It was a big surprise for me to find out that the Maze of Fear has a sequel. The plot of "The Labyrinth" was logically completed, and it was clearly not a case where there was a strong need for continuation. However, the sequel was removed, and the director was again made by Takashi Shimizu.
The fact that we have a sequel to “Labyrinth”, becomes clear far from immediately, and even after there is a direct connection with the first part exactly as a movie, the development of events seems only based on the popularity of the first Japanese 3D horror. “Rabbit of horror” is not very scary, and at first it even seems strange due to the fault of a ridiculous rabbit suit. But the closer to the middle, the stronger the intrigue and intensity of passions. Kiriko tries to protect her brother Daigo from the troubles, which is hindered by her father, who is upset with life. Alternately appearing flashbacks gradually shed light on everything that is happening, and in the final, the doctor explains all the nuances for incomprehensible viewers. Admittedly, the finale is a bit disappointing with its secondary: Takashi Shimizu followed in the footsteps of the proven tactics of the usual plot twist in the finale, when it turns out that the main character is so worried about the loss of a loved one in the past that he continues to communicate with him in his imagination. However, this stamp is compensated in the last seconds, when something out of the ordinary really happens, and already at the moment when the surprised viewer begins to speculate, the titles begin.
I almost fell in love with the heroine of Hikari Mitsushima, because of her alone I liked even the first half of the film, which sometimes seemed uninteresting. Chiriko remains in the center of the plot, the suffering of the girl beckons and entails, and her fate is very, very ambiguous. The tragedy played out is similar to the fate of the mermaid from Anderson’s fairy tale, repeatedly mentioned in this film, but, one way or another, Chirico got rid of planting memories and mental anguish, finding peace of mind. Isn't that what she wanted for years?
“Rabbit of horror” is desirable to watch on the big screen, as there are many spectacular scenes. But a good movie is good at any viewing, and “Rabbit” is proof of that.
The sequel turned out to be associated with “The Labyrinth of Fear” not plot, but “ideologically”, so there are no claims to which of the films is better. Horror Rabbit gave me the same pleasure when watching as the first film.
10 out of 10
I had a dual attitude towards director Takashi Shimizu, after the successful Merebito, Curse and Reincarnation, he shot a rather mediocre Maze of Horror and 7500. When I saw this movie on the list, I immediately watched it, despite the low rating and negative reviews.
The heroine goes to an alternate reality, to another world to save her brother, who got there as revenge for the murder of a rabbit committed as a child. The girl has to go through many tests before she finds her brother.
Despite the description, the film is a social drama with an admixture of mysticism. The father constantly forgets about the birthday of his son Daigo, only sister Chiriko takes care of the boy, asking what to give him year after year. And every year he says that nothing is necessary, he will be happy with a dry flower. I feel sorry for a child who is not guilty of anything. But this is the half of history it would not be complete without the story of a sister who has been silent since childhood.
There are no horrors as such, only mysticism, which is able to scare only with stamped moves, like sharp appearances of ghosts in the frame. The film directly corresponds to the Japanese traditions of the film, in it, in addition to mysticism and horror, there is a psychological struggle inside a person. In general, psychology is such a fertile food for films, and all the more so because the director copes with this, not slipping into horrors, but continuing to shoot a more complex film in structure.
The atmosphere is not as scary as it seems at first glance, although the director tried to shoot the film in gloomy tones to more frighten and intimidate the viewer. But the film also strains with some vile moments. The final is twofold, I did not like that after a logical point in the story, the director shot a sequel that leaves an unpleasant taste of chaos and delirium.
Verdict, the film is not for everyone, for viewing I recommend fans of the genre.
Chiriko is a mute girl living with her introverted father and younger half-brother Daigo. She works in a library, and the only one around whom her world revolves is her brother, whose behavior, to put it mildly, seems strange. At the beginning of the film, we are shown how he kills a dying rabbit with a stone - allegedly out of pity, so that the unfortunate animal does not suffer, but his good motives are not understood by his classmates and begin to offend the guy. As a result, Daigo refuses to go to school, disappearing all day at his sister’s work and reading books, and then the ridicule automatically spreads to Chiriko. However, the incident with the rabbit turns for young Daigo not only hatred from his peers, but also nightmares in which the boy falls into a strange world, where a huge plush hare leads everything, sometimes becoming either good or evil. The boy complains about this to his sister, and to protect Daigo, Chiriko allows the rabbit to involve himself in this world, in order to eventually figure out how to make the plush toy leave them alone.
The film is a sequel to the 2009 Maze of Fear, where the rabbit was also the main subject. But if in the “Labyrinth” everything was presented somehow skillfully and without unnecessary stereotypical moves, then in the “Rabbit” things are much sadder. Takashi Shimizu, apparently, decided that the giant rabbit-killer will be able to scare and gather his audience, and although with suspense he guessed a little, still, in many ways he miscalculated. For example, let’s start with the fact that the heroine (as well as the hero) is again from a dysfunctional family. His father and Daigo is an illustrator who dreams of drawing a book about the Little Mermaid. With this fairy tale, he compares Chiriko herself - when the Little Mermaid lost her voice to find her legs. His question - and because of what his daughter lost her voice? - thereby gives a certain philosophical subtext to the whole film, which, however, is mercilessly buried with a heap of absolutely unnecessary information, not involved in the general plot.
From the past, we see that Chiriko was not a joyful child, and for some reason immediately disliked Daigo's mother - her stepmother and her father's new wife - Kyoko. Discovering this very past, the director immediately began to answer the questions asked himself, so the mystery, in fact, seems not so original. The well-known and already dragged down to the ground principle: “Is there someone for whom you are tearing and raving?” in the middle of the tape can only hold a couple of seconds at the screens, but then a completely different problem comes to the fore, and you begin to safely forget about this. The good become bad; the bad become good. And all the same.
The main problem of the tape remains stamps. If at first it seems that we are waiting for a twisted story again, then after half an hour of viewing we notice that there is nothing like this in the mind, and, moreover, the creators dealt with these miracles in the most careless way. Revenge again; shame again for what has been done; memory again fails; and retribution again. As a result, you do not know who to empathize with and who to feel sorry for - and to regret in such films you need at least someone so that he did not pass by.
As for the horrors themselves, there was a blunder. A huge plush rabbit dragging its victim into the closet is not frightening, although at times it seems amusing. His programmed actions "to unfold-all-on-shelf" can introduce the viewer, accustomed to Asian horrors, into a slight bewilderment - is this really so? In fact, there is no need to puzzle over anything - the authors laid everything out on a saucer and even carefully signed what and what follows. All I have to do is eat. The sight of a dead rabbit, held in the palms of Chirico, is disgusting at best, as is the blood on straw, and besides this and the plush rabbit, there is nothing else here, but the first show only a couple of times, and the second you get used to quite quickly, so that even actors who force themselves to portray fear, can not influence the viewer. Yes, and since we are talking about actors... In addition to pretty faces, they have nothing to take, although in terms of playing Hikari Matsushima is not the worst actress.
In general, only Kenji Kawai’s music is remembered, but he is a master of his craft, so I stopped looking for flaws in his work long ago. It is not clear what he forgot in this film.
5 out of 10
...not the worst horror movie, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Japanese horrors are not always scary, I would even say they are rather ridiculous, but every time, including them, I expect something really unreal. Unfortunately, I’m disappointed, but there are times when the story is really amazing and now you stop believing that the Japanese film only ridiculous horrors. "Rabbit Horror" did not work. I probably never knew what I thought of history after it was over. Confused movies are interesting and it’s really something that I’m willing to watch all the time and I’ll never get tired of, but don’t overplay it so that everything starts to look like one crazy place. And that's what happened in this story. Should we talk about the rabbit? In fact, I was hoping the director wouldn't really put a rabbit in the movie, but alas. A giant man in a rabbit costume at first cheered, and then pretty annoying. Well, it doesn't fit in, because it looks very ridiculous.
Why are horror films made at all? For secrets that are hidden somewhere in the depths and you just can’t see them, and also to feel fear, and if you’re lucky, then the real horror. The audience received secrets, but in the middle of the film all this got bored, and the fear never appeared. Agree that a giant rabbit will shake with horror, probably, a child and then if he has any fear of it. What should scare an adult? A dark atmosphere and music to match it. With the first almost not mistaken, but the musical accompaniment was not at all. It would be better if he was removed from sin altogether. So we get a story with more than a rabbit in it and not at all frightening, but we would like.
I don’t even want to talk about acting. There are very few really good actors in Japanese cinema. Hikari Mitsushima If she could hook someone, then only appearance. She is certainly not the most beautiful, but her appearance is unusual and therefore memorable. But the game wants the best, and after all, she is not a novice actress for a long time, it is unrealistically frustrating. Although, compared to other actors, she was the brightest ray in this impenetrable darkness.
I wish I could just tell those who make horror movies not to overdo it. The plot should not be twisted so that interest is lost, and a giant rabbit is not an indicator that the viewer will be crammed into a chair and he will even be afraid to open his eyes. This story is really like art house, as they once said, but alas, this genre I really never appreciated. And if you think of Rabbit Horror as a horror movie, it’s not worth the name. It is necessary to try again so that in an hour and a half nothing is frightened at all.
4 out of 10
In fact, the score is much lower than it was, but maybe I just missed something in the movie, which is why I was so unhappy with what I saw. And the actress, who played the main role, really pleased with his unusual appearance.
The film turned out to be rather weak, depending on what I expected from Japanese horror. He can reach the maximum to a medium-level film with the idea, development of events and effects. I have no doubt that the idea should revolve around the philosophy of life and death, but in this picture, alas, along with the real world and events on the screen, this philosophy is seen very, very faded.
The very title of the film "The Rabbit of Horror" (and in general the presence of a rabbit as a plot plot plot) is puzzling. The beginning of the film surpassed all kinds of horror and what they are associated with. Moreover, the act with the rabbit caused not so much a real horror of what was happening as an outrage from what happened and what the film showed the viewer as an introduction.
The story revolves around a mute girl and her younger brother. Among what is happening on the screen, the idea rests on the dark secrets of the past, which must be unraveled to end the horror with the heroes. It is worth noting the weakness of the film. Since the horror of 2011 would like to see at least some originality (and I know that Asian films are capable of this), and not a semblance of Silent Hill.
Although this is a strange comparison, but in this horror film I saw nothing new. Everything clearly hints at the source of the idea: the environment, and the carousels, and the toy, and the hospital, which flashed as well. Along with this, there was a ridiculous attempt to make a fabulous plot line (a mermaid who lost her voice), which does not fit in with the main events of the film.
Separately, you can praise only the ending, because it is in it that the meaning and idea of the film took over the production and other trifles, from which at first there was an unpleasant residue from viewing.
In the end, the film turned out to be quite simple. You can find a minimum of things that will really make a good impression of the horror genre and show what the film would be worth watching.
4 out of 10