COMMENTS
I had the chance to see this Japanese film a long time ago, but I never took it, because I was dubious about whether it would actually be good or not, but I figured, what the hell, and checked it out and I'm glad I did, because it ended up being a pretty cool film.

The story is about this series of recent bizarre killings where the killer apparently likes to cook and eats its victims brains. Two detectives are assigned to look into it and they end up finding that the killer may have some supernatural power.

The movie really hooks you from the start and it's really fast-paced, but since it's about two hours it loses its pace after the first hour to tell the story about the killer and what he or she really is. The movie had a lot of potential of being better than it was, but I thought when they revealed what it really was that it kind of got silly. I guess I just expected something better.

It had a lot of good gore and a lot of sweet scenes for the first hour. The problem with this is it was just too long and they couldn't keep the pace of the first hour in the second. I thought a lot of scenes could have been disposed of, because they were a little too long and unneeded.

I really wanted to give the movie a higher rating, but it couldn't keep the fast pace it had in the beginning and when more of the story was revealed it got a little too "out there".

I believe Fangoria Magazine has the American rights to the film and will be distributing in the US sometime this year, so most likely you might see this film in your local Blockbuster. If you do get this film, enjoy the first hour of it, cuz the second wont be as good.

OVERALL
A good Japanese horror film that really hooks the audience in the beginning, but fails to keep the fast-pace in the beginning through the rest of the film. I would still recommend it for a good watch.

To give to much of the plot away is to ruin the film. Because of this, I suggest not reading the summery on the back of the Hong Kong DVD because it will spoil parts of the film for you. Detective Manabu (Eguchi Yousuke) a team of police investigate the gruesome murder of a man. The soon discover that his brain is missing – and its location is more than a little disturbing. Veteran detective Tobitaka (Harada Yoshio) works with Manabu to uncover the crime. Asako (Ichikawa Miwako), a rather unattractive, though seductive, former relation of Tobitaka tracks him down. Learning of the murders and methods, she reasons that the killer must be a woman, because no man could complete the equation. Internally, Tobitaka agrees, knowing of the small handprints on the victim, though externally his “manly pride” leads him to exclaim that men are just as capable. As the investigation proceeds, we learn that Asako and Tobitaka’s internal instincts were right – and the woman, Kashiwagi Chiduru (Okamoto Yukiko), seduces three men. One of the three makes moves on her as she prepares a salad. She is chillingly unnreactive until she suddenly slams the knife into the cutting board, turns around, and proceeds to have sex with him before breaking his neck. Another of the two, returning from getting groceries, saves himself by giving her a brutal head injury and running away. The third, who earlier had been drinking with his nose bleeding (a cultural reference to horniness), cowers in a corner. When Tobitaka arrives, Chiduru is lying dead on the floor, and he peels part of her head away to find that her brain is apparently missing. Upon an autopsy, they discover that her brain was not removed – it shriveled up into a corner and the “killer”, a kind of entity that neither of the detectives can understand nor accept. As the film progresses, it moves through various twists and turns and constantly keeps the viewer guessing until its final minutes.

George Iida, director and author of the screenplay of Rasen, the unofficial sequel to Ring, creates a chilling environment for Another Heaven. From it’s brutal and unflinching opening to it’s blazing finale, his style enchants the viewer and brings them into the film in a way few films do. He holds nothing back when showing the brutal remains of the victims, and yet it’s never excessively disgusting. Though his relatively quick cuts imply that he’s not very sure of any of his shots, hi composition, movement, and camera placement is great in almost every instance. I’m surprised and disappointed to find that this is one of the few films to which he leant his directorial talents.

The acting elevates the film above all the other films of its genre. The weakest of the cast, Ichikawa Miwako, is only week for the first 30 or 40 minutes; as her character starts to take of, so does the quality of her performance. Eguchi Yousuke does very well conveying the wide range of emotions his character faces and in showing the confusion and at times inner disgust that Tobitaka faces. Okamoto Yukiko is great in her hauntingly seductive role, and all of the actors playing vehicles of the supernatural killer play their roles very well and leave the viewer thoroughly disconcerted.

As I mentioned earlier, Another Heaven has its share of problems. The motivation for the removal of victims’ brains is never explained. Manabu and Asako’s relationship changes almost unbelievably quickly. However, the film’s strong points more than make up for these shortcomings. Some have commented that the film is sexist and degrading to women, and that is not true at all. I instead see this film as showing the strength of women. It may not be as satisfying to the more extreme feminists as Audition, but those who claim that it is derogatory obviously didn’t pay close enough attention to the film. If you’re a fan of films, and don’t mind a somewhat hefty amount of cadaver gore, Another Heaven is a film not likely to disappoint you.