Japan Flix: 'Teke Teke'
Japan Flix is a new online distributor of cutting-edge, never-before-seen Japanese films in the United States. Offering a variety of genres including horror, drama, comedy, romance, and exploitation, Japan Flix represents a world of exciting and unique cinematic offerings previously unseen by audiences outside of Japan... Through partnerships with various Japanese distribution companies, we strive to make a wide variety of films accessible to US audiences as conveniently as possible. Each of our titles is available to rent or own through iTunes, and viewable on any iTunes-friendly device.
As stated in our first article, Japan Flix plans to expand their distribution to other digital media platforms, but for now iTunes will suffice and you pretty much take your movies wherever you and your i-Something go.
Yuko Oshima stars as Kana, a schoolgirl whose normal life is turned upside-down when her best friend is found brutally murdered, having been cut completely in half at the waist. Soon, Kana hears about the urban legend of "Teke Teke," the ghost of a legless woman who was found dismembered years ago and now haunts the railway station. If you see her, in three days you will be killed. In a race against time, Kana must search for the truth in order to escape the horrific fate that awaits her.
If you want to read more on the Teke Teke urban legend you can find more information over here. What I do find unnerving about urban legends of these types is that they involve violence against women. Like the Ju-on series the vengeful spirit - onryo - is often a woman scorned and it just doesn't bode well with this camper. I won't give away the back story in Teke Teke but it's the same thing. So I have to ask - rhetorical. Is the collective male psyche of Japan feeling an immense amount of guilt about how women have been and are treated? Or are horror filmmakers in Japan modern day prophets and issuing a warning of what may come?
Back to the film. Putting the pondering of the themes aside the first Teke Teke is okay. Other than introducing another urban legend on film it really doesn't go beyond the expected and the routine. It was neither suspenseful nor scary and I also wish it was a whole lot gorier than it was, which, from the looks of the trailer, the sequel Teke Teke 2 takes it upon itself to make up for. There does appear to be a lot more halves of bodies flying through the air in that one. The first Teke Teke is a bit of a miss I am afraid, just not bringing quite enough horror to the table and for not being scary, at all.
But in this growing age of disposable digital media if you're up for a bit of brushing up on your Japanese urban legends it at lest worth the rental.
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