Hey you horror lovers: "Kairo" is an awsome movie. I own this movie, and every once in a while I take it out and watch it. This movie was well done, the actors are great. everything in the movie is eerie, spooky, scary of some unknown thing that is happening all around the world. These college kids begin to notice something is not wright in Thenmark. See, their friends begin to disappear, first they act strange, then all of a sudden they're gone. Before long everyone is acting strange, commiting sucide, or just disapearring. One girl and one guy start to figure out what is going on; before long they meet. Everywhere they look they see ghost-like creatures who were normal people--they're not alive or dead, they're just there for all time. The plot was that the ghost's region is overflowing, so in order to keep people from dying, they made them live forever. Not good, since living like that would be a horrible way to exist. So the two kids ran for their life together in a crew ship with others who rather be alive then just being. This all started with the computer, that's how the ghost did it. Well, like I said, this movie is real good, you won't regret getting it.

"Kairo" was profoundly unnerving. Bleak and apocalyptically breathtaking in both its visuals and its premise, it does what great horror frequently does ... it creates and explores a visual and emotional metaphor, casting a shadowy light on an aspect of the human condition, in this case, isolation and loneliness. Computers and the Internet provide the plot hardware and the structure, but it's not technophobic (despite at least one review I've read). The technology is the means, not the subject of attack.

Nor is the film a mere "Ring" rip-off. It's a different beast from the excellent "Ring" and deserves to be seen independently of it. In a way "Kairo" is more soul-wrenching in its vision, while being equally creepy. Certainly it offers much wider implications.

There were scenes where I simply stopped breathing -- not so much 'shock' scenes, as moments of sheer existential terror, and they would go on, and on, until all I could do was stare, entranced and chilled to the bone. Excellent cinematography, a unique visualization of its ghosts, superbly paced and utterly involving, even when you don't have a clue what's going on ... There's absolutely no gore, no violence ... but lots of terror. The way shadows form and drift in the background, echoing the emotions of the characters, is totally unsettling. I will definitely be seeking out Kurosawa's other films.