Hypnosis Review:

Synopsis

On one strange day in Tokyo, three unusual deaths take place: a groom strangles himself to death with his own tie in front of his new bride, a seventy three year - old man throws himself to death though a plate glass window, and a promising young track runner literally races herself to death.

But there is a link between the bizarre deaths…before taking their lives; all three mention a “Green Monkey,” which is seemingly pursuing them.

After speaking to Saga, a young psychologist, the determined Detective Sakurai comes to the conclusion that there could be a link to hypnotism.

At first, his main suspect is creepy TV hypnotist Jissoji, a greedy man who uses his subjects, for his own ends.

One of these ‘volunteers', the troubled Yuka, seems to know more about the mystery than she can express, but Jissoji shields her from their enquiries.

The Film

No amount of plot description can prepare you for this movie.

It's very unique in that it has elements of psychological thriller, cop movie, horror and supernatural mystery combined. At first, it appears as though the circumstances and plot are complicated and the strands are a little hard to follow, but it is definitely worth persevering with, indeed actively encouraged!

The beauty of Japanese cinema is that unlike some average Hollywood movies, there is no feeling that all the facts must be presented immediately, nor in chronological order. Characters do not suddenly burst into a running commentary ‘just to make sure' the audience know what is going on.

Instead, the viewer is treated intelligently, and allowed to work out for themselves what is happening, then rewarded as more pieces of the jigsaw are revealed, usually just before the tension gets too much.

Some incidents, which seem to require immediate explanation, in fact do not.

Scenes are played out, and then returned to as and when required, which creates a woozy dreamlike quality, which is, er, hypnotic.

The director creates a feeling of space around each of the well – developed characters, allowing us to learn a little about everyone involved, dipping into their past through the hypnosis in a really original way. The use of past incidents to show the impact they can have on the future is also explored, as it seems one of the main themes in the film is to convey the fragility of the human mind and how vulnerable it can be to suggestion.

In one brilliant scene, Saga, the psychologist, explains to Sakurai as he pours them both a drink, that, “The glass is the container, and the liquid inside is the mind. Through hypnotism, the glass can be made thinner, and the liquid within does not know the glass is there. It can still contain the mind at four years old.”

This scene explains a great deal with such economical use of dialogue, and is played out so effectively. The comparison between the strength of the glass exterior, and the vulnerable liquid is the perfect analogy for the subject.

It seems that Masayuki knows that his material is potent, and as a result the direction is confident and never loses its way despite the various twists. A tale this intense could have become convoluted and pompous in the wrong hands, but because the tension just never lets up it really works. Smart editing also means that there's always plenty to keep you guessing.

There are some plenty of unusual ways to die presented here too, not necessarily blood splattered (for that's not really what this movie is about), but some decidedly wince-worthy bits. For example there's the man who foolishly mistakes a sink for his gas cooker and decides to wash his face – oopsy daisy.

Sound/Picture

The sound is presented in Dolby DTS, and it's perfectly adequate for this movie. The visual aspects obviously took precedence for those involved and the scares are pant – wetting enough without the fear of a Green Monkey jumping up behind the couch, thanks very much.

Extras

Nothing praise - worthy here. This is a very basic package.

Chapter selection, Cast List, Filmographies and Biographies. Hmm.

There is also a selection of Artwork from the distributors, “Artsmagic Ltd”.

This comprises cover shots from the infamous “Babycart” series, as well as others like “Lady Snowblood”, “The Blind Swordsman”, the “Samurai” trilogy and other “Warrior” titles, as well as Eastern Cult Cinema, whose titles include “Hypnosis”.

This cover artwork is very cool, it's just a shame you can't even click on the covers to enlarge them, damn it!

Some trailers for these other titles would have been a nice bonus, but alas, none here.

Summary

A beautifully crafted, well - acted piece throughout, and very original.

There are echoes of other movies like “Ringu,” but only in the approach of the director, rather than material.

This is a challenging movie, unpredictable, but ultimately original and thought provoking - it plays on psychological factors we know really exist but don't fully understand. Ooh, scary.

It's a pity about the lack of extras, but the movie is strong enough to not really require superfluous material. It even adds to the mystique.

Film: 8/10

DVD Extras: 1/10

Terresa Gaffney

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Hypnosis and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.