Carved (2007)

CARVED: THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN
2007
Directed by Koji Shiraishi
Starring Eriko Sato, Haruhiko Kato, Chiharu Kawai and Rie Kuwana

Horror is a genre that seems to move at light speed.  Trends come and go quicker than the rotating members of Menudo, and this has resulted in a great many things that are only a few years old having a lot of quaint nostalgic value for yours truly.  One of those things is the great Japan-style thriller brigade here in the States in the 00's, beginning with The Ring and ending (arguably) with the awful remake of Takashi Miike's One Missed Call.  As evidenced by those two titles, the spectrum in quality with these flicks ranged from the heights of awesomeness to the absolute depths of crap.  In some roundabout way, these movies had a big impact on my life, because they made me seek out a lot of the movies that they were based on.

Which brings me to Carved.  It's one of the few Japanese ghost movies that hasn't gotten the remake treatment yet, and that's understandable.  While it is about a ghost, it's really much more of a slasher flick, with plenty of killing and other sorts of debauchery to go around.  That's not to say that it lacks for atmosphere, however.  Far from it.

PLOT:  From what I can gather on the great grand interwebz, one of the most prevalent Japanese folktales is that of "the slit-mouthed woman," an angry, vengeful female ghost who kills anyone unlucky enough to cross her path.  This movie is essentially a modern retelling.  It begins with an earthquake that awakens a corpse matching the traditional description of this ghost.  From here, the woman begins causing all sorts of havoc at a local school, curiously enough asking the question "am I pretty?" before the butchering begins.  While these scenes are sporadic, they are effective.  Much of Carved consists of a core group of characters attempting to get to the bottom of the ghost's identity, and while there are portions of the story that drag (and really, guys, dragging is something that Japanese horror films specialize in), the surprisingly creepy score and atmosphere are enough to keep you lulled in.
PLOT RATING: *** out of ****.

CHARACTERS AND ACTORS:  The most important character in the movie is Noboru, a student at the school who seems to know a bit more about the slit-mouthed woman that he initially lets on.  Slight spoiler alert, Noboru has a heavy emotional background that gets explored in detail during the movie's "reveal" scenes, and the emotional resonance kind of hinges on this actor (Haruhiko Kato, for anyone who cares) being able to pull it off.  And...he doesn't.  Really, in all honesty (and man do I hate that phrase), the victim characters aren't especially captivating.  Having said that, Miki Mizuno is aces as the slit-mouthed woman herself.  Much like Takako Fuji does with Kayako Saeki (Google it, kids, if you're not one of my legions of readers or know what the hell I'm talking about), she takes a role that is mostly silent and fills it with danger and menace.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS RATING: ** out of ****. 

COOL FACTOR:  There are more than a few very well-staged murder sequences throughout this movie.  As far as body count goes, Carved has the vast majority of J-horror epics that I've seen beat, as its tone is much more in line with what we here in the States are used to when the word "horror" is mentioned than the typical Onryo ghost film.  In addition to having lots of good red stuff flying around, this is one of the few movies I can think of where the dark/gray color palette is used to great effect, casting a pretty damn foreboding mood on the entire proceedings.  Countless American action movie directors, take note.
COOL FACTOR: *** 1/2 out of ****.

OVERALL:  While not exactly a classic, Carved is a fun little flick.  The first time you watch it, you will likely be riveted by the first thirty minutes and spend the next thirty wondering when the characters will shut up so you can watch the thrilling conclusion...and I say this mainly because that's exactly what happened to me.  Yes, the middle third of the movie has an almot suicidal dry spell.  But if you stick out this bit of tedium, you won't be disappointed by this movie's amazing and suspenseful ending sequence.

OVERALL RATING: *** out of ****.  Worth a look for both J-horror AND slasher fans.  How many movies can you say that about?