Bilgi :Mitsuru and Miwa kidnap a little girl in the hopes of collecting a huge ransom, but their risky plan takes a bizarre turn when the parents of the girl claim she has been dead for a year to the day. While holed up in an abandoned school building with their comrades deciding what to do next, very strange and violent things begin to happen as Mitsuru becomes increasingly mesmerized by the seemingly innocuous little girl.
This film is based on the short story by author Ogawa Tomoko. Ogawa is a recent yet relatively experienced author in terms of integrating her written work and cinematic production. For example, she co-authored with renowned manga artist Tsutomu Takahashi the novel Sky High upon which the theatrical release was based. The current short story is entitled Pray and is published alongside three other works by various upcoming authors including Booth by Shiraishi Mami, which has likewise been recently adapted to film. These four tales are published (together) in the first volume of the new "Absolute Terror: New Generation Thrillers Series".
This appears to be director Sato Yuichi's first full length film, though he has previously directed a couple of successful TV dramas, including the very popular Waterboys series. As his debut film, Sato's previous TV experience provides enough familiarity with style and lighting to successfully create some genuinely creepy moments. And the use of author Ogawa's multi-layered narrative is a wise move, allowing Sato to do what he does best while leaving creative storytelling to others. The cast here is comprised of relatively well-known Japanese talent, few of which, however, have much film experience. Exceptions here would include Tamayama Tetsuji (here playing Mitsuru) who generally appears in the type of films I do not watch..., Mizukawa Asami (here playing Miwa) whom you will recognize from Dark Water and Shibuya Kaidan (and more), and Kohinata Fumiyo from Audition, Ringu 2 and Ringu 0 (etc).
To say that this story breaks new ground in the horror genre would be far too generous. It does however pull several diverse themes into a well-knit whole, mixing depictions of malicious spirits, traditional notions of the afterlife, and crime/gang suspense. The film runs at a remarkably brief 77 minutes yet finds enough time to adequately tell its tale, define those involved, and arrive at a satisfying (and developed) conclusion. I suspect that at around the 40 minute mark you will have put together all the major pieces of this puzzle but likely not the final solution which, given the gradual transformation (or revealing) of the characters' true nature, comes across very effectively. www.sarudama.com/japanese_movies/pray.shtml
