On DVD: Synesthesia

Directed By Toru Matsuura

It's no secret that I love me some Asian horror and considering just how hot it has become apparently many other people like it too.  The problem is when things get to popular they often get homogenized in hopes of making them even more popular to the mainstream public hence making more money.  In recent years this has happened with Asian horror films.  Distributors have been taming their films down, making them less disturbing and scary, in order to more easily sell them over here.  Now that doesn't mean you can't still find good films, you just have to be willing to dig through the sea of creepy pale girls with long black hair hanging in their faces.

The Movie

Synesthesia is a rare condition in which a victims brain crosses two normally unrelated senses.  This condition normally causes victims to connect colors with letters or certain words such as days of the week.  Some people even see colors when they hear music or vice versa.  The film details the story of a man who connects tastes with shapes.  This is an intriguing disease used in the film so of course I had to look it up and see if it's real, and it absolutely is.

The filmmakers take this fascinating situation and bend and shape it to fit around a standard murder mystery that features all the expected clichés.  What we have are two Synesthetes who see shapes in exactly the same way, which is something that never happens in the real world.   I can accept that though, because this is a move after all!  Anyway one of them is used to track the other.  They desperately want to get together because their situations are so rare they really want to meet someone with the same problem.

What's disappointing is that the disease is just used as a gimmick when it could make for some fantastic character development and truly horrifying situations.  Now with that said, there are some real creepy moments in the film.  In fact much of the film is extremely well executed with solid visuals and atmosphere that really sell these key scenes.  Also, some of the additional characters and subplots are more interesting than the main story arc, even though at one point or another they all tie together.

In the end the big problem is that much of the story just doesn't feel completely realized.  The finale of the film just feels hacked together and tries to over explain and unfairly simplify what could have been a deeper story.  The themes of loneliness and jaded nature of the world at large to extreme violence have potential but they are just touched on, not examined.  The director has some skills, so I wonder why he'd choose a script that feels so incomplete, or maybe overloaded with too much story to tell.  While the most disturbing scenes are tightly directed much of the story needed to be focused.  Had the screenwriter trimmed a bit of the fat and spent more time on his themes and less on mystery clichés he might have had something groundbreaking here.  By the closing credits I felt like the whole film was just missed potential.  There's great moments, but those moments don't make up enough of the running time to make a truly great film.

5/10

The Video

The anamorphic widescreen transfer looks better than many recent import films we've reviewed.  It features some vibrant colors and solid skin tones.  Now, it does have its share of grain and much of the film seems soft and lacking just a bit of background detail.  Overall it's still better than most import horror films we review.

7.5/10

The Audio

There are two choices for audio, the original Japanese Dolby Digital and a mono English dub.  I love that ADV provides these dub tracks even though they usually aren't as well done as the original actors.  Many people who might enjoy a Japanese horror film don't give it a shot because they don't want to read subtitles the whole time.  So here they might just check it out.  I prefer the original Japanese track because it's better mixed and the acting is better but I will say that if I watch the film again I may choose the dub track because I won't be glued to the television the whole time the movie is playing.

6/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

The two disc set comes in a surprisingly fat amaray case.  The case feels very five years ago, not modern at all.  The artwork is good and eye catching though.

Disc one features the film and a text essay on the disease.  I generally don't like text on my TV screen but I was curious enough about this condition to give it a read.

Disc two starts off with a making of featurette that runs nearly 40 minutes.  Now this sounds good until you realize that the first 10 minutes of the feature is filled with clips from the film.  The interviews are pretty good but feel a little generic, much like an EPK that you'd find on DVD's here in the States.  The actors discuss their roles in the film, working with each other, and a little about the disease.

Synesthesia Sneak Preview Party is a Q&A held with the actors prior to a screening of the film.  Since the Q&A was held before a screening the actors couldn't reveal to much information about the film and their roles in it.  So, the answers come off pretty boring.  Synesthesia Opening Night is another Q&A that since it happened after a screening is a little better with answers from the cast being more detailed.  Both featurettes run around 10 minutes.

Interview with Toru Matsuura & Shinji Takeda is probably the best of the bonus features.  This 35 minute interview with the film's director and composer allows them to discuss the making of the film and the use of music in it.  There's some good information to be found here.

Other than that there are some TV spots and the theatrical trailer.  Most of this is just OK, with the final interview offering up the best information.  It's still more than we often get on these import films.

6.5/10

There's a lot to like about this film, unfortunately it's surrounded with mystery movie clichés and weak writing.  It's not a total lose though because the scenes and characters that are solid in the film definitely make it worth a look.

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

The Movie 5/10

The Video 7.5/10

The Audio 6/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 6.5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

-Stephen Lackey