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Shock Labyrinth 3D
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Well Go USA Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (2nd November 2012). |
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The Film
 Despite existing for a number of years beforehand, J-horror films were never much of a commodity in American theaters until “The Ring” (2002) managed to pull in a hefty $129 million. After that, theaters experienced a serious glut of J-horror remakes, so many in fact that the movement ended just as quickly as it began. Now, this is due to a couple of very clear reasons. One was that the quality of the remakes was rapidly deteriorating; the second was, quite simply, the source material for many of them wasn’t terribly good, and lazy filmmakers didn’t do much to improve upon what they had for a template. As a perfectly fitting example, director Takashi Shimizu’s U.S. remake of his own film, “Ju-On: The Grudge” (2000), titled simply “The Grudge” (2004), was a commercial hit starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, racking up over $100 million in receipts. The quickly-greenlighted sequel, “The Grudge 2” (2006), managed to scrape up a little under $40 million before exiting theaters. And, like that, the boon of Japanese horror remakes was over just as soon as it began. As a horror fan, I only bought into a few of these. Frankly, they all started to look terrible real fast, and to this day I count “The Ring Two” (2005) among the worst sequels of all-time. I still haven’t even seen any of Shimizu’s “Grudge” films, but I am familiar with his standing in the community. So, with that knowledge I was eagerly anticipating watching one of his latest films, “The Shock Labyrinth 3D” (2009). Despite an overreliance on diminutive girls with long, black hair the Japanese are very effective at crafting horror films that are unnerving in ways American filmmakers can’t seem to grasp. They possess an almost fearless attitude, making conscious, bold choices that would scare off studio execs in a flash. They aren’t afraid to get downright… weird, when the moment calls for it. It was with that knowledge, and a lengthy break from J-horror, that I settled in and waited for Shimizu to rattle my bones. Still waiting on that one. The fact that “Shock Labyrinth” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense is relatively inconsequential. As someone who has seen “Hausu” (1977), I can tell you that the Japanese have been doing indecipherable for a long time. The plot concerns the return of a thought-dead friend, who lures her old chums to a hospital. A haunted hospital. A haunted hospital that is also a labyrinth. And inside this haunted hospital labyrinth are evil things, including… a flying rabbit backpack! I can’t even try to make this film sound scary, or good, or anything that would make you want to see it. Shimizu does a good job of setting the table for hair raising events, but then he serves his guests (read: us) a heaping pile of crap. Everything plays out a lot like a soap opera, from the stark lighting right on down to the horrid acting coupled with exaggerated facial expressions at almost every line. Characters just talk…and talk… and talk, and by the time something finally does look like it’s happening, you realize it’s not. Hardly anything of note occurs throughout the 90 minutes of runtime. A great way to describe it would be if someone from Japan decided to make a horrible Dark Castle film. I know that’s a bit redundant, but even the worst of Dark Castle’s genre offerings seemed better than this. Flashbacks can be a useful tool in cinema, but an overreliance on them can seriously hamper a story. I didn’t add up the minutes, but if I had to guess I’d estimate that “Shock Labyrinth” is at least 40% flashbacks. And, again, it’s very heavy on the talking. What these scenes were supposed to be doing is a mystery to me. I think everything they told viewers could have probably been summed up in a quick spot of exposition from one of our main characters, then maybe the film could have focused on building tension, rather than cutting it every single time it appeared to be rising. The only terror I felt from scene to scene was the fear that I was about to be bored to death in 60-second increments. There was one scene that I thought was done effectively. Some of the characters wind up in a room full of creepy mannequins, all of which slowly begin to rise up like plastic zombies. Then that scene ended, though, and, well, the rest of the movie happened.
Video
The 1.85:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image Well Go has provided for this Blu-ray is a mixed bag. Let’s start with the good. I found the image to have a great amount of detail, with almost every detail in the frame focused and sharp. Colors are well represented, with many bold shades popping out of the screen. Even though most of the film takes place in dark environments, I found the picture exhibited those more strongly during the first half, while later scenes tended to look more washed out, with weaker black levels. Being that this was shot in 3D, the film takes on that weird “soap opera” quality that has plagued other 3D releases like “My Bloody Valentine” (2009). Namely, the picture just looks far too digital, almost like a home movie but not quite. There are also more than a few gags designed with the extra dimension in mind, which says to me that more care may have been put into making those effects look right rather than getting the right look for the film. By shooting in 3D, they also have to increase the lighting, which helps to remove any possible tension scenes could have had otherwise. Note that I am unable to review the 3D version of the film, but all accounts I’ve read have stated that you won’t be missing much by watching it in 2D.
Audio
This track is what got me thinking we might’ve had a winner on our hands here. The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit starts off with some frighteningly realistic sounds, in particular someone knocking on a door that sounded so legit I practically jumped because I thought it was someone at MY door. The bass of those knocks alone would be enough to wake up all my neighbors, so adjust your LFE track accordingly. At times it almost bordered on being too loud. The score is mostly comprised of piano cues, sounding more like cut scenes from a video game than the soundtrack to a theatrical film. I didn’t mind that, though, since it made it feel different from other horror soundtracks. What the film lacks in actual, visual scares it certainly makes up for with a more foreboding score. It’s too bad they couldn’t have matched up the audible tension with what we’re seeing on screen, then this might have been something worth seeking out. There is also an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track included, as well as a 2.0 option. Subtitles are available in English.
Extras
“The Shock Labyrinth 3D” comes home with a 2-disc edition that includes the film on both Blu-ray and DVD. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY Interviews (1080p/Japanese w/ English subtitles) runs for 21 minutes and 2 seconds. The cast & crew discuss the film while we’re shown some behind the scenes & finished footage. “Behind the Scenes” (1080p/Japanese w/ English subtitles) featurette runs for 9 minutes and 51 seconds. This piece was the most interesting of the bunch, featuring a look at the special FX crew making the practical effects. There are also discussions with the crew involved with setting up the 3D shots and cameras, as well as information on lighting the film. “Press Conference” (1080p/Japanese w/ English subtitles) featurette runs for 2 minutes and 48 seconds. This is sort of like a red carpet premiere, except it’s to announce the movie. At least, that’s what they seemed to be doing. The film’s theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes. Finally, the disc opens with a few bonus trailers (1080p) for the following releases: - “Splintered” runs for 2 minutes and 9 seconds. - “The Stool Pigeon” runs for 1 minute and 43 seconds. - “The Man From Nowhere” runs for 1 minute and 44 seconds. DISC TWO: DVD This is a DVD copy of the feature film, with the same bonus features included.
Packaging
The 2-disc release comes housed in a keep case with each disc housed on a hub opposite the other. A lenticular slip-cover is included. It managed to fool me into thinking the movie would be scary, so, you know, good job on that.
Overall
Yawn. I don’t know what happened to J-horror, but it doesn’t look like anything GOOD has been happening to it lately. I’d written off most of the titles coming out of Japan simply because none have looked too promising, but I thought Shimizu might reinvigorate my interest in the genre. Sadly, he did the opposite, leaving me to wonder if anyone can make worthwhile J-horror these days.
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