The secret to every good thriller is how far can it invade the viewer’s mind, unleashing its fears or even creating new ones. Once we are all so different from each other, movies like this affect us in different ways. So its reviews are in fact much more personal than usual.
To me this is the best one since The Ring. The simplicity of the story makes it possible for any of us to relate to it: who hasn’t heard a weird noise in the middle of night. Its straightforwardness and realistic shooting style (like a home video) its definitely a japanese influence, the true masters of thrillers.
Mind games with sounds and invisible threats stimulate its audience imagination – the viewer creates his own version of a monster, making this a terrifying experience all by himself. The flaw is perhaps the special effects in the end – they just remind us that this is still a hollywood movie – but this is just a tiny detail, don’t mind it. Everything else, truly terrifying.
