Alive

Japanese film based on a Manga comic from the director of Azumi (one of my favorite films). Two men survived an electrocution death penalty and are taken to a special place and given almost anything they want. It's an experiment of some sort. Their families are told the executions have been carried out and no one knows they are still alive. This movie reminds me of Tavistock (for those of you who know what that psychological headgame is – if you do, let's talk). The people running the experiment start messing with the inmates to see what they do – I guess trying to break them. They turn up the heat in the room, cut back on their food, set off alarms every 30 minutes. It appears to be affecting one and not the other. The experiment is actually about something called an Isomer which is kind of an evil spirit trapped in someone's body that tries to get other people to kill. The experiment is trying to determine how it works and if it can be used as a weapon. Interesting idea, but to make the movie cool, it has to backfire in some way – and it does. The movie isn't a tenth as captivating as Azumi, so I'd probably not recommend it. It's decent, but unless you know the Manga version, it's probably not that exciting. But the special effects are pretty slick though…