Talk to the Dead

This is a story about people who have lost the person most important to them, and a mobile app that claims to make them able to converse again.

Given the creepy music and scares, it is intended as a horror movie. There are several Japanese movies where a ghost uses technology to randomly select victims to haunt. I thought that Talk to the Dead would follow this pattern, but it deviates slightly. Or rather has a different perspective in that it is a character driven story.

With character driven I mean a story generated from questions like "What would be natural for this character to do now?" rather than questions like "Now it's this character's time to die. What would be the most spectacular way to kill him off?", which generates a plot-driven story.

There are not many characters, but each is taken seriously. They are not exceptional, but I found them likable. Especially the secondary character Mayu, played by Sakurai Yuki, who contributed heart to the story. It would be empty and boring without her. Though she is the kind of character that some watchers might find annoying.

The character focus and lack of cannon fodder also has disadvantages, like making the movie less scary, while adding more drama instead. It is also shorter than usual, at around one and a half hours, having less time for murders.

Talk to the Dead is not the scariest movie, but it has a logical story without obvious plot holes. Maybe it can be something to look into if you want more after watching the horror classics.