User reviews

An effective combination of 'change the future'-style sci-fi thriller and traditional Japanese horror. PREMONITION tells the story of an ordinary man caught up in some extraordinary events…and the dark avenues to which he is eventually led as a result of this.

Things kick off with a shocking set-piece in which a young girl is killed in one of those accidents that are filmed so well in Asian cinema. Years later and the father blames himself for not saving her, as he was warned by a newspaper article in the moments before her death. Soon he becomes convinced that he can go back in time to save her, and becomes involved with various psychics who claim to be able to see the future.

What follows is both familiar and unpredictable at the same time. Director Norio Tsuruta, hot off making RING 0, shoots this as a horror rather than science fiction film, so incorporates various scare sequences that end up being very effective. There's little to no gore here, just a creeping psychological approach that pays dividends as the story progresses. I defy anyone not to jump in their seat at the 'faceless ghost' scene.

The pacing is rather slow – when isn't it in a J-horror? – but it gradually picks up as the film builds momentum, culminating in a blistering climax involving our protagonist hopping through realities at a dizzying pace. It reminded me of the hilarious extended fight climax of Wes Craven's SHOCKER, although of course it's treated seriously here. Hiroshi Mikami is excellent as the haunted protagonist – think of the calibre of Hiroyuki Sanada in Ring and you'll be close – and the film as a whole never pulls its punches.

Skillfully edited and highly tensioned, Yogen is one every so often discussed psycho-horror. It's been produced from the idea of the same titled Japanese comic book of 1950s' and follows the storyline of a solid Japanese novel from the same decade. The comic book creates a heroic theme out of a psychic family man who saves his family from a traffic accident, while the novel focuses on precognitive newspaper delusions seen by ordinary people.

In the opening scene, giving a little clue of the main idea, we're being introduced to a middle-aged female victim of a paranormal incident taken from a newspaper article. She is being tested over her newly acquired supernatural skills at an university research laboratory. The second scene, where main characters are introduced, has the heart-wrenching traffic accident that gives cause for a chain of more alike accidents. The common trait of each accident is that they both have precognitive warnings to their survivors. The survivors of this first accident were parents to a 5-year-old singleton, who got killed in the accident. To their surprise their daughter has been the only vein that holds them together. Atfer the death of their daughter they get parted. They both keep receiving precognitive warnings for next alike accidents of their colleagues, disciples, friends and relatives.

Over the last few years we've seen likes of this idea in Hollywood. With Sandra Bullock, also with Nicolas Cage there were either action or drama based films displayed. Among all, Yogen has the most influential message: Everyone has tremendous abilities hidden inside that might become surfaced once in a while for everyone. But we're not born to behave like angels or daemons. To have psychic skills is no means of becoming stronger or wiser. Uncontrolled power is not power at all, and we're not born to have such powers.

With extreme usage of melodrama and surrealist pen-portraits, Yogen is a one-way ticket for travelling into a metaphysical world of limitless secrets, symbols, dreams and intuition where time has lost its permanence.

While driving through the countryside with his wife and daughter,Hideki Satomi stops at the phone booth to send an email.There he discovers a scrap of newsprint with his daughter's picture on it,and an article describing her death in a traffic accident.With a sense of horrible premonition and foreboding,he witnesses the terrifying automobile accident that had been accurately described in the article.The grieving father becomes obsessed with uncovering the mystery of the newspaper."Yogen" is the second installment in Taka Ischige sponsored "J-Horror Theater" series.The film is not as effectively creepy as "Kansen",but the acting is great and the beginning is truly powerful.The climax is pretty satisfying,unfortunately the middle section of the film leads to nowhere.Still if you like sophisticated horror films that deal with fate and its consequences give "Yogen" a look.7 out of 10.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to see into the future? To predict events before they happen? Well, PREMONITION presents us with the darker, bleaker side of this concept.

What if you knew about an upcoming tragedy or disaster? Would you attempt to alter the outcome? Unfortunately, in this film, there appears to be a high price to be paid, regardless of what is done. Or, not done. If your itch is scratched by stories about otherworldly events and the creeping unknown, you've hit pay dirt!...

Following closely on the heels of 'Kansen' (aka 'Infection'), 'Yogen' in the next J-horror flick in the planned series. Arguably better than it's predecessor, it still fails to achieve greatness.

While on a family vacation, a man finds a newspaper clipping detailing the death of his daughter moments before she dies. After the incident, the man and his estranged wife try to understand how this phenomenon occurred and possibly how to use it to change the future.

The opening scene makes a promise that much of the film doesn't live up to. It's a tightly filmed piece of suspense that yields a great pay off, yet sadly the scenes that follow dwindle into monotony and tedium as the audience must wait for the characters to figure out what has already been clearly stated. I hate to say it, but I had a hard time sitting through much of the film. Not until nearer the end do things pick-up again, when the father begins a twisted time traveling scenario that borders on sheer lunacy and is so deliciously entertaining.

Technically the film is competent. Camera work, color, and the like are good. The actors are also quiet capable even if the writing is dull. All in all no better or worse than most Japanese horror flicks.

A quality opening and a bizarrely satisfying conclusion bookend an otherwise ordinary tale of loss and the supernatural.

6/10

Excellent Japanese psychological horror film.

Not a lot of blood or scariness; this film is a mind game.

Long time Japanese actor Hiroshi Mikami sees his daughter's death minutes before it happens. His wife, Noriko Sakai (star of the Japanese version of The Grudge 2), thinks he is crazy and they split.

But, she investigates further and finds a strange Japanese legend about premonition.

They find out what happens if you try to change it, and he has to choose his destiny.

Tense drama, slow at times, but a great ending.

Someone feel free to call BS on this, but it seems that as soon as J-Horror became self-conscious (and subsequently donned the moniker J-Horror), the genre films coming out of Asia have become less and less effective...interesting...engrossing...OK, scary.

For evidence, all you need to do is watch the two self-consciously titled J-Horror flicks, "Yogen" and "Kansen," and compare them to earlier Asian horror entries (any of the Kurosawa films, "Uzumaki," "Temegotchi," or even "Jisatsu Circle"). I guess it's the same cautionary-evolutionary tale of "alternative entertainment" becoming the Walmart-driven norm. (Uh-oh, I've blown my cover; I am a bitter old man after all.)

At the risk of sounding clichéd and nostalgic, once upon a time, contemporary Asian horror was largely uncharted territory for us folks in the US. It was a wild landscape, filled with dread and darkness (and some real characters and some real sadness). As non-Hollywood product that had to be procured carefully and watched on a region-free DVD player that you couldn't buy at Walmart, Asian horror flicks had that ineffable, mysterious WOW FACTOR. I remember thinking, 'Supernatural horror is BACK!' Seven years ago, I called it that "Omigod that longhair chick is not actually going to climb outta that damn television" effect. Horror was new again, it had teeth again, and I could watch a horror film made by someone other than Wes Craven or one of his idiot minions and actually get the crap scared out of me.

YAY!

But I guess all good things must come to pass. For example, I bought this DVD at Walmart. (OK, that is entirely irrelevant.) To its credit, "Yogen" (Premonition) tries very hard to embrace that real Asian horror of a decade ago. It conjures up vulnerable characters as best it can; it slathers in the pathos of burnt-children-ghosts desperately calling out their parent's names at midnight; it infuses itself with jump shots of trucks appearing out of nowhere to pulverize innocent pedestrians; it even has people turning into black, ashy marks on the walls and floors as they mysteriously pass from this world into oblivion (I hope Kurosawa gave permission for that one!).

But regardless of its flawless twists and turns, fine acting, and solid visuals....it just comes up flat. Don't get me wrong: "Yogen" has the melodrama, detailed apocalyptic storyline, and even a little bit of the "ick" factor. But when it comes right down to it, "Yogen" simply does not have the chops. Yes, we've got the wide-eyed male protagonist who is at turns weepy and angry, the steely female lead who is determined to understand the supernatural secret of the "fear newspaper," and the victims who have nasty things happen to them (acts which are never entirely justified or understandable of course--gotta love that hopeless, random Asian horror!).

But "Yogen" ends up being only a shadow of the many truly terrifying films that preceded it. I realize that my comment here may be less a movie review and more a statement about my own jaded plane of existence. In fact, there may be nothing wrong with "Yogen" at all. Those discovering the newfangled-named J-Horror for the first time will probably be swept into its depressing, hopeful, sad, unpredictable realm. But for those of us who have been riding the wave of Asian horror (which some say crashed to the shore half a decade ago)--well, we just need to make sure we don't get pulled down by the undertow. (And Jennifer Connelley was absolutely fine in the "Dark Water" remake; but I still prefer the convoluted original...apologies.)

EPILOGUE: So, I hear that Kurosawa's "Kairo/Pulse" is being remade by an American director and is being cast as a "punk" flick of some kind. Hmmm, I hate to say it, but methinks I've got a lot of heartbreak coming down the pike.

A very creative Japanese horror movie, in the style of Ju-On. It's fairly slow-paced, being character and plot driven, but this is the right approach due to its clever, intelligent, and emotional script.

A man starts receiving a newspaper which predicts tragic future events, sort of the "Early Edition" TV show's premise, except in the case of the E.E., the purpose was to give the paper's recipient ample warning to prevent the tragedy. Here, by contrast, the intention is clearly evil. The newspaper appears in an always sinister way, even "chasing" the man sometimes, and forcing him to see future events, which he learns he is not allowed to interfere with; if he does, he will unleash grotesque consequences. Then the paper torments him with a story about his own family.

The characters are very easy to identify with as innocents who have been cast into this danger, and have done nothing wrong, rather than the usual horror movie victims who are evil and/or stupid. The story unfolds in a the fashion of learning new information along with the main character. The terror of the people in jeopardy is well defined, and the story reaches a touching and poignant denouement. Worth watching.

Norio Tsuruta is one of those journeyman directors who has gained work from the recent reinvigoration of Asian horror. His Premonition is watchable enough even if, like the other work from this director, it hardly reaches the heights of more celebrated titles from the same source. Despite effective moments,it suffers from an atmosphere more often glum than truly terrifying, as well as structural disorientation in its last part which is at best a welcome change of pace, and at worst slightly incoherent.

Premonition's Twilight Zone-type central idea (even the source story's name, 'The Newspaper Of Terror' is reminiscent of pulp fiction) is of a demonic publication, extracted from the 'Akashic Record': "a place in the cosmos where all events, past and present, are recorded." The Record appears at disconcerting and unsettling moments to those with sight to see it and offers, to those few at least, dire warnings of the future. Its exact provenance is otherwise unexplored except in a couple of hushed conversations, but the ominous paper appears in time to offer its unfortunate recipients the chance, if at some personal cost, to change the destinies of others. In one of the more effective scenes, the Record is first seen and read by one Hideki Satomi (Hiroshi Mikami), a college lecturer who learns of the impending death of his three-year-old daughter. Unable to believe his eyes and use the foresight allowed, the tragedy duly occurs. Flash forward three years and the still distraught and distracted Satomi, now estranged from his wife, finds that the Record reaches him again, this time with news of a murderer's next young victim. Meanwhile his wife's scepticism is overcome when, through a medium, she discovers independent verification of the spectral broadsheet...

After the initial loss and the shock it engenders, for the most part the film now settles down into a mildly disturbing rut of dread and guilt brought by the expected off-world news. Satomi and wife, now brought back together by events, track down the earthly remains of a psychic who previously also had the curse of precognition. Working amongst his (amazingly dust-free and neatly racked) effects to reconstruct his warnings - a process including the use of a video as a moment of shock, a by now stock-in-trade of Japanese horror - the two soon confront the narrative's central dilemma: whether or not to change events, even when to do so inevitably leads to physical deterioration and madness.

The principal suspense factor of the film is thus predicated around the newspaper's expected arrival, which duly arrives in a few suspenseful moments (my favourite is of the publication, hovering like some bird of prey, hunting alongside a desperately speeding car) and there are some spooky moments set in an asylum. But a sustained atmosphere of terror is a difficult trick to pull off, and ultimately the film suffers in comparison to more effective productions with similar, dark atmospheres - like Dark Water for instance. Perhaps recognizing this, Premonition's most notable creative decision occurs in the last section of the drama when, as a climax to the piece, Satomi undergoes a series of frightening spatial and temporal experiences. It's rather a shock, especially after the linear construction dominating the rest of the film and, frankly, internal logic is a little strained. But these few minutes, right up to and including the end, have the merit of finishing with a much needed flourish. They also inject something of the disorientation of fear into proceedings, bringing a sustained and necessary sense that the human is at the mercy of a capricious cosmos that was missing previously. And, if this reviewer wished that matters had come to an end more darkly than the final, slightly-too-happy conclusion offered here - bringing up the credits on the abrupt death of a major character for instance, would have been more disturbing - these last, fast-moving scenes offer tension in a way which aptly harks back to the beginning.

The acting of the principals is adequate, even if there are no scenes that require complex emoting. The UK copy seen by this reviewer was cropped uncomfortably from what looks like an original ratio of 1.85:1. For a genre in which fear often lurks at the edge of the frame, this is an unfortunate choice, especially when some relatively undistinguished cinematography needs all the help it can get. No real extras either. If you're a fan of this sort of cinema, then the overall package will remain entertaining enough, and it will certainly serve until something better comes along.

Having children myself, this movie struck me in a very emotional way. In fact, I was ALMOST moved to tears. That does not happen often.

If you're looking for a Ringu type horror flick, this isn't it. At times, Yogen moves rather slowly and doesn't pack the creepy punch I was expecting. That being said, I found the "creep" to be replaced with "emotion." There could have been disappointment from the lack of scares since I was looking to watch a horror movie, but was pleasantly surprised by how moved I was. The ending is just perfect.

If you're a parent or simply know the feeling of emotional bonds, Yogen has the power to move you more than typical horror would.

When I first heard about the J-Horror Theater collection the premise sounded awesome and was eager to view whichever installment came my way first. I still have high hopes for other titles in the series mind you, but upon completion of Volume 2: "Yogen" (Premonition), my enthusiasm has been shaken.

Not that the basic premise of "Yogen" is all that bad or the movie suffered from awful production value - its just the base narrative is so fractured the stronger points are suffocated. And I love fractured narratives; Ju-On: The Grudge, Memento and similar flicks thrill me like nothing else can. Like these movies did, "Yogen" too takes drastic left turns to introduce key facets of the plot, but lacks even eventual explanation of newly introduced elements.

Remember, this is just the opinion of an uneducated geek here, so if I am way off base feel free to call me on it.

Sometimes it amazes me just how far off base expectations can turn out to be though: "Yogen" turned out to be the type of scare-free feel-good failure I assumed 'White Noise' was going to be. I bring this up as the two story lines are very similar, so if you have any reservations about "Yogen" I recommend skipping it and checking out the far superior Michael Keaton flick if you haven't already.

Thanks for listening!

While stopped at a roadside phone boot for transmitting his work through Internet to the university, Professor Hideki Satomi (Hiroshi Mikami) finds a scrap of newspaper with the picture of his five years old daughter Nana (Hana Inoue) in the obituary. He sees his wife Ayaka Satomi (Noriko Sakai) trying to release their daughter from the seat-belt, when a truck without steer hits his car killing Nana. Three years later, Hideki is divorced from Ayaka, who is researching paranormal persons who claim to have read an evil newspaper anticipating the future still trying to believe on Hideki, and she finds that there are people cursed to foresee the future but without power to save the victims. When Hideki changes the future saving Ayaka, he becomes trapped in hell and he has to make a choice of his own destiny.

"Yogen" is another eerie Japanese horror movie, fortunately not spoiled yet by an American remake. The creepy story about a cursed professor that blames himself for not saving the life of his daughter, destroying his own life, is very weird, original and scary. The scene with the car accident is very impressive, and when Hideki is trapped in hell, the slow pace of the film changes to a frightening sequence. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Terror da Premonição" ("The Terror of the Premonition")

In Norio Tsuruta's Premonition, a malevolent supernatural newspaper selects victims at random and reveals to them disastrous headlines from the near-future. When family man Hideki Satomi finds himself haunted by the evil rag, he enters a nightmare world from which the only escape appears to be death.

Like Final Destination, the US horror hit that also dealt with foresight and cheating fate, Premonition is a supernatural chiller that opens with a bang: protagonist Hideki witnesses the death of his young daughter in an auto accident immediately after learning of her impending fate via a mysterious paper. It's an excellent beginning to the film: suspenseful, exciting and very harrowing.

Unfortunately, after this promising start, the plot slowly begins to lose momentum and despite great performances from its cast and one or two outstanding scares, the whole film looks set to be a huge disappointment. To his credit though, director Tsuruta picks up the pace again in the film's dying moments for a crazy finalé which sees Hideki leaping through time and space in a desperate bid to change history.

All in all, I found this inventive slice of J-Horror to be a reasonably fun ride, despite leaving me with a ton of unanswered questions (Why does the paper like to torment people? Why does it choose Hideki? Who prints the bloody thing? If it turns up on a Sunday, do you get supplements?) and fans of the Asian horror scene should still give it a go if they get the chance.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

This movie could have been better, could have been worse. Saw it at Wal-Mart so I thought I would take a chance on it. Kind of your basic Japanese horror, better made than say Ju-rei, but not quite as much horror in it, nothing compared to Ringu or Ju-on of the Japanese horror movies I have seen so far. The movie starts out showing a family coming home from a vacation. Tragedy ensues...a tragedy that was predicted beforehand by a mysterious paper. The father sees this paper right before something bad happens. Then the movie flashes forward three years and it sort of doesn't make sense. This "newspaper of terror" is mentioned, but it seems more like a movie about clairvoyance. The paper is never explained either, what it means or what supernatural event is behind it, I mean I don't want everything handed to me on a silver platter, but this movie just went everywhere for a while. Mysterious guys locked up in loony bins writing predictions on walls, guys who change the predictions but get really bad welts. Then the movie goes into the stirring conclusion that is pretty good, cause you don't know when the end will be. In the end this is a somewhat interesting movie with a rather sad tone to it.

"Premonition" is an exceptional horror film--with a very original plot that kept me on the edge of my....well, actually, it was not my seat--I was actually watching while walking on my treadmill! But either way, it's a dandy film, that's for sure.

The film begins with a family coming back from a trip. The father, Hideki Satomi, is too busy with work he's doing in the back seat of the car to pay any attention to his wife and daughter. When they stop at a pay phone, things get VERY strange. Hideki sees a newspaper on the ground under the phone and something grabs his attention--a clipping that talks about his daughter's death!!! And, the article tells the time she was killed--just a moment away! Hideki tries to run from the phone booth to the car parked across the road--but he's too late. An out of control truck careens into the car and kills the little girl.

Several years pass. Hideki's marriage has crumbled and he's divorced. It seems that his story about seeing the article has ruined his marriage--ask she doesn't believe he saw this weird prescient clip--and it was lost in the confusion of the accident. And, he's simply obsessed by it--as well as quite depressed. The wife returns to him, however, when she realizes that there are others who have described similar things---claiming to have knowledge of deaths JUST BEFORE they occur! There is much more to the film--but I really don't want to ruin the film. Suffice to say, it's extraordinarily creepy and original. And, although technically a horror film, it's also a wonderful film about love and sacrifice. Well worth your time, that's for sure.

After an interesting (though seen before) opening, this film sinks into blandness. It tries to be moody and foreboding without going for the cheap scares, but the proper tone is never really established. That may be because the very conceit is just a little over the top. Every time the newspaper appears, the spooky music cues, the actor's eyes get wide, and he steps trepidaciously towards the ill omen and you feel as though you are waiting for something to jump out at you...but the truth is, there's nothing really that scary about a newspaper. I don't believe that everything in a movie needs to be explained or make sense, but when things are left unexplained, it should be done to good effect. That's an effect this film never achieves, try as it might.

In a world of ordinary run of mill cookie cutter movies comes Premonition. A exciting horror thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat. This fresh take on a old Japanese legend gives new life and new meaning to the Japanese horror movie market.An intense psycho drama that will renew your faith in foreign horror movies and make you search for more movies made in the same style.If you like horror movies but can do with out the blood, gore and a crazy maniac running around killing everybody, then this one is for you. If you like to use your brain while your watching and not just sit in your seat like a mindless zombie than you came to the right place. My highest recommendations 10+/10

I love the plot , it started of really well, I really enjoyed it, the effects of car scene were great.

Some parts are little slow at times, they don't last that long.

I loved the crazy scenes , when he end up , from one place to the another, I did jump in one scene.

I loved the ending, it a little predicable, it worked really well.

I am giving this a 7 out of 10

I saw this was a horror movie which seemed to be different, I watched the trailer and I liked it, so I went today to see the whole thing. And this is what I found: The acting is so bad, the timing is so slow, the ideas behind the plot are so poor... and maybe Japanese movies use to be slow, but for me it's the worst movie I have seen this year. It doesn't scare at all. At some points you can see that the director wanted to remark a detail with the only purpose of scaring you, but fails, at least for me. Only the ending scenes are dynamic and catch your eye, but that's not enough. The rest is dull. And there's too much Japanese writing for an European viewer, I think.

Ah, and just one detail: they used the same computer effect to make disappear the ghostly newspapers and also... the title credits... weird, isn't it?