An Invitation From Ghost Theater (2015)

Series Directors: Futoshi Sato, Ryuta Miyake, Hideo Nakata, Hirohisa Sasaki, Go Kinomoto.
Series cast:  Yuika Shima, Yui Yokoyama, Nana Okada, Matsuri Hashimoto, Anne Iriyama, Misato Morita,
Rena Kato, Seira Maeda, Nao Furuhata, Kaori Shiina, Ikumi Nakano, Yui Oguri, Rie Kitahara, Yoko Okamura, Kokora Morita, Mion Mukaichi, Juri Takahashi, Makiko Watanabe, Yuria Kizaki, Kaito Takamura,  Haruka Shimazaki, Riho Takada, Rin Asuka, Rika Adachi, Keira Machida, Sawa Nimura, Toshihito Kokubo,  Mantaro Koichi, Hisako Ohkata, Motoki Ochiai, Anri Mihama.

In my Female Prisoner Scorpion review I talked about how I had been a Japanese Cinema kick, so out of curiosity I decided to check out a few Japanese TV series, most notably Ultra-Man, and the subject of today’s review, An Invitation from Ghost Theater, a horror anthology series.  An Invitation from Ghost Theater (Gekijorei karano Syotaijo) is ten episodes long, and each episodes features a young female protagonist who has an encounter with the supernatural (which usually doesn’t end well).  It should be noted that most of the main actresses were former members of the Japanese girl group AKB48.

Like most anthology series, Ghost Theater is a mixed bag – the stories range from irritating [most notably the 4^th entry, The Rotten (Fuhai)] to mediocre [the first episode, Burial (Maiso)] to effective [Auditory Hallucination (Gentyo), The Return (Kaiki), The Yearning (Syokei), and Eternity (Eien)].
The second half of the season is far more effective than the first. Ghost Theater often plays like a Japanese version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents; each episode opens with an introduction by actor Montaro Koichi and the ends with him wrapping up the story. The acting is all over the place, as well; this isn’t too surprising considering that many of these actresses were in their teens and still wet behind the ears. It doesn’t help that the characters are, for the most part, underwritten – each episode is about twenty-four minutes long, which means most of the focus is on setting up the horror.  It also doesn’t help that too often the characters make the dumbest decision; a lot of the misery they suffer could have easily been avoided if they exercised the most basic common sense. The better episodes tend to be the ones with some character development. 

My favorite episode of the series was Auditory Hallucination (Gentyo); it stars Rie Kitahara as pop singer, Aya Usami, who is promoting her upcoming album on a radio show.  As in the interview progresses, she begins to hear noises coming from headphones, which the producers initially chalk up to technical difficulties, but then she hears a car crash coming from her headphone and then a ghostly voice that keeps saying “I’m coming for you.”  The episode eventually ends with her being stalked throughout the radio station by the ghost of a former colleague (or is she?).  Rie Kitahara was a pop singer in real life, so she is effectively cast in the lead role. Her character Aya has such a pleasant demeanor that, at first, it is a mystery as to why she is being stalked by a ghost. If there is one gripe I have with the episode; I think it would have been more effective had it been more ambiguous – she Aya really being haunted by a ghost, or it is all in her head; a manifestation of a guilty conscience.  This episode effectively rachets up the tension; Aya initially chalks up the car crash and ghostly voice as a prank, but as they intensify, she begins to slowly lose all grip on reality.

The Rotten is the lowlight of the series. Rena Kato stars as a popular girl, Suzuka (who is also a teen model) who is being followed around by the school dweeb, Natsumi (Seira Maeda). The two of them used to be friends, but Suzuka would rather forget about that.  In a grisly turn of events, Suzuka accidentally kills Natsumi, and things take a turn for the worse when Natsumi comes back as a zombie.  This episode is largely played for laughs; there is even a scene where Suzuka gives the decaying Natsumi a makeover. The problem is the acting far more grating than funny; it is also hard to sympathize with Natsumi because she comes off as creepy. We’re supposed to think Suzuka is cold for brushing off her childhood friend, but given Natsumi’s behavior, maybe she was justified in cutting all ties. 

The most famous name involved with the series is the horror director Hideo Nakata.  He directed the first episode (Burial) and the final episode (Eternal). The first episode is a forgettable entry where the characters make the dumbest decisions imaginable, and blatantly steals the ending to The Vanishing.  Eternal is a creepy episode about a young housekeeper who finds herself the object of affection of an evil boy. It’s an episode that does a great job of building sympathy for the main character, Yuri (Yuria Kizaki) – she’s in a passionless relationship with her boyfriend, who is more interested in playing games on his phone than having a conversation with his girlfriend. When she tries to get intimate with him, he rebukes her (he complains that she is too sweaty).  Therefore, it’s not too surprising she is touched by the warm welcome she is giving by Shota and his grandmother.  When Shota asks Yuri to marry him, she initially chalks it up to a child’s crush.  As the episode progresses, Shota becomes increasingly more possessive and sinister. This episode epitomizes the phrase, "No good deed goes unpunished."  It’s an effective thriller and right up there with Nakata’s better work.

These two episodes also perfectly sum up Nakata’s career; he directed a couple of genuine classics (The Ring, Dark Water) but most of his filmography is forgettable (Sadako, The Ring Two, and a few laughable erotic thrillers, like The Woman Who Keeps a Murderer).  After the success of The Ring and Dark Water, he went into full cruise control mode (hoping his name would be enough to sell the movie). It’s a shame because he had great potential as a filmmaker. 

An Invitation from Ghost Theater is such an obscure show that it was difficult to find material surrounding this show; most of my information came from the blog, Children of Sadako. This is rather a shame, because while the show is a mixed bag it is still worth checking out; especially for the final four episodes. If you ever have a free afternoon, I recommend you check it out.