Yoshinobu Nakamura started out in the movie business by focusing on his love for photography, a career highlight being the shooting of promotional material for the likes of Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Grant and a myriad of other actors. Not content with still images, the talented newcomer took to the director's seat and began making films independently with his debut effort “Mono yuuni” (2021) screening at local festivals across his native Japan.
Old Photograph is screening at Japan FilmFest Hamburg
The horror genre symbolizes what Nakamura considers scary but also has ‘deep meaning rooted in the culture of the country' [it was made in]. It is no coincidence then that all his work since “Mono Yuuni” has been travelogue-type ‘travel memories' and a series of eerie short films sharing similar ryokan-themed creepiness. Starting with “Ofuda” (2021), “Twitter” (2022) and following up with this one that takes the action right back into the same infamously claustrophobic four walls.
We open inside a dimly lit ryokan with the victim dressed in the traditional yukata and kneeling, unaware of the impending events. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary until the man takes out his iPhone and inserts a newly purchased SIM Card. Suddenly, an incoming phone call from his friend breaks the silence and establishes that he was away on vacation and retiring for the final night of the trip. As the conversation abruptly cuts short, the action cuts to an old photograph. A long take fixates the viewer's gaze upon the haunting abomination staring back, and everyone knows what's going to happen next.
Predictable as it is, Nakamura's third short film is still a fun scare that makes use of the entirely of its four minutes with no second wasted. The lighting, although out of the ordinary and amateurish (cutting awkwardly from sepia to darkness) is still effective as the portent of the weirdness that is about to transpire. And perhaps the greatest achievement is the creature featured in the traveler's keepsake – exceptional for a small-budget production-that instantly brought about goosebumps and a creeping sense of eeriness lasting from start to finish.
“Old Photograph” serves up the tension in a potent brew of trepidation filled with the familiar horror beats found distinctly in Asian horrors such as “Ringu” (1998) and “Shutter” (2004) amongst others. The looming terror unfolds once the light flickers and things start disappearing from the photograph.
Alas, a lot of questions do go unanswered, like who the creature was exactly or why it was going after the man, but the beauty lies in the unknown and half the fun is the openness to interpretation for audiences to make their own conclusions. But don't take too long, for the long-haired banshee might just lunge as you as soon as the credit rolls.
