Stay Out of Puddles

Title:  Retribution

Actors/Director/Anything Worth Mentioning Right Away:  This film was directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.   He did the original version of Pulse as well as Cure, which I recently reviewed.

Introduction:   This is one of the six films made for the J Horror Theater series.   I got it from Netflix.

Location:  Inside some places, outside some places, mainly near water.  It had a budget, yes.

Plot:   Victims start mysteriously dying by being drowned in puddles and other such displaced salt water.  It looks as if the killer could be any number of people and this J Horror film mixes elements of suspense (more like a thriller than a tap you on the shoulder scary type of movie) but does have elements that will cause you to jump out of your seat at times.

Acting:  It’s subtitled, but from what I can tell it’s up to par.

Production:  It looks like this movie was in theaters and that’s because it probably was.

Sex/Nudity:  No, which is good because it would’ve really taken away from the plot and suspense.

Special Effects:  See: Production

Overall Verdict:  I really did like this movie, even though it’s not quite like the traditional horror (or even J Horror) that you might think of.   There aren’t really the straight out scary parts, such as in The Ring or The Grudge—well, there are they’re just more subtle and you kind of have to pay closer attention to the plot.   It’s that “whodunit” mystery mixed with the classic twists that would make Alfred Hitchcock happy.   It doesn’t have the gore you’d expect from a slasher film, it’s just a smart, very well done thinking piece.   It really does leave you guessing, even after you finish watching it.   I recommend you see this movie at least three times.