Visitors – Movie Review (2/5)

VISITORS on SCREAMBOX is a Japanese anthology splatterfest. Fans of Evil Dead and The Toxic Avenger should definitely check this out. However, if those aren’t your thing, you probably won’t enjoy it much. Read our full Visitors (The Complete Edition) review here!

VISITORS is a new SCREAMBOX addition and it’s both J-Horror and very much a splatterfest. It’s a Japanese anthology that essentially has three stories in one. All are connected, of course, as with any good anthology. For me, the two first are the strongest, while the third (and longest) segment didn’t do much for me.

Sure, I do like the pop culture references from other genre movies. Still, it just drags out a tad too long. That’s not to say it isn’t entertaining, because it definitely is. However, it’s also an acquired taste. If after five minutes you’re thinking “This does not work for me”, then this isn’t for you.

Continue reading our Visitors (The Complete Edition) review below. Find it on SCREAMBOX from November 21, 2023.

A whole lot of green slime

In the Visitors anthology, gore is at the forefront, and along with blood, there is a lot of green slime. It all begins when Haruka, Nana, and Takanori of a rock band go to visit their band member Souta. They have lost contact with Souta and that’s why they’re seeking him out in his hometown.

As soon as they arrive, they feel weird and uncomfortable there. Souta invites them in but doesn’t really talk to or connect with them. Newspapers are covering all the windows, and when Nana pulls a piece of paper off the wall, things go from strange and weird to downright sinister!

Anyone who has watched any Japanese or South Korean horror movies will know that you never take down those pieces of paper. They are usually blessings or “spells” that ward off evil and sinister spirits.

It seems a door to another world has opened and there’s a lot of green slime in that world, it would appear.

After this story has evolved a bit more (I won’t give it away here), the screen fades to black. When an image returns, it’s several months later and we’re in a bar. There we see a music producer, Kousuke, tied up. He doesn’t know where he is or how he got there.

And that’s all I’ll give away here… though I will tease that this second segment ends with a person from segment one showing up and an obvious (though crazier) Evil Dead reference.

Evil Dead and The Toxic Avenger meets J-Horror

As already mentioned earlier, fans of Evil Dead and The Toxic Avenger should absolutely check out the Japanese Visitors horror anthology. This is very much a hybrid anthology that pays homage to those two while also being J-Horror in other ways.

The movie opens with the short story that came before this anthology. In other words, the first segment is the original short movie and then the other two segments are what makes this a feature presentation. Well, in the form of an anthology, but still.

If after watching the first segment, you’re not really hooked, then you may want to just skip the rest. Much like the horror-comedy Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, this is not for everyone. Personally, Onyx the Fortuitous is more for me than Visitors, but I’m sure others will have the opposite opinion.

For the record, I do love Evil Dead, but the practical effects (and some CGI) became a bit too crude in Visitors. Maybe that’s where it lost me really.

Watch Visitors on SCREAMBOX now

Visitors (The Complete Edition) comes from filmmaker Kenichi Ugana (or Ken’ichi Ugana). This Japanese anthology movie is full of horror references from Evil Dead to The Exorcist and there’s even a touch of Stanley Kubrick in there. Obviously, this is enough to want to check it out.

Visitors enjoyed its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, and this is surely the perfect platform for an anthology like this. So is SCREAMBOX really, which makes it a match made in horror heaven.

Again, this will not be for everyone, but I think a lot of horror fans will enjoy this. While I did like the beginning, the ending was too long and slow for me.

The ultra-gory and violent Japanese Visitors anthology is on SCREAMBOX from November 21, 2023.

Details

Director: Kenichi Ugana
Screenwriter: Kenichi Ugana
Cast: Shiho Haruka, Miura Kento