Shy bookstore clerk Kosuke Mikado has the ability to see ghosts and spirits, an ability he wishes he didn’t have, since what he sees usually terrifies him. Rihito Hiyakawa, an exorcist whose supernatural powers are as strong as his social graces are weak, don’t seem to fear anything, mortal or otherwise. When this odd couple gets together to solve the bizarre cases that come their way, their work methods may not be entirely safe for work.The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window 2021.
First, this film has a great look. (Kudos to the cinematographer.) It looks dark and murky and shadowy without being too emo or oppressive that it becomes a fucking parody of itself (I’m referring to the cinematography of Zach Snyder). There’s ambition to its aesthetics. And there’s kinda like a sense of atmosphere to the images here that feels like a cross between an early 2000s J-horror film, a Miike film, and a South Korean drama. And by the final act of the movie, the cinematography looks straight out of a 70s giallo movie and it’s kinda gorgeous (giallos are stylish Italian horror-mystery films that have really wild visuals and surreal stories, and I do recommend you watch one before you die, especially “Deep Red” and “Tenebre”). I really liked it.
However, the camera placements often do not compliment the performances of the actors. It often prioritises a good image over a good image that *also* aids the film’s story. Just look at the first time the two leads meet. They’re talking in a bookstore (I think it’s a bookstore) and the look of the film (its colors, the way the costumes and the set compliment each other, that stuff) is totally fine. But the camera angles are kinda boring and that long two-shot of the two leads talking is just so awkward to watch. The angle makes Masaki Okada look like he’s doing bad acting when he’s not, and it makes the two characters look like they’re acting in an amateur high school play. If you freeze the video, the image is nice. If you play it and actually look at it, it looks weird and bland.