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"SHUTTER"
(2008) (Joshua Jackson, Rachel Taylor) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Mild Heavy Extreme *Extreme None
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Moderate Moderate Extreme *None Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy None Extreme Heavy Heavy


QUICK TAKE:
Horror/Thriller: A newly married couple must contend with their discovery and subsequent investigation of ghostly images that appear in photographs they've taken.
PLOT:
Ben (JOSHUA JACKSON) and Jane Shaw (RACHEL TAYLOR) are newlyweds, but theirs will be a working honeymoon in Tokyo. That's because Ben is a corporate photographer, and agency head Bruno (DAVID DENMAN) and model manager Adam (JOHN HENSLEY) are awaiting his arrival for a big shoot. Set up in a building that's still under construction, they settle in to their living space that's adjacent to his set and darkroom. While he works with the aid of his assistant, Seiko (MAYA HAZEN), Jane plays tourist and goes off sightseeing.

Yet when she checks out her photos, she notices odd and somewhat ethereal wisps in her shots. He notices the same in his professional ones and attributes that to his camera being damaged during a recent car wreck they experienced. She, however, thinks there's something more to it, possibly involving the young woman she believed she hit in that accident. But with no body or any sign or report of any related injury at that event, Ben thinks she might be losing it.

When he finally encounters the ghost of Megumi (MEGUMI OKINA), however, he confirms that they're being haunted by her spirit. From that point on, Jane tries to figure out who she was and what she wants with them, an investigation that will lead her down a path of discovery she ends up wishing she had not taken.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're into horror films and/or are fans of anyone in the cast, they might be interested.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For terror, disturbing images, sexual content and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • JOSHUA JACKSON plays a photographer who spends his honeymoon with Jane in Tokyo where he has an important photo shoot. He doesn't initially believe her accounts of supernatural occurrences, but changes his mind when he has such an encounter. He briefly uses strong profanity, briefly drinks, and hides a secret about his past.
  • RACHEL TAYLOR plays his new bride, a 6th grade English teacher who's shaken by her belief that she ran over a young woman at night on a foggy road and that they're now being haunted by her spirit. She then tries to figure out who the young woman was and what she wants from them in spirit form.
  • MEGUMI OKINA plays the spirit of a dead woman who's haunting the newly married couple.
  • DAVID DENMAN plays Ben's friend and agency head who's eager to have him taking photos for a corporate shoot. He has a shady past and briefly drinks.
  • JOHN HENSLEY plays their other friend, a sleazy model manager who takes advantage of his position by having/making young women pose in sexually provocative ways for his own photo collection. He briefly drinks and is involved with Bruno and Ben's shady past.
  • MAYA HAZEN plays Ben's photo shoot assistant who introduces Jane to the world of spirit photos.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a quick look at the content found in this horror/thriller that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and a handful of colorful phrases are also uttered. Some playful innuendo is briefly bantered about by newlyweds, while sexual content is also present (the beginning of a sexual encounter with the woman on top of a man in just her panties, as well as a supernatural encounter that goes from creepy sexual to gross sexual), and a woman does some provocative posing for the camera in just her bra and panties.

    Violence includes several deaths and injuries, stemming from supernatural causes, some of which have bloody results, but some of that turns out to have only been imagined. A flashback heavily suggests a just off-screen gang rape using some sort of drug that renders the woman nearly unconscious, while suicides also occur.

    Those scenes, moments of potential peril, all sorts of supernatural material, standard "haunted house" type material (including "jump scenes"), and various gross and/or ghastly visuals might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to some viewers, particularly younger kids and those with low tolerance levels for such material.

    Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, and some of them result in tense family material. Some drinking is also present, as is some behavior that might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

    If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • People have champagne at Ben and Jane's wedding.
  • Ben, Jane, and his friends have sake with dinner.
  • Ben has a beer.
  • We see a flashback to Ben, Megumi and others having wine and drinks, with something being in Megumi's (equivalent to a date rape drug) that leaves her in a nearly unconscious stupor.
  • Jane puts out a wine bottle for Ben and herself, but they don't have any.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • while chemically developing a photo, Ben sees an image of the ghost that appears to move, followed by the developer splashing up into his face. He then rushes to a sink to wipe it off, but he then sees a lot of blood on the towel he's holding, and then on his face. A moment later, however, all of the blood is gone from both (meaning he was imagining that, due to supernatural influence).
  • While riding a subway car, Jane sees images of the young woman in the window as light passes by, with the last one appearing ghastly (as if she's partially decomposed).
  • While photographing a woman in her bra and panties, Adam keeps seeing odd images through his lens. One then turns ghastly and races toward him, knocking him to the floor. We then see a crack in the camera lens and a bloody hole in his eye socket (he appears dead, but we later hear he's in the hospital, but we never see him again).
  • We see Bruno's bloody fingertips as he uses a razor blade to cut up photos.
  • We see a full view of a dead body after a suicidal leap from a high-rise, and then a close-up of a growing pool of blood, with the man's eye open and blood on his face.
  • Jane and Ben slowly walk through a house looking for Megumi. They see her, but can't immediately get to her, but finally do. Jane then slowly walks up to her as she's seated, facing away from her. As Jane nears her, the figure's head suddenly falls backwards with the neck nearly breaking off, and the head is mostly decomposed, with all sorts of flies buzzing about.
  • In bed, a hand touches Ben, and he rolls over half-asleep, and we see that the ghost is in bed with him. She's then gone, but then standing in the room in front of the bed. She then slowly approaches, crawls up the bed toward him, and straddles him. She then lifts her top, but we then see that her back is all bloody, partially decomposed, and covered with boils and blisters, etc. Moments later, he's on the floor, trying to scramble away backwards from her as she slowly approaches him (back in "normal" form). With him cornered, she puts her face close to his (he's frightened) and a very gross-looking tongue comes out of her mouth and goes into his. Jane then wakes up to Ben vomiting blood on the floor (we see a pool of it near him), followed by a swarm of flies coming out of his mouth.
  • We see a very bad looking and large burn scar on Ben's neck.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • We see that some spirit photos (supposedly of ghosts) are sometimes faked in a magazine devoted to just that.
  • Thinking Jane is losing it (about seeing a ghost), Ben yells at her (after having a bad day at work), "I'm not your f*cking father!" That causes tension between them and she walks away.
  • Spoiler Alert: Jane is shocked by photos she retrieves off a camera the ghost lead her to. We don't see but a few of them (showing two men with the woman while she was alive, but is obviously drugged at the moment, with two men holding drinks in close to her). We then see a flashback to the actual scene where those men and another have drugged the woman (we see her and one man having wine -- hers apparently being spiked with something to render her nearly unconscious) and are taking potentially incriminating photos of her (everyone's clothed) in case they'd be needed in the future to blackmail her). As the photographer can't go along with this anymore (as the woman is his girlfriend who he believes has become too unhinged for him), we see the two men carrying off the woman, and a gang rape is heavily suggested (but not seen or heard).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to viewers, especially younger ones and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
  • While driving at night in partial fog, Jane suddenly sees the figure of a young woman in the road in front of her. Too late to do anything, she slams into the young woman and then runs over her. As a result, her car goes out of control, spins around, and then goes down a slight incline and slams into a tree. As she's passing out (Ben is already knocked out), Jane sees the young woman starting to get up. Later, there's no body to be found.
  • Jane has a nightmare about driving into the young woman, and we see that replayed, with the young woman going up on the hood and then looking directly into the windshield.
  • Jane sees odd, whitish and somewhat ethereal smears of light on her photos.
  • There are odd sounds as well as ghostly sounding voices coming from an adjacent room (Jane might not hear the latter as they might just be on the soundtrack to spook the viewer).
  • Ben sees fleeting images of the ghost in his camera lens during a photo shoot, but she's not there when he looks up.
  • Various still photographs of spirits and ghosts around the living are somewhat creepy and/or spooky.
  • A publisher shows an old photo of himself as a child with the image of his dead mother's apparition by him.
  • While chemically developing a photo, Ben sees an image of the ghost that appears to move, followed by the developer splashing up into his face. He then rushes to a sink to wipe it off, but he then sees a lot of blood on the towel he's holding, and then on his face. A moment later, however, all of the blood is gone from both (meaning he was imagining that, due to supernatural influence).
  • While riding a subway car, Jane notices a local boy repeatedly looking just behind her. She slowly turns around and then sees images of the young woman in the window as light passes by, with the last one appearing ghastly (as if she's partially decomposed).
  • While in the darkroom, a hand caresses Ben's cheek and he thinks it's Jane (doing that as well as humming a bit), but she then calls him on the phone. Ben is freaked out and slowly walks back into the darkroom, hearing that humming and spotting the young woman seated in a chair. He then sees a bulge move under her skin from beneath one eye over to the other one, with a fly then coming out from under the eyelid. Jane hears him scream on the phone and races back there, only to find her seated in the same chair, facing away from her. She slowly walks up to him, and he suddenly spins around.
  • Jane searches for the ghost and goes to a door beneath a flickering light (and hears ghostly voices, or at least we do). Just as she reaches out for the doorknob, the door opens, startling her. She goes inside and slowly looks around, using a Polaroid camera to try to find out where the ghost is. Once inside a boardroom, a photo shows an image of the ghost. Just then, the door at that spot moves a bit, causing Jane to scream and run for the front door that then slams shut, with a photo on the wall falling to the floor (with the glass shattering, thus pointing Jane's attention to the people in it -- including that of Megumi when she was alive).
  • The lights go out in Ben's studio, with the only illumination being brief and intense flashes of his studio camera strobe. With each second or two of intense light, we see different viewpoints of the room, including that of the ghost around or approaching him. That includes grabbing his legs, causing him to freak out and scramble away, only to encounter Jane who turns the lights back on (and the ghost is gone).
  • While photographing a woman in her bra and panties, Adam keeps seeing odd images through his lens. One then turns ghastly and races toward him, knocking him to the floor. We then see a crack in the camera lens and a bloody hole in his eye socket (he appears dead, but we later hear he's in the hospital, but we never see him again).
  • We hear ghostly voices around Bruno, and then see an image of the ghost form behind him. When Ben and Jane get there, he's acting somewhat deranged and starts coming at Jane. She retreats, but he darts to the left, races through a room, and then jumps over the balcony railing. We see him fall a long way and partially see the impact. We then see a full view of the dead body, and then a close-up of a growing pool of blood, with his eye open and blood on his face.
  • Jane gets her wedding photos and sees the ghost's image in one.
  • Jane and Ben slowly walk through a house looking for Megumi. They see her, but can't immediately get to her, but finally do. Jane then slowly walks up to her as she's seated, facing away from her. As Jane nears her, the figure's head suddenly falls backwards with the neck nearly breaking off, and the head is mostly decomposed, with all sorts of flies buzzing about.
  • In bed, a hand touches Ben, and he rolls over half-asleep, and we see that the ghost is in bed with him. She's then gone, but then standing in the room in front of the bed. She then slowly approaches, crawls up the bed toward him, and straddles him. She then lifts her top, but we then see that her back is all bloody, partially decomposed, and covered with boils and blisters, etc. Moments later, he's on the floor, trying to scramble away backwards from her as she slowly approaches him (back in "normal" form). With him cornered, she puts her face close to his (he's frightened) and a very gross-looking tongue comes out of her mouth and goes into his. Jane then wakes up to Ben vomiting blood on the floor (we see a pool of it near him), followed by a swarm of flies coming out of his mouth. Jane yells for the ghost to leave her alone, prompting a sheet to fall over Jane and drag her over toward the window. It then pulls her up against the window that shatters and finally breaks, but Jane doesn't fall through that.
  • We see a wooden casket put into a crematorium and then a view of the flames burning up that, followed by a disturbing view of the charred head falling off to the side while on fire (anyone who's had a loved one cremated might be disturbed by that visual).
  • Jane finds a series of photos taken on Ben's camera of them on the floor presumably having sex (in the background of the shot, with him on top of her -- but no nudity or other details), but the point of the successive images is showing the ghost approaching the newlyweds, reaching out as if trying to stop them, and then leaving the setting.
  • Spoiler Alert: Jane is shocked by photos she retrieves off a camera the ghost lead her to. We don't see but a few of them (showing two men with the woman while she was alive, but is obviously drugged at the moment, with two men holding drinks in close to her). We then see a flashback to the actual scene where those men and another have drugged the woman (we see her and one man having wine -- hers apparently being spiked with something to render her nearly unconscious) and are taking potentially incriminating photos of her (everyone's clothed) in case they'd be needed in the future to blackmail her). As the photographer can't go along with this anymore (as the woman is his girlfriend who he believes has become too unhinged for him), we see the two men carrying off the woman, and a gang rape is heavily suggested (but not seen or heard).
  • After a door locks him in his place, Ben takes many Polaroid shots to try to find the ghost. One finally shows her seated on his shoulders (thus explaining his chronic neck pain), so he takes his powerful studio strobe and places it on his neck to try to burn her off (but he just causes himself pain -- we later see a very bad looking and large burn scar on his neck). We then see a reflection that shows her still sitting on his neck.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "I'm just not your f*cking father," "You always were a sneaky bastard," "Bite me," "Screw the job," "Kind of creeps me out," "Giddy-up, cowboy" and "I said enough, G*ddamnit."
  • Some kids may be enticed to try to scare others via some of the means seen here.
  • Some men use the equivalent of a date rape drug to render a woman nearly unconscious and then take potentially embarrassing photos of her with them (to be used later as blackmail if needed). It's then heavily suggested that two of the men gang rape her).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • While driving at night in partial fog, Jane suddenly sees the figure of a young woman in the road in front of her.
  • Some flash images of the ghost in a subway car window might startle some viewers.
  • Ben suddenly spins around in a chair, startling Jane who was slowly walking up to him (sudden music on the soundtrack exacerbates that).
  • As Jane reaches out for a doorknob, the door suddenly opens. Moments later, as she runs back for that door, it suddenly slams shut.
  • A seated figure's head suddenly falls backwards with the neck nearly breaking off, and the head is mostly decomposed, with all sorts of flies buzzing about.
  • Jane turns and Ben is suddenly there.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of ominous, suspenseful and scary music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None, but a song had lyrics that we couldn't fully hear/understand, thus presenting the possibility of them containing objectionable material.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 "f" word, 1 "s" word, 2 uses each of "Christ," "God," "Oh God" and "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Jesus Christ" and "My God."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Ben and Jane do some playfully passionate kissing back in their room following their wedding. They end up partly on the sofa and floor, and after she says the car will be there in an hour, she playfully adds, "You better hurry up if you're going to get this thing consummated."
  • In their Tokyo room, Jane playfully tells Ben that it's too bad there's nothing they could do there (as newlyweds) and then climbs on top of him. After straddling him, she removes her top (we don't see her breasts, but do see the front of her panties in that straddle position, then a rear view of her bare back as well as those panties, including when he sits up and they embrace that way, making out). We later see them cuddled up, post-sex, and asleep (she in a bra). We later see her get up, wearing a t-shirt and those same panties.
  • Jane looks suspiciously at Seiko who has her hand near Ben's clothed butt and the other on his leg to steady him while he's up on a ladder during a photo shoot.
  • Cartoon animation on a casino game shows a female figure sporting cleavage while bending over toward the camera.
  • When one of Ben's friends jokes if he needs a cane, Ben replies with some innuendo, "I got your cane right here."
  • We see a flashback image of Ben in bed with Megumi (nothing sexual happening, but we see her bare shoulders).
  • A woman willingly strips down to her small panties (we see frontal and rear views, with the latter showing some partial butt cheeks) and cleavage-revealing bra for Adam. We then see he has a collection of photos of other women in similar attire, and he has this woman don a cowboy hat for the shots. She then does various provocative poses, including straddling the back of a sofa and suggestively saying, "Giddy-up, cowboy." Although it appears this might turn sexual, supernatural events prevent that from happening.
  • We see Bruno in just shorts or boxers.
  • In bed, a hand touches Ben, and he rolls over half-asleep, and we see that the ghost is in bed with him. She's then gone, but then standing in the room in front of the bed. She then slowly approaches, crawls up the bed toward him, and straddles him. She then lifts her top, but we then see that her back is all bloody, partially decomposed, and covered with boils and blisters, etc.
  • Jane gets up and is wearing just a t-shirt (nothing explicit is seen).
  • Jane finds a series of photos taken on Ben's camera of them on the floor presumably having sex (in the background of the shot, with him on top of her -- but no nudity or other details), but the point of the successive images is showing the ghost approaching the newlyweds, reaching out as if trying to stop them, and then leaving the setting.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Jane looks suspiciously at Seiko who has her hand near Ben's clothed butt and the other on his leg to steady him while he's up on a ladder during a photo shoot.
  • A publisher shows an old photo of himself as a child with the image of his dead mother's apparition by him.
  • Thinking Jane is losing it (about seeing a ghost), Ben yells at her (after having a bad day at work), "I'm not your f*cking father!" That causes tension between them and she walks away.
  • We hear that Megumi was never the same after her father's death in the past.
  • We briefly see a funeral scene.
  • Spoiler Alert: Upset about disturbing news she's learned about her husband's past, Jane smacks Ben hard enough to send him to the floor. She then leaves him for good.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Ghosts and so-called spirit photos.
  • Working and living abroad.
  • We hear that Megumi was never the same after her father's death in the past.
  • Date rape type drugs.
  • We see that a person committed suicide via cyanide.
  • VIOLENCE
  • While driving at night in partial fog, Jane suddenly sees the figure of a young woman in the road in front of her. Too late to do anything, she slams into the young woman and then runs over her. As a result, her car goes out of control, spins around, and then goes down a slight incline and slams into a tree. As she's passing out (Ben is already knocked out), Jane sees the young woman starting to get up. Later, there's no body to be found.
  • Jane has a nightmare about driving into the young woman, and we see that replayed, with the young woman going up on the hood and then looking directly into the windshield.
  • While chemically developing a photo, Ben sees an image of the ghost that appears to move, followed by the developer splashing up into his face. He then rushes to a sink to wipe it off, but he then sees a lot of blood on the towel he's holding, and then on his face. A moment later, however, all of the blood is gone from both (meaning he was imagining that, due to supernatural influence).
  • While photographing a woman in her bra and panties, Adam keeps seeing odd images through his lens. One then turns ghastly and races toward him, knocking him to the floor. We then see a crack in the camera lens and a bloody hole in his eye socket (he appears dead, but we later hear he's in the hospital, but we never see him again).
  • A person runs and leaps from a high-rise balcony (we partially see the impact), and we see the bloody body below.
  • We see that a person committed suicide via cyanide.
  • The ghost puts her face close to Ben's (he's frightened) and a very gross-looking tongue comes out of her mouth and goes into his. Jane then wakes up to Ben vomiting blood on the floor (we see a pool of it near him), followed by a swarm of flies coming out of his mouth. Jane yells for the ghost to leave her alone, prompting a sheet to fall over Jane and drag her over toward the window. It then pulls her up against the window that shatters and finally breaks, but Jane doesn't fall through that.
  • Spoiler Alert: Jane is shocked by photos she retrieves off a camera the ghost lead her to. We don't see but a few of them (showing two men with the woman while she was alive, but is obviously drugged at the moment, with two men holding drinks in close to her). We then see a flashback to the actual scene where those men and another have drugged the woman (we see her and one man having wine -- hers apparently being spiked with something to render her nearly unconscious) and are taking potentially incriminating photos of her (everyone's clothed) in case they'd be needed in the future to blackmail her). As the photographer can't go along with this anymore (as the woman is his girlfriend who he believes has become too unhinged for him), we see the two men carrying off the woman, and a gang rape is heavily suggested (but not seen or heard).
  • After a door locks him in his place, Ben takes many Polaroid shots to try to find the ghost. One finally shows her seated on his shoulders (thus explaining his chronic neck pain), so he takes his powerful studio strobe and places it on his neck to try to burn her off (but he just causes himself pain -- we later see a very bad looking and large burn scar on his neck).



  • Reviewed March 20, 2008 / Posted March 21, 2008

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