Review: Thanks to the success of RINGU, the demand for creepy Japanese films starring villainous girls with long black hair has been plentiful. But sadly, most of these movies are cheap rip-offs that have milked every little aspect of RINGU in lousy attempts at recreating the largely successful horror film. SHIKOKU is no exception. Someone has got to put a stop to this!

The word "shikoku" can mean one of two things, depending on the type of kanji used. The first being "four countries," and the second is "land of the dead." Very clever title indeed since it suits the story of the film to a tee.

SHIKOKU was based on a book written by Masako Bando. It should be noted that Bando had nothing to do with the screenplay and is probably embarrassed as hell that this film was ever made. What may have once been a good story has now become a piss-poor horror film of the ages. Don't let it tarnish the good man's name!

Director Shunichi Nagasaki (SOME KINDA LOVE) is a filmmaker that has never been apart of any reputable films, so it's kind of hard to go in with grand expectations. Just after the first five minutes, you can see how weak the film is going to be with the ghetto handheld camerawork and cheesy lighting that clearly displayed the fact that it was definitely amateur night.

It is really frustrating when you see a horror film that lacks the horror part. Understandably, audiences today are much harder to scare than fifty years ago, but at least put some effort into it. Come on! There was not a single character that I was rooting for, or wishing dead. It's unfortunate when you lack any and every emotion for all of the films participants, especially when the story is supposed to be one with deep content. SHIKOKU failed to create enough character and relationship development as well as the reason for conflict. The lack of these things doesn't mean that the film is hard to follow, because it's definitely not (it's pretty formulaic). Instead, we are left with is a hearty and overwhelming dose of boredom.

Obviously many people have the desire to see SHIKOKU because it stars Chiaki Kuriyama (KILL BILL, BATTLE ROYALE). But don't let this be the sole reason you seek out this one because she simply offers nothing to the movie. Her acting ability is below average, (which fits in nice with the rest of the cast since they have nothing special to offer either) and her character barely has any screen time in the film until the end, despite the fact that the whole film is based around her. Actually, it was a good thing that we didn't see much of her because she was quite irritating (seemed as if she suffered from mild retardation) and not even her supposed sex appeal could save her.

Yui Natsukawa (ONMYOJI) and Michitaka Tsutsui gave equally dull and awkward performances and had no chemistry whatsoever. Luckily Ren Osugi (UZUMAKI, HANA-BI) was there to save the day with his role as Hinako's father. But wait...oh that's right! He only had about 3 minutes of screen time with almost no dialogue. How could I forget?

With a weak cast backed by an even weaker crew, it was inevitable that SHIKOKU was going to suck. Rarely do I find a film this lifeless and intolerable. It may have been one of the most boring films ever made. There aren't any real positive aspects that come to mind, which is too bad because it would be only fair to touch upon those things as well. If a film (especially horror) has a weak story, at least make up for it with some kind of fun and entertainment, a good cast, something -- anything. It's easier to forgive and forget when you have something with which to work. But with these things in mind, if you choose to skip this one...you won't be missing out.