Kôrei (Seance) is an interesting early feature from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. A “made for television” movie, it’s based upon a book (SŽance on a Wet Afternoon) by Mark McShane and was made around 1999. Once more it stars Kurosawa favourite Kôji Yakusho as the lead in what suggests a film about the supernatural, but is in fact more about a tragic set of circumstances that affect a very humble couple, who turn to drastic measure to resolve the issue.

With this film, you can see many of the effects and techniques Kurosawa brought in to his later films. Even the scene with the confrontation of the doppelgänger could be seen as an extended idea in his later film, Dopperugenga, also starring Kôji Yakusho. Of course being a TV film, it’s limited budget shows and the quality of the picture is rather poor – Ebay provides all sorts of things that you’re unlikely to find “officially” due to poor performance ratings, or lack of interest. Whether the cost was worth it, is hard to say. It is another Kurosawa film to add to my collection, though perhaps he might remake it into something bigger, unlikely though it is.

I digress, however, and the film revolves around the said couples rather modest lives. The husband Sato (Yakusho) works as a sound technician, capturing sounds for special effects for the company he works for. His wife Junko (Jun Fubuki) is a medium and a housewife, who offers to help others with her gift, but at the same time, she’s rather disillusioned with the lacklustre life she is living with her husband. She questions if this is all she will have, and so decides to work at a diner. This doesn’t last long though, as ghostly apparitions appear and haunt her mind – she can see dead people, for want of a cliché.

Performances are actually quite good. Fubuki plays a convincing, obedient but depressed housewife, and Sato the cold, yet concerned husband

Her husband is unaware of this, and rarely seems to demonstrate emotion or affection towards his wife. Is it Japanese culture? The conversations are formal, but friendly, yet there’s a lack of real chemistry between the two it seems. One day, however, things take a turn for the worst as a case involving the kidnapping of a child by an officer turned child molester takes a girl from her school. The police have been after him, and with no leads, they call upon the services of the medium. She accepts, but is humble about the whole thing, aware that most are sceptics.

She fails to discover anything about the child and goes home, though she senses that the girl may still be alive. Meanwhile Sato is in a forest, capturing the sound of rustling branches in the wind. At the same time, the kidnapper is chasing the girl (inexplicably) and she discovers Sato working. Rather than approach him, she finds one of his empty equipment boxes and hides inside it, to escape from the kidnapper. Unaware, Sato locks the box and goes home having done his work.

From here on in, a number of tragic events occur, but once they discover the girl, rather than reporting her to the place, they decide to keep quiet. The wife wants this opportunity to get things right for once, to dream of being rich on the back of someone else’s misery. If she can manipulate the situation and turn it to fortune, she could make money for both herself and her husband. In the sadness, the husband agrees to hear her out and goes along with the plan – she hasn’t been happy, and this is a rather extraordinary way to give her happiness.

Kurosawa’s taken a few ideas, real life accounts and put them together in a modestly accomplished horror drama

I’ve left a lot of important details, so as to spoil the film. It’s rather slow paced, more so than Kurosawa’s other films. The events that take place are very gradual, and most of the real trouble happens towards near the end of the film, but it’s never rushed. The special effects are perhaps what will amuse you the most, as it feels very cheaply done, and was perhaps financed by someone who said, “We need actual ghosts” which led to the tacky feel of some of the supernatural scenes. Many have been seen in previous Japanese horrors, so it won’t shock you in anyway.

What the film lacks is scares, as the horror comes from the insane behaviour of the couple, rather than the on screen presence of ghostly appearances. There are some, but they are neither creepy nor scary. Perhaps had I watched this four years ago, it’s impact would be greater, but having seen so many, it looks incredibly dated and economically made. There is a slightly cautious fear that develops, mostly as we see the tragedy escalate and is made worse by the desires of greed and fame. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but at times this seems more and more unrealistic, but if you suspend disbelief this shouldn’t pose an issue. I just felt it was a little too much and could have been handled differently.

Kurosawa’s taken a few ideas, real life accounts and put them together in a modestly accomplished horror drama. Don’t take this for anything more than a drama, however, as the horror is severely lacking. The elements of horror, ghosts, the dead, and resurrections only serve as a backdrop to the downward spiralling moralistic approach to the events by the couple. Again, this film focuses on identity, during a torrid time for Japan where many were questioning who they were, and what they were doing. You could presume that the ghoulish antics work as a metaphor for the guilt and self-hatred they feel for the situation they have dragged themselves into.

With this film, you can see many of the effects and techniques Kurosawa brought in to his later films

Performances are actually quite good. Fubuki plays a convincing, obedient but depressed housewife, and Yakusho the cold, yet concerned husband. The most irritating character, as with most Japanese films, is the rather glum and annoying brat in the film, who plays the trouble as well as the victim. In some respects I felt for the couple rather than the child, because although we know their intentions are not wholly honest, they are trying to do the right thing the wrong way. The child doesn’t know this and so feels she’s being held captive. It’s a very interesting dynamic, but I just didn’t feel for the little girl at all.

If you can get Kôrei from a friend, then do so. It’s not worth buying, in my opinion, even though it’s a really enjoyable film with a good story, I don’t think it’s Kurosawa’s best work, and it does tend to look very poor in many areas. It feels like a late 90s horror, but without a budget. For fans of Kurosawa this is a must, I would be hopeful for anyone that they would view this as a very good thriller, with elements of horror. Some of the scenes are very atmospheric, and very tense. It’s a solid piece of work, no question, but it doesn’t impress upon us the many complex layers that Kurosawa will delve into his later work. In that sense, it’s average at best.

Verdict: Essential for Kurosawa fans, for everyone else a worthwhile diversion with a spin on the psych-horror genre and worth a rent