But if some folks were annoyed by the absence of all that happy-ending, definite resolution malarkey in Ring, they certainly won't be at all pleased with Kairo. In fact, they may well be downright annoyed by the whole affair.

But that would be to miss the point, and points, by their very nature, are meant to be observed, to be acknowledged.

And the point here seems to be that Kurosawa is terrified by the prospect of eternal loneliness, and also none-too-pleased about the self-imposed segregation we exist within via this here cyberspace get-up. He craves personal, human interaction, rather than prolonged debates about whether or not Episode III Will Own Your Ass, with some assemblage of text on a screen somewhere.

In this respect, Kairo is as much a science fiction thriller as a full-blown Ghosties & Ghoulies affair. It shares much of the reactionary fear of technology that many great sci-fi works exhibit, staring with uncertainty towards the latest developments in home-entertainment appliances. It's ironic, but somehow crucial, that this raft of technophobic fright-fests stems from possibly the most technology-driven society on earth.

Wes Craven had been pencilled in to direct a remake of this Korean oddity, but found his attempts thwarted by studios who insisted it was too similar to Ring. It's hard to see these alleged similarities. Yes, it's leisurely paced, and has communication technology getting all homicidal, but there the common ground comes to an abrupt conclusion. Kairo has no truck with urban-legend "Die In Seven Days" carry-ons, nor has it much of a detective narrative running throughout. There's no race-against-time to stop this diabolical spirit-spitting, because, as Kurosawa almost audibly sighs within the celluloid, there's nothing we can do about any of it. The possibility of an emptiness for all eternity is very much a reality for these characters, and really, if they were being honest, chances are the studios simply didn't feel like pumping the money into an existential fable about the emptiness of death, especially one with sparse opportunities for CGI-horses getting all splattered.

Coming soon - The iPod What Can Kill You!

The Duke resides at Mondo Irlando.