IMDb RATING
5.0/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
After her brother goes missing, a young psychologist visits an infamous haunted and cursed location known as 'Howling Village' to investigate his disappearance and uncover her family's dark ... Read allAfter her brother goes missing, a young psychologist visits an infamous haunted and cursed location known as 'Howling Village' to investigate his disappearance and uncover her family's dark history.After her brother goes missing, a young psychologist visits an infamous haunted and cursed location known as 'Howling Village' to investigate his disappearance and uncover her family's dark history.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This film essentially begins with a young woman named "Akina Nishida" (Rinka Otani) and her boyfriend "Yuma Morita" (Ryota Bando) going to an abandoned tunnel which is said to be the gateway to a haunted village on the other side. However, in order to get to this village a person has to receive a call from a specific phone booth near the tunnel at exactly 2 o'clock in the morning. Sure enough, when the phone rings, Akina nervously answers--and then proceeds into the tunnel with Yuma following behind and recording everything. The problem is that neither of them are prepared for what awaits them once they venture to the other side. The scene then shifts to a child psychologist by the name of "Kanata Morita" (Ayaka Miyoshi) getting acquainted with a new patient who apparently suffers from an overactive imagination and sees people who aren't there. Interestingly enough, Kanata also used to see apparitions and, while talking to the young boy, happens to catch a fleeting glimpse of the same person he does. Yet as startling as this may be for her, her fears become a reality when she returns home and learns that both Yuma and his girlfriend have encountered something supernatural--and complete insanity follows closely behind. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a difficult film to follow due in large part to the manner in which the overall story unfolded. Likewise, the language and cultural barriers didn't help either. So, what you have are several good horror scenes, followed by other scenes that don't initially make any sense. And even though there is some clarity at the end, the director (Takashi Shimizu) again muddies the water in the final scene. Unnecessarily, in my opinion. Be that as it may, while I don't consider this to be a bad horror film by any means, the fact is that it failed to meet its true potential, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
It's possible for a movie to be both effective and kind of a mess at the same time, and in my books, this describes Howling Village. A few cool, genuinely creepy scenes mixed in with some muddled storytelling. Some good effects, some cheesy ones. More time spent in the titular village would've been a bonus. Overall, not a horror classic but not a waste of time, either. Worth a watch.
Inspired by a Japanese urban legend, Howling Village is the first installment of Takashi Shimizu's "Horror Village" film series.
Some plot elements shouldn't have to be in this film. They dragged the storytellling on a different path. With a fantastic cast Takashi managed to create a new J-horror experience.
Some plot elements shouldn't have to be in this film. They dragged the storytellling on a different path. With a fantastic cast Takashi managed to create a new J-horror experience.
Easy to understand. I'm not sure what all the other reviews were talking about in that regard. The story line was interesting, but overall it wasn't the most exciting movie. I didn't find it so much a horror as more a thriller. Overall i did enjoy the movie slightly, and I'm not mad I watched it, but if you're looking for something scary this really isn't the watch for you. The characters weren't stupid per say, but there was some moments where I wanted to yell at them.
Not as bad as alot of people say. There were alot of scary moments which give you great goosebumps but visually it was weak. It could have been more scarier visually. Overall good horror flick comparing to the modern horror releases. Give it a try!!
Did you know
- TriviaReunites Megumi Okina with director Takashi Shimizu, who previously worked together on Ju-on: The Grudge (2002).
- ConnectionsFollowed by Suicide Forest Village (2021)
- How long is Howling Village?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Ngôi Làng Tử Khí
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $13,394,556
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content