I suppose I continue following - and bookmarking - these curated lists of horror films (along with other genres) because, in spite of probably 90% of these films being anything from a mediocre film to an absolute dud, every great once in awhile you run across a rare gem that just scares the bejabbers outta you, or else it's just got a great "creepy" feel to it, or it's excessively gruesome and violent (some of us enjoy those; don't hate), or what have you. But yes, I continue harvesting these lists because, again, every so often, you run across a really awesome movie that merits you plodding through several other duds on the same list.

This was not one of those rare gems.

THIS was everything I **hate** about those lists and my seemingly-incurable penchant for following those lists and expecting movies to really be as truly horrific as the list curator (or curators) proclaim them to be. Now, if foreign films are your bag (this is 100% Japanese but you can find it with English subtitles), then the "foreign" part won't bother you. But the "foreign" part didn't bother me, either... This movie just plain sucked. It wasn't "scary", it wasn't "gory", it wasn't "horrific", it wasn't terrifying. I'm not sure what it was _supposed_ to be, but I can tell you that it wasn't a "horror" movie. It was horrible, yes, but it wasn't a horror film. I don't know if this was supposed to be "based on a true story" or "found footage" or "horror documentary" or what, but it was just a blended mess of...I don't know: demonic activity + possession + dead pigeons + a weird little kid + an even weirder woman + mehhh... pretty much anything else you wanted to throw in there. And yes, the resulting concoction is exactly what you would expect: a huge blob of nothingness that amounted to an enormous waste of time.

Keep in mind, this "review" (if that's what this is?) should not be attested to any kind of prejudice against foreign films. The acting was, I suppose, good enough (I'm no expert on Japanese films but I had no problem with the acting of any of the cast, and in some places, the acting was superbly dramatic.) to portray a great story. My problem with this was the story (or LACK of) itself; I have no idea what this was about, other than some demonic entity. I couldn't tell you if this was supposed to be "based on actual events" or what the demonic entity was supposed to be guilty of, or much of anything else about this thing. It was "documentary-style", meaning you follow the guy around with a handheld vidcam, and you watch him interview, and then the plot thickens, and he gets deeper and deeper into what's happening until, voila... weird ending.

If you still want to watch the film after reading this (do so at your own risk, mind you), just know that you need to watch ALL THE WAY TO THE VERY END. There's a point where it appears the end credits are rolling, but keep watching. Not that it gets any better, but if you're gonna do this to yourself, you might as well endure the entire agony.

Sadly, I will - in all likelihood - keep scouring the 'net for good recommendations, but sometimes I do still find a gem. This just wasn't one of them. This thing just reeked. Period.

Like another film that I watched just last night, this one was also curated on a list entitled, _15 Horror Movies That Are So Scary, It’s Hard to Watch More Than Once_ . And like the one I watched last night, I can also see why this one would be considered "Hard to Watch More Than Once"...but it ain't because it's that scary.