THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN (2005)

(aka Kannô byôtô: nureta akai kuchibiru, 2005)

Directed by Takaaki Hashiguchi

Whenever horny doctors and nurses have sex in a disused plastic surgery clinic, this spooky Japanese ghost with long black hair and a Black Dahlia-like smile comes along and scares them. Why? I don’t know. This very same ghost comes along and disrupts other couples who are having sex who are not connected in any way with the plastic surgery hospital. A plucky female journalist is out to find out, and traces the fish-mouthed phantom to a big-time politician. The poor young woman in question turns out to be the daughter of said politician, who was addicted to plastic surgery who became tragically maimed in an accident that her surgeons were unable to repair. Huh? The doctors can remake her face to her heart’s content but when push comes to shove they can’t even take care of a few superficial scars? The plucky female journalist quells the restless demon with a few kind words of encouragement, until she too, tries to have sex and – WHOA! Nobody saw that coming, chiefly because most viewers will have given up on this title well into its brief running time …

Redemption U.S.A. has come out with some rather weak entries for their initial forays into the stateside DVD market (see also The Witching Hour). Director Hashiguchi films all the sex scenes with a detached, indifferent style and all the scenes involving the ghost try really hard but just aren’t that scary. The budget for this outing appears on the same level as the most poverty-stricken Hong Kong Category III three-day wonder, with a normally bustling, densely populated Japan depicted as a ghost town with about 15 people.


Before the disgruntled customer reaches for this DVD as a hot drink coaster, be aware that among its extras is the remarkable short film Birds of Prey (1998). This short subject follows the plight of a persecuted British old age pensioner who secretly tends to his pet falcon in his dismal soundproofed flat. When he returns one day to find his beloved birdie gone and his apartment ransacked, the pensioner traces it to a flirty stripper at a nearby pub and enacts his revenge. It’s a very depressing short, but succinct and to the point – quite unlike the main feature.

With vengeful Japanese wraiths at an absolute premium, you can certainly skip The Slit-Mouthed Woman. Read a book instead!