SHUTTER
Year: 2008
USA & UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina, David Denman, John Hensley, Maya Hazen, James Kyson Lee, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Kei Yamamoto, Daisy Betts, Adrienne Pickering, Pascal Morineau, Masaki Ota, Heideru Tatsuo, Eri Otoguro, Rina Matsuki, Tomotaka Kanzaki, Jun Yakushiji, Emi Tamura, Polina Kononova, Yulia Ryzhova, Mika Kinose, Masakazu Nagakura, Shinji Furukawa, Maria Takagi, Akihiko Ando, Alessandra, Katrina B, Tanya, Takao Toji, Shizuka Fujimoto, Yutaka Mishima, Maiko Asano, Rei Sato
Director: Masayuki Ochilai
Country: USA
USA & UK: 85 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for terror, disturbing images, sexual content and language
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong supernatural horror, threat and gore
USA Release Date: 21 March 2008
UK Release Date: 16 May 2008
UK DVD Release Date: 8 September 2008
Synopsis
A recent poll conducted by CNN revealed that one third of the people believed in ghosts, and that many of those claim they've seen one. At the same time, interest in spirit photography - events in which images of the dead are caught on film - has never been higher.
The phenomenon is as old as photography itself, dating back to the 1860s. Spirit photography has been riddled with controversy and fraud, yet many believe it to be one of the few methods of capturing ghostly phenomenon that approaches scientific methodology.
From the executive producers of THE GRUDGE and THE RING, this fascinating yet foreboding subject is explored in the psychological thriller SHUTTER where a newly married couple discovers disturbing, ghostly images in photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate, only to learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved and that a past mistake can lead to an eternity of vengeance.
With the idea of a working honeymoon in mind, photographer Ben (Joshua Jackson) decides to take his new wife, Jane (Rachael Taylor), on his latest assignment - a lucrative fashion shoot in Tokyo, Japan. However tragedy strikes when, travelling up a mountain road leading to Mt Fuji, their new life together comes to a crashing halt, as their car smashes into a woman suddenly standing in the middle of the road. Regaining consciousness after the accident, Ben and Jane cannot find any trace of the girl Jane believes she hit with the car.
Shaken by the accident and by the girl's disappearance, Ben and Jane arrive in Tokyo. Whereas Ben feels at home having worked on assignments there before, being fluent in the language and meeting up with old acquaintances, Jane is the opposite - a newcomer to Tokyo, she feels very much like a stranger in a strange land.
Meanwhile Ben has discovered mysterious white blurs - eerily reminiscent of a human form - that have materialized on an entire day's work from the expensive photo shoot. Jane becomes increasingly worried as she believes the blurs in Ben's photos are the dead girl from the road, who is now seeking vengeance for them leaving her to die...
DVD EXTRAS
A ghost in the lends
A cultural divide: Shooting in Japan
The Director: Masayuki Ochiai
A conversation with Luke Dawson
A history of spirit photography
Create your own phantom photo
The hunt for the haunt: Tools and tips for ghost hunting
Alternate and deleted scenes:
The wedding
Jane eats a Big Mac
Extended restaurant scene
Jane watches TV
Jane gets directions
Ben's photo shoot
Flashbacks of Megumi
The hospital
Jane becomes Megumi
Extended flashbacks of Megumi
Alternate ending: Mental hospital