is a 2011 Japanese horror 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. Accor ...

. The film involves Kiriko (Hikari Mitsushima) and her younger half-brother Daigo (Takeru Shibuya) who are haunted by a large rabbit-doll. ''Tormented'' premiered at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...

on September 7, 2011.

Plot

In Japan, Kiriko (

Hikari Mitsushima is a Japanese actress, singer and model. In 2017 she was the vocalist and dancer in Mondo Grosso's videos for "Labyrinth", which has garnered over 32 million views on YouTube as of 2 February 2022, and "In this World". Career She began her mus ...

) and her younger half-brother Daigo (

Takeru Shibuya is a masculine Japanese given name. Orthography Takeru can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 武, "warrior" * 猛, "fierce" * 健, "health" * 尊, "noble" * 岳, "mountain" The name can also be written in hiragana or ka ...

) live with their father Kohei (

Teruyuki Kagawa is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor and boxing commentator. Biography Born in 1965, his parents are the kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III and the cinema actress Yuko Hama. His grandmother is the film actress Sanae Takasugi. In the Kabuki world, ...

) who is a book illustrator. One day Daigo inexplicably beats a rabbit to death outside his school and subsequently stops attending classes. Kiriko becomes worried by Daigo's behaviour while their father ignores the problem as he is caught up in latest job: a pop-up book about ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

''. Later, Kiriko takes Daigo to watch the 3-D horror film '' The Shock Labyrinth'' involving a rabbit doll which appears to float out of the screen and into Daigo's hands. Daigo takes it home. That night a large version of the doll pulls him through a cupboard into a fairground. The next night Daigo is pulled by the rabbit through the mattress of his bed. Kiriko follows him this time and the group goes to an abandoned hospital. Later, Kiriko tells her father that "Kyoko is coming. I saw her. Daigo too." Kiriko then recalls when she was younger and Kohei brought home his pregnant second wife, Kyoko. Kiriko attacked Kyoko and now Kiriko and Daigo seem to believe that Kyoko has come back to haunt them in a rabbit costume and are determined to destroy the doll.

Production

''Tormented'' was the first film where director

had worked with cinematographer Christopher Doyle. This film was Doyle's first work in 3D. Shimizu stated that he and Doyle "clashed a lot" on set, but also that "if any one understood our intentions – or more to the point, felt them – it was probably Chris, the Troublesome but Refined Old Bastard."

Release

The film was shown out of competition at the

on September 7, 2011. The film was released theatrically in Japan on September 17. The film was subsequently shown in competition at the Sitges Film Festival in October and at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November. Along with Shimizu's '' The Shock Labyrinth'', ''Tormenteds theatrical, DVD, digital,

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

, and television rights have been bought by

Well Go USA A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

from

Fortissimo Films Fortissimo Films is a Dutch sales, film production company specializing in the production, presentation, promotion and distribution of feature films, founded in 1991

Reception

Derek Elley of Film Business Asia gave the film a six out of ten rating, noting that the film has "more atmosphere than plot" '' Screen Daily'' gave the film a favorable review praising that it made a "giant furry rabbit suit scary" and the film's use of 3D. The '' Japan Times'' gave the film a rating of two and a half out of five, praising the film's cast but they "can't overcome the View-Master diorama atmospherics." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a mixed review, noting that ''Tormenteds script "lacks the extra layers of meaning and symbolism that make the best kind of horror pics so effective" while stating that the film "works perfectly adequately"

References

External links

* {{Takashi Shimizu 2011 horror films 2011 films Films directed by Takashi Shimizu Films about mental health Japanese horror films Japanese ghost films 2010s ghost films 2011 3D films Japanese 3D films Films scored by Kenji Kawai 2010s Japanese films