as a part of the six-volume

J-Horror Theater J-Horror Theater (:ja:Jホラーシアター, Jホラーシアター, ''J horā shiatā)'' 2004 – 2010 is an anthology of 6 Japanese horror films produced by producer Takashige Ichise (:ja:一瀬隆重, 一瀬隆重, ''ichise takashige''). Spur ...

Plot

A number of people see visions of apparently dead people: a businessman finds one behind him in an elevator and a truck driver runs over one on the road. Professor Norihasa Omori visits a local hotel and films himself killing eleven of the hotel guests, employees, and his own children before committing suicide, all as part of his wish to understand

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

. The footage of the murders disappears. Thirty-five years later, horror movie director Ikuo Matsumura decides to make a film about the massacre. As the date of the shoot draws near, Nagisa Sugiura, the actress set to star as Omori's daughter Chisato, is haunted by the ghosts of the victims. She begins hallucinating and is plagued by nightmares of the killings. She discovers an old film camera which is the same type the professor had used. Yayoi Kinoshita, a college student, meets Yuka Morita, an actress who had auditioned for Ikuo's movie. Yuka says she remembers things in a "past life" and shows Yayoi a

birthmark A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

that looks like evidence of strangulation. Ghosts later drag Yuka away. Yayoi's research takes her to the only survivor of the attack: Ayumi Omori, the professor's wife. She explains that he had become obsessed with the idea that the body is just a vessel. During filming, Nagisa starts hallucinating. Nagisa's agent reviews the camera, which consists of the film the professor took as he committed the murders. As this film plays, Nagisa reenacts the events in her hallucination. She witnesses the actors, including Yayoi and the director, and the two men in the start of the movie, all transform into the people they portray. With the victims walking toward her, she escapes and runs into the town. Simultaneously, her agent watches the film of this escape from the professor's POV. Nagisa finds herself cornered in a store and grabs a piece of glass to kill herself. She looks at her reflection and sees the face of the professor. Her agent watches the professor in his film reveal Nagisa's reflection instead of his own in the glass, before he cuts his own throat. Nagisa starts to reenact the professor's suicide but the doll stops her to tell her they will be together forever. A group of executives watch Nagisa's take. Among them is the professor's wife. Near the end, Nagisa collapses, shaking and screaming as crew members come to her aid. By the professor's wife are her two children and the wife smiles. Sometime later, in a mental ward, Nagisa is bound in a full-body wrap and still haunted by the souls of Omori's children. The professor's wife looks at her through the door window, then passes her children's favourite toys through to Nagisa: a red ball and the doll. Nagisa screams but eventually calms down with a sinister smile as the ghosts of the children close in on her.

Cast

Release

The film was released as part of producer Takashige Ichise's

series along with ''

Infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

'', ''

Premonition A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome. Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to: Film and television * "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...

'', and '' Retribution'', among others. ''Reincarnation'' premiered at the 18th

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

in October 2005. ''Reincarnation'' was distributed theatrically by Toho on January 7, 2006. The film was released by Lions Gate Films on November 18, 2006 in the United States. It was theatrically released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as one of the eight films in the nationwide

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

After Dark Horrorfest After Dark Horrorfest (also known as "8 Films to Die For") was an annual horror film festival featuring eight independent horror movies, sometimes with "secret" bonus films, all distributed by After Dark Films in the USA. The first HorrorFest ...

, which ran November 17 through 21, 2006.

Notes

References

External links