'#Manhole' review: High-concept J-Horror flick unpopular

What happens in the manhole stays in the manhole.

That would describe this initially riveting and increasingly outrageous Japanese horror film, in which pop star Yuuto Nakajima plays a young man who, on his wedding day, falls into a The movie’s titular trap, impossible to get out of.

#Manhole

The Bottom Line Not your common man manhole.

Place:Berlin Film Festival (Panorama) Cast: Yuto Nakajima, Kento Nagayama
Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri Screenwriter : Michitaka Okada 1 hour 2014 minutes

Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri( Sketch of Haidan City

) From Michitaka Okada’s script (Masquerade Hotel ), the movie Absolutely makes the most of its scenes, concocting dozens of obstacles to maintain suspense as its protagonist is sliced ​​up, beaten, publicized on social media, and poisoned to death by toxic sewage while trying to escape. But about halfway, #Manhole more or less skipped the shark —or is it a manhole? – by throwing in so many twists, it veers into a gory parody.

The film, which premiered at Berlin’s Panorama, should find an audience at home thanks to Nakajima, the actor, model and singer of Japanese platinum boy band Hey. explain! JUMP who messed up the pretty face is here. International interest may be limited to midnight frenzy screenings and the wider streaming world.

The hashtag before the movie title is about #Manhole

is about:Partially Enclosed Space Thriller (Think Buried in Tokyo), part social media satire, which demonstrates just about everything you can do when you’re trapped a few meters underground with only a cell phone, a pencil case, and fairly reliable cell service, allowing you keep in touch.

Here’s Shunsuke Kawamura, a successful real estate agent about to marry his boss’s daughter, spending the evening drinking with his office mate before stumbling into a hole that appears to be part of an abandoned construction site. His erratic behavior, including the fact that he didn’t immediately call the police, gave us some clues that later resurfaced, and Kumakiri did a good job, trap after trap, from torrential rain to toxic foam oozing pipes from the open air.

With his location unknown and the police barely able to do anything, Shunsuke first called an ex-girlfriend, who was also a trained nurse. He then set up an account on Twitter (renamed to Pecker in the movie, LOL) for an online avatar he dubs “Manhole Girl,” in the hope that some perverted insomniac would come to his rescue. This prompts a lot of on-screen messages and titles that overwhelm the second half of the film, which loses its minimalist conceit and indulges in bizarre plot and copious amounts of gore.

Still, there are some standout moments involving sickening body horror and dodgy production design (set design by Norifumi Ataka), notably Shunsuke’s leg being sliced ​​open by a rusty ladder scene, a small stapler has to be used on his wound to keep it from bleeding. The film relentlessly lets its tall and handsome star get by, and Nakajima is willing to be both comically sinister and sleazy as his character gets his comeuppance on multiple occasions.

#Manhole

is a low-budget concept that Hollywood producers could remake, and has Some methods improve their scenarios while keeping the basic premise unchanged. (Note that there is already a Korean horror film from 2014 called )Manhole — minus the hashtag — about a little girl being kidnapped. )

One thing is to add more humor and never take the setting too seriously – a sin this version commits so often, especially in its overcooked ending. But there’s maybe only so much you can do when you’re trying to cram a film into a manhole and somehow find the ground.

Full credits 39

Venue: Berlin Film Festival (Panorama) Production companies: Gaga Corporation, J Storm Inc., Twins Japan Cast: Nakajima Yuto, Yongshan Xianren Director: Kumakiri Kazuyoshi Screenwriter: Michitaka Okada Producers: Takeshi Matsushita, Hideki Hoshino Executive Producers: Tom Yoda, Julie K. Fujishima, Satomi Odake Director of Photography: Yuta Tsukinaga

Production Design: Norifumi Ataka

Costume Design: Mari Miyamoto Editor: Daisuke Imai Composer: Watanabe Takuma Sales: Gaga Corporation Japanese 1 hour39 minute

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