The eight short films in Tales of Terror, by seven different directors, are based on stories collected around the country from ordinary folks with uncanny experiences. The films are part of a series of 84 broadcast on the BS-i satellite channel.
Whereas many J-Horror films spend much screen time on atmospherics, the segments of Tales of Terror mostly get right down to business - and end with a jolt (or a joke), like video stories told around the campfire.
The first is Yoshida Akio’s story of security guards on night patrol at an abandoned building. Their short-fused supervisor (Takenaka Naoto) can’t understand why they keep turning in strange reports (as in "Saw nothing unusual - except for one woman in a kimono") and quitting soon after. Finally, the supervisor fills in himself... There is comedy in this situation but there are a few chills as well, in everything from the grainy dim light to the moldy trash scattered on the floor.
More primal in its scares is Suzuki Kosuke’s segment about a woman who dreams she is being crushed by a strange man (Kitamura Kazuki) sitting on her chest. Straining desperately, she shakes him off - and wakes to see him sitting on her young son, an uncanny grin on his face. Though only on screen for moments, Kitamura is the embodiment of evil as the succubus in a flower-patterned shirt yet.
The saddest is Hirano Shunichi’s segment about a mother (Karasuma Setsuko) who, driven mad by the death of her teenage son, tends faithfully to his ghost. There is little suspense, but Karasuma, playing the epitome of kimonoed devotion, ladles on the pathos.
The two segments set in schools are like the spooky tales kids make up to pass boring lunch hours, while Suzuki Kosuke’s story of a jilted bride taking revenge on her unwitting rival is a common male nightmare brought to life.
The best campfire story is Amemiya Keita’s short about a young man who is housesitting his rich uncle’s luxurious apartment - and must answer whenever a ghostly female voice calls his name. If he fails, the uncle warns, the consequences will be severe. Naturally the doofus invites a girl over and naturally - but why not leave the rest to your imagination?