Shutter (2008)
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A photographer and his wife begin to see mysterious blurs in their photos after a tragic accident, leading them into a haunting past.
The story
Newlywed couple Ben and Jane move to Tokyo, Japan, for a promising job opportunity. While traveling, Jane accidentally hits a girl in the wilderness, leading to a tragic car accident. Ben, a photographer, begins noticing strange blurs in his fashion shoot photographs. Jane suspects these blurs are the spirit of the girl they killed. As Ben begins to suffer from severe, unexplained shoulder pain, the couple must confront the supernatural manifestations and the dark secrets surrounding the accident.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ben Shaw and his wife Jane move to Tokyo, where Ben works as a photographer. After Jane accidentally hits a girl in the wilderness, they begin finding mysterious lights in their photos. Ben develops severe shoulder pain that doctors cannot explain. A paranormal magazine owner reveals the lights are spirits. They consult a psychic, Murase, whom Ben dismisses. Jane discovers a light in an office building and finds the girl's spirit, Megumi Tanaka. She learns Ben was once in a relationship with Megumi, who became obsessive after her father's death; Ben eventually dumped her with friends' help. They find Megumi's body, which she killed with cyanide. Ben's friends, Adam and Bruno, are subsequently murdered by Megumi's ghost. Ben admits to Jane that he and his friends had drugged Megumi and taken explicit photos to blackmail her, leading to her suicide. Disgusted, Jane leaves him. Ben, now haunted, finds a photo of Megumi sitting on his shoulders. A hospital scene reveals Ben weighs 275 pounds—the weight of two people. He electrocutes himself to rid himself of her, becoming catatonic in a mental institution, where his reflection shows Megumi still leaning on his back.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 85
- Production countries
- United States; Japan
- Original languages
- English; Japanese
- Directors
- Masayuki Ochiai
- Writers
- Luke Dawson · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Joshua Jackson · Ben; Rachael Taylor · Jane; Megumi Okina
- Genres
- supernatural horror; mystery
- Themes
- guilt; obsession; supernatural haunting; rape and revenge
- Tone and mood
- supernatural; dark; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; ghost story; photography; mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2004 Thai film of the same name
- Content notes
- suicide
- Reception
- The film was a box office success but was negatively received by critics.
- Reported review scores
- Cinemascore · score: C · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- Principal photography began in Tokyo on March 12, 2007.; The film grossed $10.4 million in its opening weekend.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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