Creepy ***½ (2016, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yûko Takeuchi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Masahiro Higashide, Toru Baba) – Movie Review

Co-writer/ director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2016 Japanese serial killer thriller film Creepy is just that – creepy!

Teruyuki Kagawa plays the creep Nishino.

Teruyuki Kagawa plays the creep Nishino, the distinctly oddball new neighbour of the former Tokyo police detective Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima), who has recently moved into a new home with his wife Yasuko (Yûko Takeuchi) and cute dog. Bringing gifts of chocolate and stew, Yasuko makes the mistake of trying to make friends with her new neighbours. Kagawa just seems to keep getting odder, but Takakura explains to Yasuko not to worry because real bad guys seem ‘normal’ so he must be OK.

Yûko Takeuchi plays cop’s wife Yasuko.

Meanwhile Takakura, who teaches serial killing courses at the uni, is confronted by his cop ex-colleague Nogami (Masahiro Higashide), to re-examine the case of a missing family that occurred six years earlier. Takakura and Nogami approach young Saki, the only surviving family member from the case, and Takakura tries to prompt her memory.

But Nishino does not live alone. He informs the couple he has a sick wife and a young teen daughter, Mio, who chillingly tells Takakura: ‘That man is not my father… he’s a total stranger.’

Atmospheric, gripping, tense and exciting, it holds you in its thrall for two fast-moving hours. The performances are spot on, naturalistic, credible and under-played. Maybe it isn’t anything entirely new, but it is very satisfying, and handled in stylish camera moves by Kurosawa that keep it striking. It is not too gruesome but there are some really good chilling moments. Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Chihiro Ikeda’s crisp screenplay is based on the novel by  Yutaka Maekawa.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Movie Review

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