Satoru Ogura Movies

Japanese horror auteur Takashi Shimizu (best known for his international success Ju-On: The Grudge) leads viewers through a puzzle of fear and suspense in this thriller. Ken (Yuya Yagira) and Motoko (Ryo Katsuji) are a pair of old friends who haven't seen each other in over a decade, and when they run into one another, Motoko suggests they pay a visit to Rin (Ai Maeda), his girlfriend who knew Ken back in the day. When they arrive at Rin's place, everyone is surprised that their pal Yuki (Misako Renbutsu) has stopped by -- particularly because Yuki has been dead for nearly ten years, having perished in an accident at an amusement park. When Yuki suddenly falls ill, the three friends insist on taking her to the hospital. However, when they arrive, they discover the hospital is abandoned, and it soon transforms itself into an enormous haunted maze, where Yuki is determined to take revenge against her former friends. Senritsu Meikyu (aka Shock Labyrinth) was the first Japanese film to be shot in High Definition 3D. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The stars of 2005's Summer of Ubume reunite to uncover the truth behind a gruesome series of murders in this mystery adapted from the novel by author Natsuhiko Kyogoku. The year is 1952. Though the war has ended, the specter of death still looms heavy over the streets of Japan. A mysterious killer is murdering beautiful women and cramming their lifeless corpses into tiny boxes, but who is the madman behind these crimes and what is his twisted motivation? When the daughter of a famous but retired actress suddenly goes missing, psychic detective Enokizu (Hiroshi Abe) offers his services in solving the case. Meanwhile, reporter Sekiguchi (Kippei Shiina) and his editor (Rena Tanaka) receive a tip that leads them to believe a fraudulent religious cult may be responsible for the killings. As police detective Kiba (Hiroyuki Miyasako) sets out to investigate a massive, box-shaped building on the edge of the forest, antiquarian bookstore owner Kyogokudo (Shinichi Tsutsumi) draws on his knowledge of the ancient magical art of Onmyodo for answers. Only when this determined crew finally comes together will they learn the truth about the mad doctor named Mimasaka (Akira Emoto) and the gruesome events that laid the groundwork for these brutal killings. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Legendary anime director Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Steamboy) makes his second foray into the world of live-action with this fantasy film based on a manga by Yuki Urushibara. Mushi-Shi (which was also made into an anime television series) follows a shaman named Ginko (Jo Odagiri) as he wanders feudal Japan healing people afflicted with "mushi," insect-like creatures that burrow their way into human bodies and cause mysterious illnesses. Otomo underscores the film's supernatural elements -- which borrow heavily from traditional Asian mythology -- with a slow, contemplative tone and cinematography of the lush Japanese countryside. ~ Sandra Bencic, Rovi

Japanese pop stars Kyôko Fukada (of Takeshi Kitano's Dolls) and Anna Tsuchiya star as the titular hellraisers of writer/director Tetsuya Nakashima's coming-of-age fantasy comedy Kamikaze Girls. The film opens with an animated segment, then switches to live action as Momoko (Fukada), wearing a frilly white dress, is sent flying from her scooter by a high-speed collision with a cabbage truck. Flying through the air in slow motion, Momoko reflects on her life, as the film flashes back to the Rococo era in France, the time and place in which the spacy teen wishes she'd lived. Soon we're back in more recent times, as Momoko recounts her parents' first meeting in a back alley, her birth, and her mother's subsequent abandonment of her failed yakuza father for the obstetrician who delivered Momoko. As a teen, Momoko dresses in the girly Lolita style, carries a parasol, and lives in the country, pining for Tokyo and her favorite clothing store, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. Disgusted by the slovenly, unfashionable bumpkins that surround her, who buy all their clothing from the local Walmart-style superstore, Momoko retreats into herself and her fantasies. While trying to raise money to support her expensive tastes, she encounters Ichigo (Tsuchiya), a "Yanki" roughneck biker gang member, who expresses herself through spitting and violent headbutting. Momoko is naturally repulsed at first, but the two girls gradually form an unlikely friendship and make a wealth of discoveries about themselves as they travel to Tokyo together in search of a legendary tailor to make Ichigo a special jacket to honor her gang leader's retirement. Kamikaze Girls was shown at Subway Cinema's New York Asian Film Festival in 2005. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

From the Japanese cult-flick director known simply as Sabu, Koufuku No Kane (The Blessing Bell) follows Igarashi (Susumu Terajima) through the last 24 hours before the factory he works for closes down, leaving him unemployed. After a job hunt brings him no results, Igarishi ponders his fate at the banks of a local river. He isn't counting on an old man committing suicide right next to him, but that is precisely what happens. The problem gets further complicated when a policeman finds the body in the same vicinity as Igarishi, and sends him mistakenly off to jail. Rather than leaving Igarishi feeling even more persecuted, prison life gives the blue-collar young man a sense of purpose. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Five years in the making, this entertaining animal story is about a feisty tomcat named Chatran who wanders away from the safety of his farm in Hokkaido and encounters a series of adventures in the outside world. Director Masanori Hata is a zoologist who runs a private animal farm on Hokkaido. His love for animals shines through in his handling of his "cast" here, which features cows, bears, pigs, snakes and birds, with not a single humans in sight. (This certainly eliminated the usual hassles over percentages or salaries.) Even for non-animal lovers, Chatran's adventures, from when he's a kitten until he grows up to have a family of his own, prove to be enjoyable. This film was given English-language voiceovers by Dudley Moore, and rereleased in the U.S., in 1989, as The Adventures of Milo and Otis. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi