Absolutely brilliant

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Being a great fan of the Japanese horror genre, I had to give "Infection" (aka "Kansen") a go as well. And boy, this movie was different than what you usually get from a J-Horror movie. Was that a good change of pace and scenery? Well, some would say yes, I do, however, say no!There was absolutely nothing scary about this movie at all. It is more of a psychological mind-twister than it was a horror movie. Personally, I do not find a hospital that looks like a darkened, subterranean bunker from World War II scary, nor do I find green stuff erupting from orifices scary either.The story in "Infection" is about a patient being brought to a hospital that is on the verge of financial bankruptcy and closure. Although refusing treating the patient, he is left there, and his strange infection spreads to the resident staff and patients of the hospital. And things take a turn for the worse, fast...All throughout this movie, I didn't buy into this being a hospital for one second. As I mentioned above, it was more like a reminiscent of a darkened World War II bunker, and had more of a industrious touch to it than a sterile and medicinal touch that a hospital has. Plus, there was a surprisingly lack of patients (and visitors) at the hospital. And the staff there were perhaps amongst the worst medical health-carers that I have ever witnessed. And all these factors just added more and more to the lack of a convincing set that eventually made the movie suffer.And also the lack of scared and a proper horror setting were working against the movie, making the movie seem to drag on. But still, I sat through it, hoping to get at least something good out of the movie. But no, that was not to be.Hand on heart, then "Infection" is a very weak addition to the Japanese horror genre. I was lured in by the interesting DVD cover from Tartan Asia Extreme. But it just goes to prove the old saying; you can't judge a book by its cover.

I like how much work Japanese directors put into the pacing, atmospherics, and suspense of their horror films. This one is no exception. If you ever saw Kingdom Hospital and enjoyed it for the mix of suggestive spooky supernatural undertones clashing with rationalism and materialism thematically, then you might like this film as well. At first I thought this film would turn out to be something like 28 Days with ferocious infected zombies feeding on humans, but there is a much more clever plot line going on which I won't reveal. The plot seemed to have some holes in it til I realized what was really going on in the end. Mainly though, I enjoyed the mix of film with a suggestion of a supernatural influence in a materialist or rationalist world. Visual storytelling gets this idea across with images of, for example, swings swinging on their own near the hospital, or an old crazy lady who sees her dead relatives in mirrors staring at her reflection in a window looking like an apparition. I must say that after discovering Japanese thrillers and horror films, it is hard to go back to Hollywood offerings for sure. They seem so predictable, tame, and cookie-cutter in comparison.

This is another Japanese psycho thriller that keeps you guessing and asking until the very end and beyond. In this case, there's not only a twist in the end of the movie, there are several ones and it gets quite difficult to distinguish imagination and reality. I have my own theory concerning the puzzling ending but I don't want to tell it in here because this is a movie where you are asked to be attentive, to use your brain, to watch scenes over and over again. That's the reason why I highly suggest a purchase of the movie because if you rent and watch it only once, you may feel frustrated or simply confused. This is a movie to analyze and discover while the entertainment is only secondary. You have to get into this movie, be the witness of it, the detective that is analyzing the facts to get to a final product sooner or later.That's why this movie might not please to the mainstream fans that are only expecting a simple gore horror movie. If you consider yourself fitting into this category I wouldn't suggest you to watch it. This movie is less about an infection, murders or illusions than about the rather philosophical topic of guilt. That doesn't mean that there aren't any shocking scenes, some gore moments and a creepy atmosphere in the movie, all those things are more or less present and keep you watching this hypnotizing movie until the very end but they come all out to be rather secondary elements.The acting of the movie is very good as all characters have certain unique mistakes that are revealed throughout the movie and they all have their own way to deal with guilt and fear. The acting is truly gripping and authentic. The director also did a great job as there are always little hints if you are witnessing reality or imagination. The movie is intense but not concentrated on shocking scenes and though the movie takes the time to introduce the different characters, one can't describe this flick as a slow development. Many other movies of the genre are very slow but this one is somewhat faster and easier to get into without abandoning the rich details and the high amount of creativity. That's why this movie is something special and not just simply another Japanese psych thriller. I think that every Japanese psycho thriller or horror movie I have seen in my life until now is great and unique but this one is different from the others as it is faster in the beginning and even more puzzling in the end so that I couldn't directly compare this flick to any other movie. There are still many other unique things about this little masterpiece like the visual effects with the colours red and green and truly existing persons or illusions. Those effects may help you to not get completely lost by the surprising end of this inspiring movie. The score of the film is also well done, the light effects and room decorations give this flick a very dark atmosphere even if I have already seen even more gripping flicks.If you happen to like the genre, you will surely adore this movie. It works well at the first try and also as a grower that you might check out several times. I can tell you that - no matter if you happen to like or hate this movie in the end - you have surely never seen a flick like this before and this should be a reason for any open minded person to try this one out. This movie will haunt your for a while and it's up to your individual state of mind in which way this may work.

oh my god! this movie sucks. It mixes genres...is it supernatural? is it psychological? is it a drama? I know it is not a comedy...but, it ain't horror, that is for sure. I have seen many horror flicks. Some original, some not so much. Pontypool is an original movie, it's might not be a great film, but it sure is original. It's fresh But this? infection? dear god...the only thing that made me scared was to know that I was wasting time. My opinion? if you believe your time to be precious, don't watch this. A Pauly shore film is better, a porn flick has a stronger plot. Maybe next time our beloved japs will stop for a second, think and then and only then, begin filming.my little chart: a) audio and sound effects: 7. b) plot: 1. it goes from place to place, idea to idea like if the writers did not know and what genre or sub-genre they should focus. c) ending: I will not give ya spoilers...but the ending is consisting with the sucky plot. d) dialogs: we know that a horror flick is not a woody Allen movie, but still, the interactions between characters sucked. e) characters: unrelatable, unbelievable, they had no depths.this movie: a 1. wanna watch something great, watch Shaun of the dead.