"Chills Maze" movie

Year: 2009

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Region: Japan

Production Company:

Language: Japanese

Release Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009

English Title: The Shock Labyrinth

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Cast: Yuma Ishikawa / Misako Renbutsu / Ryo Masuda / Ai Maeda / Eri Nagano / Suzuki Matsuo / Takashi Yamazaki / Kumiko Nakamura

Statistics: Subscribed by 49 people

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1414581/

Synopsis:

Main Cast: Yuma Ishikawa / Misako Renbutsu / Ryo Masuda / Ai Maeda / Eri Nagano / Suzuki Matsuo / Takashi Yamazaki / Kumiko Nakamura

Detective Danbo gazes through a one-way mirror at the young man sitting silently in the interrogation room, his mind filled with doubts. He looks at the medical records in his hand and mutters to himself, "How could this be..."

That morning, after learning about a murder case at an amusement park, Detective Danbo quickly arrived at the scene. Outside the building lay three bodies, while a young man was escorted out by the police. He kept looking back and shouting, "There's another one, someone is still inside!"

The building was a haunted house simulating an abandoned hospital. Although it only had two floors, there was a mezzanine level in between, making its internal structure quite complex and impossible to figure out in a short time. One of the victims was found near an ambulance at the entrance of the "Emergency Building," another was near a spiral staircase, and the last one was discovered in the corridor leading to the boiler room. To scare visitors, the building was filled with frightening mannequins and equipment, along with visible bloodstains, making it difficult for the police to gather evidence. Suddenly, news came that one of the three victims was still alive, greatly boosting the morale of the police on site.

"Yuki has returned, come take us away..." During the investigation, the young man intermittently spoke about an incident from ten years ago. A girl had gone missing in the haunted house and was never found. Strangely, there was no police record of such an event.

The young man's story from ten years ago was a crucial clue in the case, but the existence of the girl could not be confirmed. Why did these four people infiltrate the haunted house? Was there really a "fifth person," the girl? Who was the murderer? Was this just a simple murder?

Despite the numerous mysteries, Detective Danbo had to make a decision to solve the case. He held decisive evidence. However, the question remained: was this evidence real?

Behind-the-Scenes Production:

This film is director Takashi Shimizu's latest feature-length movie after a three-year hiatus. It does not rely on common elements like ghosts, blood, or death to create a horror effect but instead focuses on creating ultimate terror at the spiritual level.

Japan Launches First 3D Movie Feature Film; Stage Set in World's Longest Haunted House

Currently, the 3D movie trend is growing stronger. Hollywood continues to release visually stunning 3D blockbusters. In response to this trend, Japan is also entering this field. Japan's first 3D movie was the special effects film "Samurai Sentai Shinkenger: The Battle for the Splitting of the World," which premiered in August 2009. This film was only around twenty minutes long and did not have a strong production team, so it did not attract much attention. On the other hand, "Shock Labyrinth 3D," claimed to be made with Japan's top digital technology as its first feature-length 3D film, is making a bold move. As the name suggests, this is a horror movie, and 3D is seen as an excellent tool for creating a terrifying atmosphere. The production team fully utilized the immersive 3D visuals, carefully designing a spooky spatial layout and developing a unique 360-degree surround sound system to maximize the "chill factor" and provide viewers with an unprecedented thrilling impact.

Interestingly, the setting of this film is a haunted house decorated as an abandoned hospital, and this haunted house is not fictional. At Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park at the foot of Mount Fuji, there is a real "Shock Labyrinth." This haunted house, designed to look like a hospital, is a very popular entertainment attraction in the park. It covers an area of approximately 3,000 square meters, with a walking distance of 700 meters, taking at least fifty minutes to complete. This attraction has been recorded in the Guinness World Records as the world's longest walk-through haunted house.

Renowned Horror Director Takashi Shimizu Returns to Challenge Ultimate Terror

Takashi Shimizu, who directed the "Ju-On" series, although timid since childhood, has achieved remarkable success in horror films. Since "The Grudge 2," Shimizu has not released any feature films, only occasionally showcasing his skills in short film collections or television productions. After three years, fans finally welcomed the new work of this master of Japanese horror films, and it is a highly anticipated major project.

Although the film is marketed as Japan's first 3D feature film, Shimizu himself does not particularly emphasize this point. He stated, "What interests me is not the 'first in Japan' aspect. I have always wanted to learn how to make 3D films and hope to use 3D technology to present entertainment effects that cannot be achieved with 2D movies. However, I approached this movie with the idea that 'it would still be good even if it were in 2D.'" This shows that the film does not solely focus on 3D effects, and the quality of aspects such as plot and suspense is equally worth expecting.

Surrounding Shimizu is a team composed of top industry experts. Screenwriter Daisuke Hosaka crafted a plot full of unexpected twists. Experienced cinematographer Tsutomu Tanabe and lighting designer Hidekazu Kudo are both old partners of Shimizu. The 3D shooting supervisor is Tadayuki Uchi, known as Japan's top special effects photographer, and IMAGICA Corporation, which possesses cutting-edge 3D technology, provided comprehensive support for this film. Additionally, renowned special makeup artist Hirohiro Nishimura and digital effects expert Tsuyoshi Kagami joined the team.

It is said that this film differs from ordinary horror films, not relying on common elements such as ghosts, blood, or death to create terror, but striving to cultivate ultimate terror at the spiritual level. What breakthroughs will Shimizu's new work bring? Let's wait and see.

Disheartened Young Actor Rebuilds Confidence; Yuma Ishikawa Explores Entertainment Films

Yuma Ishikawa, once the youngest Cannes Film Festival-winning actor, plays the male lead in this film, drawing attention from all quarters. After gaining fame through "Nobody Knows," Ishikawa starred in several art films, but "Boys on the Run," "Flavor of Youth," and "Bandage Club" received mixed reviews, both critically and commercially, and Ishikawa's acting did not show significant improvement. Afterwards, he fell into a career slump, attempted suicide by drug overdose, shocking the entertainment world, and gained weight due to binge eating. This disheartened young actor re-emerged after two years of depression, starring in a horror film, showing a positive attitude to rebuild his career. This move seems to indicate that he will attempt more diverse roles and works, no longer limited to art films. How this legendary young man with a rustic charm and unique eyes will perform in this horror film might be a more captivating suspense than the film's ending itself.

Yuma Ishikawa himself does not enjoy watching horror films, but he eagerly accepted the role due to the appeal of 3D special effects. Before filming began, Ishikawa specially went on a diet to lose weight and watched American psychological horror films like "Rosemary's Baby" based on the producer's suggestion, preparing in various ways.

The other four main characters are played by Misako Renbutsu, Ryo Masuda, Ai Maeda, and Eri Nagano, all young actors with both beauty and talent.

Trivia: Some scenes of this film were shot in the real "Shock Labyrinth" at Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park. Due to the need to open the attraction to tourists during the day, the crew could only shoot at night.