“Shutter”: Bitter exes are scary

Never mess with a psychotic ex-girlfriend unless you want to be followed around until you end up in a mental ward in the middle of nowhere. It’s also unsafe to take your current beau to your old love nest and take bajillion pictures of the scenery — psycho ex might show up in every one of them.

Today’s movie treat is “Shutter”, ladies and gentlemen. It is a remake of a 2004 Thai horror film by the same producer that brought us The Grudge and The Ring. Young and in love, newlyweds Ben and Jane head off to Tokyo. The husband is a professional photographer, and goes back to Japan after two years to pursue career advancements and hang out with his fratboy-esque colleagues. Wife is very sexy, and husband could not take his hands off of her. As they are on the dark Japan road, Jane accidentally hits a woman. Unsurprisingly, the young and angry long-haired woman is a ghost out to win back the affections of ex-boyfriend. She follows him everywhere she goes and makes sure that her presence is felt through her uncanny knack of being a camwhore. She cannot resist posing for all of photographer ex-boyfriend’s photos, and even pouts her lips and stares right into the frame in her latter shots.

In true Asian come Hollywood horror flick, there are cliche, but nonetheless heart-stopping scenes, of our ghost lurking about windows and other shiny surfaces. Although Shutter doesn’t offer anything that actually makes one shudder (excuse the pun), Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor make for good eye candy. “Shutter” is the scariest Hollywood remake of an Asian horror I’ve watched so far, but it falls short of creating astounding visuals (aside from its actors) that will leave one sleepless at night. The storyline doesn’t make much sense, and the progression of events is a little predictable. Overall, it’s just a mediocre film of obsessive love. Watch out for the Japanese actresses, though. They are  bombshells.

Don’t watch “Shutter” alone, you’ll need someone to grab when psycho-ex appars. I suggest watching “Shutter” with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Not only will you have 85 minutes of “cuddle time”, you will also be able to express any similar feelings with the ghost, “Leave me, and I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life”.