Product Details

• Actors: Chen Chang, Kevin S. Smith, Barbie Hsu, Kar Yan Lam, Chun-Ning Chang
• Directors: Chao-Bin Su
• Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Tartan Video
• DVD Release Date: June 12, 2007
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NO243E
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,452 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
(Horror) When a Canadian research photographer is killed, leaving behind a photo of a boy in an otherwise empty room, paranormal investigative scientist, Hashimoto, and his team investigate the scene. Armed with a newly invented material they capture the ghost: an unidentified 13-year old boy. Who is this ghost? Why does it kill people? As they seal off the room and monitor the captured spirit, they soon learn that even though it’s energy can be visibly seen, humans are unable to hear it. In an effort to learn the ghost’s past, Hashimoto’s team enlists the help of special agent Ye, gifted with extraordinary eyesight and ability to lip-read. As Ye gets closer to solving the riddle of the boy’s past, he learns the horrifying truth of the boy’s death. Fearing that the ghost child is dangerous, the team decides to isolate the ghost but in doing so they unknowingly unleash a mysterious force, a much more powerful and ferocious energy to which the boy somehow seems connected.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful and immersive sci-fi, horror flick..., May 21, 2007

By	Woopak "The THRILL" (Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

SILK is a sleeper hit in Asia. I took a chance when I purchased the REGION-3 DTS Hong Kong release and man!, was I pleased with the decision. This is one of the best supernatural thrillers I've seen since SHUTTER, RINGU and THE SIXTH SENSE, and the best thing about it is it doesn't rely on the "WATERLOGGED, long-haired ghost" to achieve thrills. From what I heard the TARTAN release will use the same video transfer as the Deltamac release.

SYPNOSIS:(May have some spoilers)
The film is a mix of SCI-FI and the usual elements of ASIAN HORROR. A group of scientists led by Hashimoto, armed with a newly invented material called the MENGER SPONGE captures the energy of a ghost child. This invention financed/owned by the Japanese government, is quite malleable and can be used as a coat for walls, for camera filters and can be used as an eye-spray to allow the user to see Ghosts.
They enlist the aid of an agent named Ye Tung, a law enforcer from the JCCU, who can read lips and has a gifted eyesight, to assist them in unveiling the mystery of the ghost child. Hashimoto and his team lets the ghost child loose, so that,Ye, aided with the MENGER SPONGE spray, can see a strand of SILK that emanates from the supernatural child, this strand is the key to a mysterious power.
Ye tracks the ghostly boy and the strand to the horrifying truth of the child's death. Fearing that the ghost child is dangerous and for his own hidden agenda, Hashimoto,(and his team) decides to isolate him, but in doing so, they unknowingly unleashed the supernatural force in the other end of the SILK strand, a MUCH more POWERFUL, and MALEVOLENT energy.

This film really kept my attention for the whole 105 minutes. It doesn't have cheap scares, but instead relies on the plot to slowly unveal, the suspense builds up the closer you approach the climax. Each lead character is developed carefully. It is a story about love, hate and learning to let go, unlike most Asian horror flicks focuses on a VENGEFUL, Blood-thirsty ghost.
Note: The "MENGER SPONGE" does actually exist. Although, the actual Menger Sponge won't allow anyone to perform paranoramal feats or catch ghosts. I still think it is very interesting. Look it up in Wikipedia.

PICTURE: ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN(aspect ratio 1:78). The picture is nicely shot, sharp and smooth. The color pallette leans towards a "Green Bleach" hue, similar to most Japanese horror films. There are some video artifacts on some scenes, but not that noticeable. another very good video transfer from DELTAMAC.
AUDIO/SUBTITLES: Japanese/Mandarin- 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL and 5.1 DTS. The DTS audio is the way to go. You can hear all the creaks and whispers in a much fuller sound. The English subtitles are well executed, not perfect with some typos here and there, but not distracting and annoying.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Deleted scenes, making-of, Outtakes, photo gallery, extra bonus.

This film is well-worth a look if you like SCI-FI Horror films. I saw this film 4-5 months ago(thanks to the magic of multi-region players), I'm pleased that it received a REGION-1 release this soon so people can see the quality films that come from Asia.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! (for Horror fans)[4 Stars]

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A truly new concept!, June 21, 2007

By	LFrog1386 (Canterbury, CT) - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed this film. I am a fan of Asian horror films but have gotten tired of the same "vengeful ghost" scenario. OK, so maybe this movie DOES have a vengeful ghost, but it's premise of capturing a ghost for scientific purposes is pretty original. It's a cool blend of sci-fi and horror and I would highly recommend it to Asian horror fans.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Horror/Sci-Fi Melange, February 5, 2008

By	W. Koenigsmann "Wendy Koenigsmann" (Northern Hemisphere) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

It was said that this film was not intended to be a horror, but to be honest, that is what it seems to be. It is a horror with touches of sci-fi and drama.

The best part about this film is the complex characters and their equally complex relationships. The lead male actor (who plays the expert lip-reader) gives a very intense performance, as does the actor who played the paranormal scientist Hashimoto.

While this film is intelligent and creative, as others have pointed out, I still don't think it's on par with other great Asia Extreme releases, for instance, "A Tale of Two Sisters" is the best I've seen so far, along with "Wishing Stairs." Perhaps the beautiful yet creepy aesthetics of those two horror films seems more appealing, as sci-fi elements often do not seem to blend well with horror; therefore, "Silk" will appeal more so to those who like a dash of science fiction in their films.