Ben and Jane are newlyweds. Just hours after being married, the couple is heading to Japan to celebrate their honeymoon and for photographer Ben to begin a job doing fashion photography for his old friends Bruno and Adam. During a late night drive back to Tokyo after honeymooning, Jane is at the wheel when a young woman darts across the road in front of their car. Jane loses control of the car and slams into a tree beside the road. When she and Ben regain consciousness, there’s no sign of the woman though Jane is certain they collided.

Back in Tokyo, Ben begins his photo shoot but strange smears and smudges appear on both his photos and ones that Jane has been taking around the city. Jane becomes convinced that this has something to do with the young woman she hit in the car. As she begins investigating this phenomenon she learns of a paranormal activity called spirit photography. Jane is determined to find out what the spirit is trying to tell her, though she may be shocked to discover where the trail leads. This is Shutter, the new thriller by Japanese director Masayuki Ochiai.

Personally, I’m a fan of supernatural thrillers but Shutter had two strikes against it before I ever walked into the theater. First off, this isn’t an original concept. It’s a remake of a 2004 Thai movie of the same name. And despite the Japanese director on board for this version, it’s still a Hollywood interpretation of an Asian horror film. And frankly, the track record in this genre isn’t all that great.

Second, if the screening had been any later I’d have been seeing this movie and writing the review on opening day. I can see a studio not wanting to screen a movie, but when you schedule your screenings at the last possible moment, you’re sending a message whether you mean to or not.

Despite my upfront bias, I tried to keep an open mind; but I have to admit, I mostly struggled to stay awake through this one. There are a few chilling moments but they didn’t happen often enough or with enough intensity to keep the adrenaline rush going. That and the frequent laughter from the audience made it hard to appreciate this as a horror movie.

The material the cast is working with has big issues, such as gaping plot holes big enough to run a Japanese train though. Sadly, the cast doesn’t really do themselves any favors either. Most of the load falls on the shoulders of Joshua Jackson as Ben and Rachael Taylor in her first leading role as Jane. Unfortunately the uneven acting veers wildly between deadpan exposition designed to move the plot forward and hysterical over-acting in an attempt to ramp up the tension.

Ultimately, I think Shutter commits the cardinal sin of failed horror films: it simply isn’t scary or gory enough to satisfy fans of the genre. Frankly, I was rooting for the spirit to kill off all the principal characters just to bring the experience to an end sooner.

Shutter is rated PG-13 for “terror, disturbing images, sexual content and language.” Honestly, I thought it was pretty tame overall. The sexual content is suggested and not even close to explicit though the plot has implications that are a little more mature. The disturbing images are very brief.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Michael attended a promotional screening of Shutter.