Search - J Horror Anthology: Underworld on DVD

Robert B. (rbrown) from STARKVILLE, MS
Reviewed on 8/2/2009...

Six tales from the Japanese Kadokawa TV series. For the most part, this DVD is a bust. The tales aren't scary at all, and one of them makes no sense whatsoever. Here's the rundown:

1. "Chain Mail": A high school girl is killed when some taunting gets out of hand. Her killers start receiving text messages from her, telling each that she'll be next. This story is okay, but nothing special.

2. "Left Behind on the Mountain": A guy who uses an internet dating service takes women to a mountain and leaves them to find their way back to town. He picks one that doesn't want to play his reindeer games, though. This is one of the best stories on the disc.

3. "Tattoo": A high school girl who acts as a part-time prostitute gets a butterfly tattoo that magically morphs into a face when she's in danger from an S&M-obsessed john. Then she becomes the tattoo artist. Doesn't make a lick of sense.

4. "Viewfinder's Memory": Guys at the beach run across the ghost of a girl that drowned there years before. Too sweet-natured for my tastes; still, it's vaguely interesting.

5. "Guardian Angel": Grandma loves little Yumiko, and tries to teach her to be tough in the face of adversity. After Grandma dies, she still watches over Yumiko. This story is really quite dumb, but I do like that fact that Grandma's term of endearment for Yumiko is "loser." Ah, Grandma!

6. "Mortuary": Probably the best story on the disc, although that's damning it with faint praise. A young intern is left alone with the body of a small boy who died in surgery. He's to wait in the mortuary of the hospital for the family. When Mom shows up, things get weird.

All in all, a waste of time. Dark Tales of Japan is another disc in this series, and, while it's not anywhere near one of the best J-horror titles, it beats this one hands down.

Half Decent !

creatureart | Massachusetts | 04/11/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"6 half decent but very short(15 minutes a piece) low-budget J-horror ghost stories. There is nothing here to rave about & there are plenty of better japanese horror films to choose from. So unless you find this in a 3$ bin somewhere i'd recommend passing on this one,but if you have to own everything to do with japanese horror then go nutts!"

Ok but not really worth the money.

Desirae Vaccaro | SLC, UT | 09/16/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this because i collect japanese horror films. I enjoyed it but the acting seemed really fake especially in the first story. I am glad to have it in my collection but they really could've done better."