In 1970, eleven people were murdered in a hotel in Gunma north of Tokyo by a man with unknown motives who himself then met a mysterious death. The murderer was a professor who killed his wife, nine of the hotel guests and finally his young daughter. Fast-forward 35 years and director Ikuo Matsumara is making a movie about the gruesome murders at the hotel. Nagisa Sugiura is auditioning for the part of the little girl that was murdered and, to her suprise, lands the role in the film, that has now been re-written for a grown woman. But shortly after the audition, on the subway home, she notices a small ghostly girl carrying a doll and from then on it just keeps going and Nagisa starts having strange visions as well as she starts to experience the 1970 murders that are happening all around her. Is she somehow connected to the little girl that was murdered and why is she re-living the 1970's hotel massacre?
Takashi (Ju-on, Marebito) Shimizu's contribution to the J-Horror Theater series is a film called Reincarnation and is the 3rd film in the series so far. While Infection was more of a pure horror movie, and Premonition had more psychological stuff to it (while it was still a horror film), Reincarnation is even more of an psychological horror that feels, for most parts of the movie, more like a thriller. One movie that came to mind when watching Rinne was The Shining, since they have more than a few things in common. It's not a bad thing though since first off The Shining is a great flick and secondly, it's not like Rinne is a complete rip-off of that movie either, it's just that they look and feel very similar at times.
I've been pretty excited to see Reincarnation since I'm a big fan of Shimizu's work (except for his US films) and also since both previous movies in the J-Horror Theater series have proven to be really good. Reincarnation is also a very good movie, but personally I don't think it's the best contribution to the series so far. It's very different from the previous films though and that alone makes it pretty interesting. My biggest problem that I had with this film though was the fact that I was expecting a scary horror movie, but got something that was a bit different. It's never good to have too high expectations and I guess I had that which made me focus on what the movie lacked horror-wise, instead of me focusing on what it really had to offer. But a few days after that I had seen it, I started to think about it and what it really was about which made it seem a bit better. So I'm definitely gonna re-watch the film soon and try to take it for what it really is, instead seeing it for what it's not.
 
I think the same thing will happen to a lot of fans of Asian horror, that you might expect Reincarnation to be a really scary horror movie and therefore might be a bit disappointed with the outcome. So bear that in mind, it's more of an psychological thriller rather than a pure horror flick. Although, towards the end of the film you'll get a whole bucket of horror poured all over you and that actually made up for a lot of what most of the movie otherwise lacked when it came to horror. The story is rather good though and watching the film kinda had the same feel to it as when reading a really suspenseful book. It was easy to get caught up in the story and the suspense was definitely there at times, but if you're just looking for really effective scares, personally I don't believe that Rinne had that much to offer.
We get to follow an actress who gets a role in a movie that is supposed to deal with a hotel massacre that took place in 1970. But as soon as she gets the part, she also starts having strange visions involving a little girl. When the cast and crew goes to the same hotel as the massacre took place in and when about to start shooting, the actress starts to experience the terror and see all the murders happening all over again. Reincarnation has some twists and turns to offer and delivers some mystery along the way. Shimizu doesn't explain everything, which I believe is great, because it makes things happen rather unexpectedly every now and then. While I can't say that the movie was completely original, it was at the same time not totally predictable, and that's worth a lot in my book.
Reincarnation proved to be a good thriller that had some psychological horror in it, but that didn't make it all the way when it came to delivering good scares. The ending was very good and satisfying though, and the last ten minutes or so had a lot of horrific scenes that were at times real eye-candy. While the movie wasn't really slow-paced, the lack of scares might make it drag a little towards the middle of the film or so, but if you're completely aware that Reincarnation will not be a very scary flick to begin with, I think that will help a lot when it comes to the pacing. Being the third film in the series, it is, just like the previous two, well worth checking out.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Rinne
J-Horror Theater Vol. 3
J horaa shiataa 3
MOVIE YEAR: 2005
DIRECTOR: Takashi Shimizu
WRITING CREDITS: Takashi Shimizu, Masaki Adachi
GENRE: Horror
CAST: Miki Sanjo, Kippei Shiina, Yűka
COUNTRY: Japan
RUNTIME: 95 min
RATING: 7/10
Reincarnation Website/IMDB Click here
Reincarnation Trailer
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