Occult (2009) (Japan)

aka The Unidentified

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Shocking footage of a brutal knife attack which leaves two dead and one seriously injured at a beautiful sightseeing resort, grabs the attention of filmmaker Kôji Shiraishi. The mystery as to why the attack occurred has not been answered because the killer jumped off a nearby cliff and supposedly died in the waters, although his body was never found. Thanks to a trio of girls filming their trip, we’re left with some disturbing footage and a bunch of questions. So intrigued by the event, he picks up a camera and begins investigating with a small team. Interviews with witnesses and those that knew the victims paints an intriguing portrait of a tragedy but when he digs a little deeper, shit gets weird. It seems that the location of the incident, Myogasaki, had drawn the victims there and not in the way that a beautiful location usually gets its tourists. The idea that something really important is going to happen there seems to bore itself into some folks heads and the draw of the place is too strong to ignore. The dead return in the dreams of those they left behind and offer up comfort but we can’t help but feel there is something sinister brewing beneath the obvious. I know it’s almost two decades old but I refuse to give any answers and spoil the wonderful journey down a high strangeness rabbit hole that this movie is. Kôji Shiraishi knows how to do found footage and he proves it again here. It fits comfortably beside his fascinating Senritsu Kaiki File series and the genre defining Noroi: The Curse. Check it out, it’s intriguing even if it runs a bit longer than necessary. Killer soundtrack.