Japanese director Takashi Shimizu creates another mind-blowing addition to the J-horror genre. Although I may not have cared for Ju-on (2002)--later remade with American actors in The Grudge (2004)--Shimizu's Reincarnation is a tightly-woven story that unravels perfectly. The story is part horror, part mystery. The clever twist set this movie more as a supernatural whodunit than a typical horror flick, which is what gave Reincarnation this edge.

There are two existing timelines: the first one is 35 years ago when a professor murders 11 people at the Ono Kanko Hotel, including his children, and commits suicide; the second is in present time when a director Matsumura (Kippei Shiina) creates a movie based on this true crime story.

He casts a young actress, Nagisa Sugiura (Yuka), to play the daughter of the professor, a pivotal role as she was the last person murdered. But from the time of her audition, Nagisa has been seeing the same small girl everywhere. And as the filming begins, she experiences nightmares and hallucinations about the people that died at the hotel. It seems that the anguish from what happened 35 years ago is somehow manifesting itself once again; is the grudge of these 11 victims surfacing?

Reincarnation moves at a steady and calm pace as if it's storytelling. It's not a horror flick that aims to scare you constantly nor is there nail-biting terror or gore. Shimizu is simply telling a story, creating an atmosphere and mood to will make you feel like what you're witnessing could really happen.

There are moments in the story when Nagisa has visions of places or events she knows she's never experienced. But she can remember them as if it had happened to her. The director takes his cast to the dilapidated Ono Kanko Hotel to see the real site of the events, but Nagisa experiences the murders in front of her eyes! She doesn't know if she's one of the victims reincarnated, or if she's insane.

This concept of reincarnation, or rebirth, is very prevalent in Asian cultures. Because of the large Asian population in Hawaii, such as Buddhism, the idea of reincarnation is much a part of Hawaii's culture. If people believe in the religion these concepts are based upon, does that make the story scarier?

I first saw this film at the After Dark HorrorFest: 8 Films To Die For in November. Horrorfest is a weekend of horror films that are considered too graphic or too disturbing for general audiences. After Dark Films released eight films in approximately 500 theatres around the United States.

I wish I had seen this earlier. Just a few weeks back, I viewed The Grudge 2 (2006) in theatres--big disappointment. I thought that the J-horror genre was slowly dying down when I witnessed the lifeless regurgitation of The Grudge 2. After Reincarnation, I have hopes of a new spin on J-horrors that has potential--more complexity, dread and mystery.

Kristin's Grade: B
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Screenplay: Takashi Shimizu and Masanori Adachi
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Running Time: 95 minutes
Rated: R (for violent and disturbing content)
Japanese language with English subtitles

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