Sayuru is an ordinary teenage girl. But one day everything changes when she learns that she apparently died. Even though she is dead, she is still in the mind and wandering around at home on days like a ghost. But her family is ready to do anything to get rid of the ghost.
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HIDESHI HINO HORROR THEATER: DEAD GIRL WALKINGYuri is a teenage girl who inexplicably drops dead in her family's home...but it turns out she isn't exactly 'dead'. She still walks, talks, and acts as she did before her death (at least for a while...)-only main difference is now she's starting to rot. Her family is extremely cold to their daughter's plight-and are only concerned with how to dispose of her now that she's become a putrefying nuisance. Yuri eventually leaves home and is picked up by a seemingly helpful stranger...but the stranger is not so 'helpful' after all- and uses Yuri as an attraction in a freak-show, and then dumps her on the side of the road once she's used up. Her parents hunt her down to try to finish the job that her 'death' didn't-but to no avail...DEAD GIRL WAlKING is another very solid entry in the HIDESHI HINO HORROR THEATER six short-film series. The storyline ranges from sad, to amusing, to grotesque- all in less than an hour run-time...not an easy feat to accomplish. The family's attempts to dispatch of their semi-dead daughter are both harrowing and semi-comical, and Yuri's obvious feelings of isolation and alienation from family and friends because of her 'condition' are quite palpable. The stark b/w footage used after her death was a smart artistic decision on behalf of the director-and adds further weight to the dark tone of the film. The score of the film is really well-done as well, and is very 'classic horror' in nature- another layer that mixed with the b/w footage, adds to the overall impact. One of the best entries in a pretty solid series-the only entry of which that I didn't like was OCCULT DETECTIVES CLUB. Otherwise-I'd recommend the entire series-including this really solid entry. 8.5/10
What an odd little movie. At 44 minutes and shot on digital video, this is more of an art piece than a full-length film. Creepy and poetic, it proves that Koji Shiraishi is am extremely talented director. His underrated movie "Ju-Rei: The Uncanny" has been heavily trashed by American viewers online, but I think it's the very model of Asian horror. Deceptively simple cinematography filled with unexpected surprises, quietly creepy atmosphere, and a few good shocking jolts. "Dead Girl Walking" looks great for video, the story is surreal and haunting, and the ending is heartbreaking. Interesting. But I'd only recommend it to hardcore J-horror fans and avant-garde film buffs.
This short is both very grim and quite funny. The dead girl is such a good girl--a real sweetheart. Nevertheless, in spite of her inner goodness, she is subjected to horrible abuse by fate in general and by her parents in particular. The fact that she is such a sweet and dutiful daughter makes her posthumous abuse by her family the most unfair and confusing part of her death. And still, she literally plods on in misery, losing body parts and suffering humiliation with stoic resignation. In one sense, the film plays off of a universal teenage-girl fantasy of self-pity: "I'm always so good, and look how they treat me. I really don't deserve this. If I dropped dead, they'd be sorry." But part of the horrible joke is that she does in fact drop dead, and instead of being mourned, she only becomes a garbage disposal problem. By twisting this daydream to ludicrous extremes, the film both amuses and horrifies. The images are both surreal and laughably gory. Good job!
Dead Girl Walking: 6 out of 10: If you watched the recently released Japanese horror anthology movie Rampo Noir this film might seem like a missing fifth chapter (And it certainly would have made a better fit that that Yoko Ono Mars short.) Dead Girl Walking takes a singular premise (girl has heart attack and dies, yet body refuse to de-animate to the confusion and distress of the girl and her family.) and runs with it. The film consists of this Japanese school girl slowly decomposing as her parents and others attempt to put her to rest.It is a Japanese television production from the Theater of Horror but unlike other segments from the series it has decent gore effects and good direction. The only real problem with Dead Girl Walking is as a stand alone project there really isn't much there.Once the girl starts decomposing the story arc is pretty well set. While the film is both creative (Sometimes reaching an avant garde level of consciousness in its visuals) and deceptively humorous (the family's attempts to dispose of the girl are in reality quite funny) its conclusion is never really in doubt.In addition the characters themselves seem almost cartoonish. (Which in it's own way adds to the surrealistic effect of the proceedings.) A decent ride for both fans of high art and gore hounds alike Dead Girl Walking is an above average television short.
