LogFAQs > #928633891

Apologies for no write-ups yesterday, just got a little busy. I'm gonna try to do some extra today to make up for it!

82. Tales of Terror (12.5 points)
Nominated by: ihatethiscpu (3/5 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AtDmJGZFKU" data-time="

Importance: 1
Fear: 4.5
Snake: 7

Tales of Terror is a pretty obscure Japanese anthology film, and like most anthology films, it can be a very uneven experience at times. The shorts here run the gamut from humorous to genuinely terrifying to downright depressing. Let's start with the first short, "The Nightwatchmen", a prime example of the former. The two bumbling, titular characters are fantastic, and I love how the short builds-up all these false jump scares in a very amusing fashion. It would be something that could be annoying if not done properly, but the acting totally sells it. At times, it does get genuinely creepy, but it always pulls you back in with a joke, like the ending with one guard surrounded by spirits. I just love how causally the twist is played off. It is really inventive.

The second short is good, but not as creative in my opinion. "Wisps of Smoke" follows three women going to a business retreat, and I really love their personalities. The set-up is classic American slasher material, but the content is all Japanese, with a focus on nature and how you're supposed to treat it with reverence and respect. The ending comes in like a bolt of lightning, a sudden jolt of horror adrenaline that absolutely shocks the senses.

The next couple of shorts start to lose me a little though. "The Gloves" mainly plays out like a dull drama, and the camera shots and dry characters don't do much for me. The ultimate scare, with the disembodied gloves, is decent in concept, but lacks solid execution. "The Weight" is a real short one, and the antagonist does give off a creepy tone, but it's a little too short to be very effective to me. It does give me a little Junji Ito vibe though. "Full-Length Mirror" also has an interesting main concept, but all it really does is build up to a scare that got the biggest laugh out of me, but at the same time, I could see it getting people pretty bad.

Things pick back up again with the absolutely superb "Line of Sight", my favorite short of the whole film. It's definitely the most fleshed-out story, and I like that in addition to focusing on the horror aspects, it also prominently features commentary on bullying and school popularity, the belief in curses, and even poignant contemplating on ones future. It really gives the short such a powerful weight to it, and when the horror elements truly start creeping in, some shots at the end gave me the god damn chills in a way I haven't felt in a long time. If you're going to watch one short, make it this one. It starts about 50:21 into the video above.

Coming to a close, "The Promise" is a rather uneventful short for most of its running time, with some elements of comedy again as this apartment becomes more and more trashed. The ending is pretty good though, with a woman, which I think is supposed to be based on Hachishakusama of last Snake horror list fame, appearing in a very twisted manner and stalking the main character at the end. The film closes out with with "Hisao", a truly depressing tale about a woman missing her son who committed suicide. Some of the shots in this short are extremely heartbreaking, and the ending nearly moved me to tears. This is also one of the essentials I think you should give a watch too (1:17:16). It's scary in that existential way.
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I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back.
https://i.imgtc.ws/2Q88rI4.gif - https://i.gifer.com/E07R.gif