Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I remember watching the American version at a sleepover and instinctively knew it was a remake of an Asian film (I had wrongly assumed Japanese) and that I had to watch it. The story stayed with me and I decided it was time to watch the original version and be spared the crassness of the Hollywood version. This makes use of a few jump-scares but also uses slow horror to freak the viewer out. But its the plot here that nails it. Good acting by the leads. This is Asian horror at its near best. I wouldn't say its one of the greatest (I will leave that title to the Jap ones), but this is a pretty good attempt.

Shutter - another Asian supernatural horror and one that can be ranked up alongside others like Ringu and Ju-on....maybe even surpassing both. To say that it was fantastic would be taking it a bit far, but it is definitely one of the better Asian horror films that I've seen and also one of the creepier ones too. The story doesn't really grip you at first, but as it develops & unravels it draws you in more, and actually ends up developing really nicely with plenty of twists and turns, with one of the best being at the end. It really is a well scripted story.The story is of a young couple, Tun and Jane, who get into a car accident knocking over a young girl. Panicking, the two drive away leaving the girl in the road. Not that long after the incident Tun starts to see what looks to be a feint figure in any photograph that he takes. The images and sightings start to become a lot more frequent, and after some investigating Jane finds out who the girl is...and what she had to do with Tun years before.Like a lot of Asian horrors, this isn't heavily reliant on special effects or visuals and while there are obviously some, it's not on a huge scale. That may sound like a complaint but it's not because the the scare effects in Shutter are done really well....with actors and not CGI. It kind of gives it more of a real feeling, and the scares that are in the movie are good. There's definitely a few that will creep you out and make you jump a wee bit. It's these scares that help carry the story along nicely, and you can tell that they are not used to just try and help a weak story line....they make a good story line better.The acting is also much better in this movie than in some Asian horror films that I have seen which also obviously helps the movie. If you don't have actors that can do a good job in selling the story then what hope is there? If you enjoy Asian horror films, then Shutter has to be on your list of ones to see.Definitely one to recommend.

Shutter is one example of a horror movie that is not only concerned with the spooky side of horror movie. Shutter offers a new story idea with a good message. The story is very interesting to watched from beginning to the end of film. The story line in this film is constructed well and clear. The mystery between the character, Tun, Jane, friends, Natre and ghost also quite difficult to predict and could make curios the audience. The twist when the film almost over also added more points for this movie. Simplicity is the attraction of Shutter. There is not a lot of visual effects used in this film, but some scenes that seems trivial even more scary.

This is the original Thai version, not the US remake that I have heard is rubbish, as most remakes are. The Ring being the most notable example.In an unprecedented first for OGR I did a few clicks research to find that the original Shutter was rated a paltry 40%, but the US remake was universally loathed with a 7% grade. Before this I hadn't seen either but as a rule of thumb where I have the chance I'll check the original first.Now 40 minutes in I thought I was watching a remake anyway, that of an amalgamation of The Ring and The Grudge. There were repeated occasions where the scares seemed directly ripped from either of those pretty good flicks, and even the ghost (when in ghost-mode) looked exactly like the pale chick from Ju-on (The Grudge). Even though Shutter partially redeems itself in the last 15 minutes I was a little disappointed by these scenes that blurred the line between homage and copying.The first scene is pointless, unless you are a fan of what appears to be bad acting by a guy with a Thai Jerry Lewis voice (it's hard to pick bad acting when you don't understand the language). However on the way home from the drinking session the central couple Jane and Tun are sorta chatting in the car when a girl appears out of nowhere on the road and is promptly bowled over. After realising what has happened and making sure they are both OK Tun urges Jane to drive off without checking on the victim, and as she is in a state of panic she agrees.In the ensuing days Jane starts regretting her indecisiveness, and the next 20 minutes are straight Ring-lite. It turns out that Tun is a photographer and after completing a job he finds all of his exposures are blurry and in one particular shot it appears there is a "mystery" guest. The Ghost appears at various spots, each time with a personal "BOO" soundtrack jolt and many times with the old misdirection trick of the guy looking one way, then turning back to be face-to-face with their would be assailant.A better title at this point in the film would have been "Ghost Camera", lousy title but reflective of what had transpired to that point. Upon visiting a tabloid magazine it turns out that the best way to get a true, tamper proof picture using a polaroid camera is the go, as it only shows what it sees.Then things gradually take a turn for the better, Jerry Lewis shows at Tun's pad pleading for the "photos" before abruptly disappearing. Then Tun discovers that Jerry and the other two faceless amigos from the opening scene in the movie have all topped themselves, Tun understandably gets even more concerned, and Jane says she'll stand by him. Cut to a baffling scene in the public loos, only a 2 minute scene but worthwhile nonetheless, as without spoilers it is pretty funny.Even though the first hour and a bit should owe royalties to The Grudge and The Ring, the movie is redeemed and worth watching for the last 15 minutes alone. There are a couple of scenes that provide real chills and the payoff is actually cool and original.Turns out that the ghost has a name, as many movie ghosts do - Natre. Can't say much more about the plot without giving things away so I'll wind up with a few questions that this movie raises:Why haven't Thai car manufacturers gotten better worldwide recognition? In one scene Tun is driving at 120 km/h and is able to veer off the road and stop before leaving the bitumen, that's 120 km/h to 0 km/h within the width of two lanes!If you own your own darkroom in your house why would you get your holiday happy snaps developed at the local photo shop.If you have anything that you would rather no-one else saw, why would you leave it lying around the house?Final Rating - 7 / 10. Pretty sure it isn't worth a 7 overall, but a good ending will help you ignore many of the faults and flaws in the first hour.If you liked this (or even if you didn't) try oneguyrambling.com