Customer Reviews

Tales From The Dead

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Tales from the Dead" is a trilogy of supernatural tales narrated by a mysterious female psychic Tamika when she picks up a female hitchhiker. The stories all revolve around the premise of greed and what happens to humans when they give in to greed. There is also a plot revolving around the hitchhiker herself, and she learns too late that it is not mere coincidence that led Tamika to give her a lift.

The stories are actually quite interesting, though there is an element of predictability in them. The production is obviously low-budget and the movie itself seems like a home-made production with rather grainy pictures and less than credible special effects/make-up. I would have given it two stars if not for the interesting stories. There are many other J-horror anthologies out there, and this is a rental at best. The dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles. For those who'd like to watch some J-horror anthologies, check out:
Tales of Terror Collection: From Tokyo And All Over Japan (4DVD)

"Tales from the Dead" is more in the line of "The Twilight Zone." It is suspenful, leading reader to consider his/her own values and priorities. The acting, music and plots hold viewer's attention leaving one with the desire to see it more than once.

This movie is in the style of current Japanese horror movies, and consists of a series of tales told by psychic as she drives a woman hitchhiker. The production is low-budget, but the stories are entertaining. The movie is in Japanese with English subtitles, and was shot on location - in California! This is most obvious in a cemetery scene - no typical Japanese cemetery looks like that. Most of the actors have typical Japanese names but don't look typically Japanese. More telling is their Japanese: Native Japanese speakers will immediately recognize that these actors do not speak phonetically the Japanese of native speakers, and may be sansei or other asians reasonably fluent in Japanese.