Name: 'Shitsurakuen': jôbafuku onna harakiri
Genre: Short, Horror
Duration: 34 min
Rating: 5.3
Cast: Toshirô Hasegawa, Asako Mochiduki, Chimuo Nureki

This was one of the longest 34 minute periods of my life. I thought there might be a bit more to it than someone slowly committing harakiri, but no, that's it.

It's the kind of thing where it's like, if it's realistic, then job well done? But also, I don't really want to know if it's realistic. I don't want to know what someone committing harakiri would actually look like. I can't bring myself to care about whether this achieves what I think it sets out to do.

Maybe points given for it being an awful watch? It reminded me that Merzbow existed, as this was directed by the person behind that project, but that music is also very much not for me. It's literally just noise, like as in the genre. It's called noise. And it sounds noisy. And it goes on and on, just as this short horror film went on and on and stayed one note. It's the note they probably wanted to hit, so very minimal credit where credit's due, but I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy.

Japanese cinema is celebrated for its refined minimalist dramas and avant-garde experimentation; it also introduced popular genres like jidaigeki (samurai epics), kaiju, and anime. Across both high art and mass entertainment, it often explores morality, impermanence, and the pressures of modern life.

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The horror genre features stories that aim to elicit fear, suspense, and a sense of dread in its audience. Horror stories often explore themes related to the unknown, the supernatural, and the macabre, and they frequently evoke strong emotional reactions such as anxiety, terror, and unease.

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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'Shitsurakuen': jôbafuku onna harakiri

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