You might ask yourself why the Japanese are so good at movies about killers, killing and horror in general. Without wanting to cast aspersions at my Japanese friends could it be something in their psyche? But then you might say, isn't the American cinema just as expert in the killing fields as anywhere and don't we judge a certain kind of cinema on a particular Hitchcock movie from 1960? Perhaps we should simply say the Japanese have honed this particular genre to perfection and that "Creepy" has all the makings of a classic of its kind.
It's a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film and Kurosawa's already built up something of a reputation as one of the best directors working in this genre but neither would it disgrace David Fincher's canon of work. Like Fincher, Kurosawa seems to be able to blend horror with a streak of very dark humour and to make somewhat convoluted plots believable.
Hidetoshi Nishijima is the police detective who, after failing to secure a serial killer who has escaped when in his custody, leaves the force, takes a job lecturing on crime and serial killers in particular and moves with his wife to a new neighbourhood. However, they soon discover their new neighbours are not only unfriendly but, to give the film its title, creepy. Things get even creepier, as well as a whole lot nastier, when he and a former colleague reopen an old missing persons case. Add a great Bernard Hermannesque score and you know you're in for a delightfully unsettling experience. One of the best chillers of its year.
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