Notorious
history disclosure is a big deal in real estate law, but here in the city, we
don’t care. If we hear of a murder-suicide in a good building, we ask if that
means there’s a vacancy. Tokyo is sort of like that, but this particular flat
renting well below the neighborhood market rate still maintains an ominously high
turnover rate. The newest tenant finds out why in Yoshihiro Nakamura’s The Inerasables (trailer here), which screens
during the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival.
“I,
the mystery novelist” does not talk about herself much, but she has a good relationship
with her fans. Currently, she has a regular magazine gig writing ghost stories
based on real experiences submitted by her readers. The latest comes from a university
architecture student, who will simply be known as “Kubo.” Soon after moving
into her suspicious affordable apartment, she started hearing noises from the
bedroom nook. She eventually realizes in is the sound of a kimono sash sweeping
the floor as the spirit wearing it swings on her spectral noose.
The
unwanted supernatural disturbances are entirely confined to the one room of
Kubo’s flat, but they appear to be rampant throughout the neighboring unit.
With “I’s” help, Kubo starts investigating the history of the land itself,
uncovering a chronicle of violent tragedy dating back over a century.
Inerasable is a wickedly
smart and atmospheric film that turns j-horror conventions on their head. It is
no accident “I” narrates the film, because Inerasable
is very much about the telling of the tale. There is really no gore at all
to be found within, but it is massively eerie to watch as the layers of the
onion are peeled back. This is a horror film mystery readers will flip for,
because it is driven by the investigative process. Frankly, Inerasable
will scare viewers directly in proportion to their level of concentration.
As
a further relative rarity, Inerasable also
features several complex characters played by a first class cast with
understated discipline (masterfully helmed by Nakamura). As the cool, calm, and cerebral “I,” Yuko Taakeuchi
makes Jessica Fletcher look like a bumbling idiot. Ai Hashimoto’s Kudo is also
smart and acutely sensitive. Kuranosuke Sasaki adds some wit and panache as I’s
mystery writer colleague, Yoshiaki Hiraoka, while Kenichi Takito keeps it real
as Naoto, I’s down to earth husband.
