Kairo (2001)

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writer:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Yûrei ni aitai desu ka? (Do you want to meet a ghost?)

Plot:

Japanese university students investigate a series of suicides linked to an Internet Web cam that promises visitors the chance to interact with the dead.

Plot Keywords:

Internet | Shadow | Alone | Forbidden Room | One Word Title

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Haruhiko Katô	...	Ryosuke Kawashima
Kumiko Asô	...	Michi Kudo
Koyuki	...	Harue Karasawa
Kurume Arisaka	...	Junko Sasano
Masatoshi Matsuo	...	Toshio Yabe
Shinji Takeda	...	Yoshizaki
Jun Fubuki	...	Michi's mother
Shun Sugata	...	Boss
Shô Aikawa	...	Employee
Kôji Yakusho	...	Ship Captain
Kenji Mizuhashi	...	Taguchi
Takumi Tanji	...	Man with Bag
Hassei Takano	...	Student A
Atsushi Yuki	...	Student B
Go Takashima	...	Student C
Kaori Ichijô	...	Girl with Long Hair
Teruo Ono	...	Doroningen
Ken Furusawa	...	Convenience Store Employee
Akiko Kitamura
Zengoro Mamiana
Rie Yasuda
Masayuki Shionoya

Directed by
Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa		writer

Produced by
Yasuyoshi Tokuma	....	executive producer
Hiroshi Yamamoto	....	producer

Original Music by
Takefumi Haketa

Cinematography by
Jun'ichirô Hayashi

Film Editing by
Junichi Kikuchi

Production Design by
Tomoyuki Maruo

Art Department
Yoshihisa Kato	....	digital art director (as Yoshihisa Katô)

Sound Department
Makio Ika	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Shûji Asano	....	visual effects supervisor: Links DigiWorks/Rinkusu DejiWâkusu
Masaru Tateishi	....	CG director
Masaru Tateishi	....	visual effects supervisor

Music Department
Cocco	....	composer: song "Hane"
Toru Wada	....	music producer

Other crew
Takeshi Furusawa	....	assistant to director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Mikiko Koyama	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Daiei Eiga

Distributors

• Toho Company (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• Euripide Distribution (France)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Magnolia Pictures (2005) (USA) (all media)
• Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Pioneer LDC (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd. (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Links Digiworks (CGI)

Also Known As:

Pulse (International: English title)
The Circuit

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent images.

Runtime:

118 min | Hong Kong:119 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 | Australia:MA (2006) | New Zealand:R13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB (DVD rating) | South Korea:15

Company:

Daiei Eiga

Trivia:

Director Cameo: ['Kurosawa Kiyoshi']While Kawashima is looking at the various people moping around in some catatonic state via web cam, there is one man who appears to be sleeping on his desk. He then wakes up, raises his head, and looks straight into the camera, facing us. That man is Kurosawa Kiyoshi, writer and director of this film.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Pulse (2006/I)

Soundtrack:

Hane Lay Down My Arms

Incredibly Creepy and Haunting

This film works on many levels. What's odd is that one place it is weak in is the plot - it does somewhat tie it all up and make sense but my main point is it doesnt really matter - the director set out to make a scary ghost story and that it is! I see horror films from all over the world so I am pretty jaded when it comes to something "scaring" me but this film has many sequences that truly are frightening and disturbing. Some of the images have stayed with me for weeks. The lighting, the art direction and the use of muted colors (aside from reds used effectively)all make up for a creepy, eerie visual. I have to laugh at the arrogance of some of the comments on this and other "horror" films that claim since it didnt scare them the film is NOT SCARY. That is b.s. What scares one person may not scare another. You can say the piece didn't scare you but to make such a sweeping statement is vain. I personally didn't like any of the Friday of 13th movies, but obviously those films work on some level for millions of people. This film is so non-American in it's pace and core that that is what might turn off some viewers, but that's what I loved about it. The director just sets up the camera and keeps it on a space and then has things slowly emerge from the sides - he has you start to look and scope and wonder if you are REALLY seeing something as opposed to the lazy, bloated SHOCK moment of most US horror films. There are moments when people are confronted by visions/images of ghosts that move and terrorize just like real dreams - slow movements, awkward movements as the ghost approaches you. Terrifying. The film definitely doesn't know how to wrap it all up but in many ways, I found this film even scarier than the original RING. Well made ghost story. Seek it out, fans.