Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Ai Maeda, Suzuki Matsuo, Shoichiro Masumoto
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed by: Well Go USA
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Running Time: 89 minutes
Film: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars
If you have seen Takashi Shimizu’s past work, this is a warning that “Shock Labyrinth 3D” is nothing like any of his other work. I thought that the mix of Takashi Shimizu and 3D horror would have been a match made it heaven. Instead, I found myself bored out of my mind. The 3D was absolutely terrible and that is a rare sentence you will see me write. It was poorly shot and even out of focus in some scenes. The spooks in “The Grudge” still haunts me and I was hoping to get scared in 3D but there was not even one scary aspect in the film, unless you count falling asleep.
The film follows a group of teenagers, who find a friend who has been missing for 10 years though it is not a warm welcoming. There was a lot of mystery behind her disappearance it and led back to a labyrinth haunted house inside an abandon hospital. The friends find themselves drawn back to the hospital but are unable to leave once things go array and they find out the reason for their returned visit. The friend realize that their missing friend has plans to get revenge for leaving her a decade back.
The Blu-ray presentation overall was not impressive at all. The video had some major issues with clarity and completely misused the 3D format. The sound on the film is ok but nothing special with its Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, though I found myself watching in English dub to avoid the terrible 3D Japanese subtitles. The film is a combo pack and also came with a DVD 2D version of the film. The 3D Blu-ray disc also came with a 2D version of the film but I do not think it would matter since it a bad movie, 3D or not.
The special features on this Blu-ray are just as bad as the film is. All of the extras are obviously subtitled as well. There about 30 minutes of interviews included. There is a brief behind-the-scenes featurette, nothing worth watching. Lastly there is a press conference footage which is also extremely short.
