Death Is Only The Beginning

Recently I got to go down to Turlock for the local showing of "8 Films to Die For." This was a Horrorfest showcasing some of the lesser known films that have come out recently that probably won't make it to your local theaters big screen.
Which is a freaking shame when it comes to three of the four films I got to watch. The three I am talking about, "Reincarnation" or Rinne as it is also known; "Gravedancers" and "The Unrest" were three of the best films I have seen in a long, long time.
But it was Reincarnation that freaked me the most. This is first of all, an amazing film. It demonstrates the true essence of what Horror should be about; it makes your skin crawl, and the hair on the back of your neck stand up. And it does it without massive amounts of gore and blood.
That's right folks, a film that actually is SCARY and it does it without exploding heads and chainsaws. Wow, what a concept.
Reincarnation is one of the best horror films I have seen in years. It is not overly violent but I swear to God there are some scenes here that actually make you want to look over your shoulder, but you don't want to. I mean, you Know there is nothing there. After all, it is only a movie. Right? So why are you clutching your armrests so tight? Heehee, I loved it.
Reincarnation is a true masterpiece of Horror, and some of our current directors and writers could take a much needed lesson from this one on how to get under a viewers skin.
The film deals with, oddly enough, reincarnation. Seems that about 35 years ago, a madman went through a small hotel in Japan with a hunting knife, killing eleven people. His last victim was his own ten year old daughter.
Years later, a movie company decides to film the story of the murders in the same hotel and that is when the crap starts to fly. The appearance of the spirits to various people is intense. Especially the scene in the cab of the truck.
Watching the movie, we see it unfold in the eyes of the girl who is to play the daughter. Of course, they have aged her quite a bit. She is now in her early twenties, and a very beautiful young lady.
Near the beginning, we discover that she has been having hallucinations. She keeps seeing a little girl holding a devious looking doll that no one else seems to notice. Once she is actually hired to be in the film she notices strange things, like people that should not be there, the freaky kid with the doll, and other things that cause her to have a very bad feeling about the entire movie.
The music was excellent, lending a creepiness to the overall setting of each scene, without overpowering any of the characters or what was going on. It was a perfect mix of image and sound, and was another example of great movie work.
Frankly, I am still a little on edge from "Reincarnation." If I see some kid with a big doll, I am turning in the opposite direction.
But watching her as she moves from her own self to seeing the actual killings to seeing everything via a homemade film made by the killer as he stalked his various victims is much more intense then anything in Texas.
The great thing about "Reincarnation" is that the terror is mostly created in your mind. You watch as the film builds up, from one twist to another each one making more and more sense until a puzzle is finally revealed and the last piece drops into place.