Critically acclaimed Japanese horror films - Chakushin Ari (One Missed Call)

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Plot summary

People receive voicemails messages from an unknown number, however, these messages are dated several days in the future and said recipient's voice can be heard reacting to their own gruesome death. Using clues and the messages from victims phones, surviving characters attempt to unravel these peculiar series of deaths.

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What (if any) are the differences to American and European horror films?
***NOTE - to prevent repeating myself on certain differences, I will be elaborating on differences I have not yet brought forward and listing previously mentioned differences that I have noticed again in this film below in bullet point form***
Besides repeating most of the differences I have pointed out in my previous posts on critically acclaimed Japanese horror films, of the notable difference I saw was that the central female protagonist, when in danger or trying to escape, had a tendency to crawl on the floor instead of running. Another notable difference was the fact that the antagonist can be seen by others using digital devices, in this film, a video camera.

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Previously mentioned, discovered again in this film:

• Female character(s) usage - protagonist and antagonist are female
• Focus/attention needed - plot requires constant focus and attention to keep up and fully understand 
• Curse - the plot circles around a curse of sorts, someone has died in the past and is now killing the living
• Sound - audio is used more effectively to reinforce the atmosphere of horror and drive suspense
• Unique sounds - a unique noise/sounds are used to depict the presence of the antagonist(s)
• Visual gratuity - there was little or no use of blood, violence or gore in this film
• Scary - more frequent moments using scary images or visual sequences rather than shocks
• Focus - cameras are focused on the point of interest and does not suddenly change
• Inconclusive - the ending to this film was inconclusive and/or left unanswered questions relevant to the plot 
• Child - a child is used to develop the plot of this film and/or is one of the cursed beings
• Appearance - the female antagonist adheres to roughly the same aesthetic consisting of pale skin, long hair covering the face and white clothing
• Secondary - male characters are secondary characters and do not play the central role/central protagonist or antagonist
• SFX - there is little to no use of special effects in this film
• Phones - phones are consistently used in this film and/or used as a plot device
• Emotionless - male characters appear emotionless and dull
• Pauses - there are long, dramatic pauses within the character dialogue
• Not over - the curse appears to be lifted but in fact it is still present, resulting in one or several characters meeting certain death

Were there any cultural differences in this film? 
***NOTE - to prevent repeating myself on certain differences, I will be elaborating on differences I have not yet brought forward and listing previously mentioned differences that I have noticed again in this film below in bullet point form***
This film, as the third critically Japanese horror title I have watched, was full of little cultural Easter eggs. At the beginning of the film, the group of protagonists are dining at a restaurant. What caught my attention here was the little gas powered stoves on the tables, allowing the diners to cook and heat their food at their own disposal. When taking down other characters mobile phone numbers, one of the characters pulls out a circle of paper instead of more common rectangular sheet. When panning around the room of one of the victims, a sketchbook is seen using traditional anime style drawings.

Previously mentioned, discovered again in this film:

• Wood - the majority of any building interiors or exteriors were made using wooden materials
• Colours - brown and white are favoured colours for building interiors
• Furniture - interior setting furniture appeared smaller and/or lower to the ground
• Spotless - exterior streets and buildings are spotless and litter free  
• Shoes - shoes are removed by characters when entering someone's home
• Titles - characters refer to each other by their correct titles i.e. Mr, Mrs, Miss, etc

What evidence is there that this horror title is critically acclaimed?
'It’s a terrific performance, one that underscores why the Asian Horror boom has been so successful over the past few years.' (David Cornelius, efilmcritic.com)

'Miike's return to the horror genre is a slicker and less original affair than Audition, but also sharply dissects the J-horror phenomenon even as it scares the hell out of you.' (Anton Bitel, Film4)

'One Missed Call is compelling throughout and manages to leave one uncomfortable in their seat.' (David M. Brown, tweedling.com)

'This is a good (if not quite excellent) film that cloaks its eccentricity in the hackneyed vocabulary of mainstream horror, with occasionally startling results.' (Ian Shone, horrornews.net)

'First off, this was fun to watch and indeed contains plenty of creepy, even scary moments. The cinematography is also good and added significantly to the overall atmosphere.' (Sarudama.com)

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Are there any atmospheric projections, feelings and moods evoked or symbolisation in this film?
The main protagonist is seen sitting on her own during her class, projecting an isolated atmosphere. Another character is seen texting in this class, highlighting themes of distraction. As the plot follows several people being told when they will meet their fate, this could be seen as symbolism for acceptance of ones own mortality. Making it's first appearance, the antagonist is invisible, evoking feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. A sweet is found in each victims' mouth, possible symbolisation for childhood innocence. The unique sound used to denote the presence of the antagonist is an inhaler, which could be used to symbolise the link between human health conditions and death. The mother of the cursed child/antagonist was said to make her children ill on purpose for attention. Through this we see themes of insecurity, child abuse and egocentricity. The central character/protagonist has flashbacks about her grandmother who took her own life by hanging herself, highlighting the themes of suicide and childhood trauma and evoking feelings of loss and bereavement.

What relevance does this research have towards the development of my project?
This film has underlined the developing pattern I have began to recognise within Japanese horror films. The relevance of this research is to identify the unique characteristics of Japanese horror films and by doing so, project said characteristics in my own work. This research has helped me add more to the ever-growing list of characteristics/differences in Japanese horror films and thus, allowing me to identify similarities and differences in each film with greater ease.

Resources:
http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=11899&reviewer=392
http://www.film4.com/reviews/2003/one-missed-call
http://tweedling.com/2013/01/film-review-one-missed-call/
http://horrornews.net/66241/film-review-one-missed-call-2003/
http://www.sarudama.com/japanese_movies/chakushinari.shtml