Shutter (2008 film)

Shutter
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Masayuki Ochiai
Screenplay by	Luke Dawson
Based on	Shutter by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom
Produced by	Takashige Ichise Roy Lee Doug Davison
Starring	Joshua Jackson Rachael Taylor
Cinematography	Katsumi Yanagijima
Edited by	Michael Knue Tim Alverson
Music by	Nathan Barr
Production companies	Regency Enterprises New Regency Vertigo Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	March 21, 2008 (2008-03-21)
Running time	85 minutes (Theatrical cut) 90 minutes (Unrated cut)
Country	United States Japan Thailand
Languages	English Japanese
Budget	$8 million
Box office	$48 million

Shutter is a 2008 American supernatural horror film directed by Masayuki Ochiai and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written by Luke Dawson and is a remake on the 2004 Thai film of the same name. Its story follows newlywed couple Ben and Jane who have just moved to Japan for a promising job opportunity. After a tragic car accident that leads to the death of a young girl, Ben begins noticing strange blurs in many of his fashion shoot photographs, which Jane suspects is the spirit of the dead girl that they killed. The film stars Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, and Megumi Okina.

It was produced by Regency Enterprises and was released on March 21, 2008. It grossed $10.4 million in its opening weekend and $48.6 million worldwide, against an $8 million budget, making the film a box office success despite having only a 9% approval rating based on 65 votes on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot

Ben Shaw and his new wife Jane leave New York for Tokyo, Japan, where Ben has a job as a photographer. While traveling, Jane hits a girl in the middle of the wilderness, wearing a thin dress, despite the cold and snow. They later start to find mysterious lights in their photos. Ben begins to complain of severe shoulder pain, and his friends begin to comment he's looking bent and hunched over, though the doctor he goes to see can find no cause. Ben's assistant takes them to her ex-boyfriend, who says that the lights are spirits, manifestations of intense emotions. They then go to a psychic, Murasame; however, Ben refuses to translate what Murasame says, claiming he is a hack.

Later on Jane decides to visit the office building in the photo. When she gets there, she goes to the floor where the light has gathered, and takes pictures in the empty office. She encounters the spirit, and learns that the girl's name was Megumi Tanaka and that Ben knew her. When she confronts Ben about it, he admits that he and Megumi were once involved in a relationship, but that after the death of her father, she became very obsessive and clingy, and eventually dumped her, with help from his two friends. Jane is upset with Ben and decides they need to find Megumi.

They go to Megumi's home, only to find her decayed body; she had committed suicide with potassium cyanide. Meanwhile, Ben's friends, Adam and Bruno, are killed by Megumi. Adam's eye is torn out while shooting pictures and dies from shock; Bruno commits suicide by jumping from up his apartment. Finally, Ben is attacked by the ghost of Megumi, who attempts to choke him. After nearly throwing Jane through a nearby window, Megumi stops, leaving Ben alive.

After Megumi's funeral, Ben and Jane return to New York, thinking it's all over. However, Jane finds some recent photos in an envelope which still show Megumi. She then finds more photos, taken by Ben, Adam, and Bruno forcing themselves on Megumi. Ben tries to explain he felt it was the only way to drive Megumi away, as nothing else was working. This explains why Ben didn't want to translate what the psychic said earlier in the film. Realizing that Megumi was trying to warn her and disgusted by Ben's past actions, Jane leaves.

Angered, Ben begins photographing the apartment looking for Megumi. After throwing the camera across the room, it takes a picture of him, showing Megumi sitting astride his shoulders. The movie pans back to the hospital where a nurse is weighing Ben, showing a weight of 275 kg, the weight of two people. In an effort to rid himself of her, he electrocutes himself. He is rendered completely catatonic and sent to a mental institution. The last scene is a reflection of the glass from the door, showing Megumi still draped across him.

Cast

• Joshua Jackson as Benjamin "Ben" Shaw
• Rachael Taylor as Jane Shaw
• Megumi Okina as Megumi Tanaka
• John Hensley as Adam
• David Denman as Bruno
• James Kyson Lee as Ritsuo
• Daisy Betts as Natasha
• Maya Hazen as Seiko Nakamura
• Yoshiko Miyazaki as Akiko
• Kei Yamamoto as Murase

Release

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 9% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 65 reviews. The site's consensus states, "Being a remake of a Thai horror film instead of Japanese doesn't prevent Shutter from being another lame Asian horror remake." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.

Commercial response

The film was released March 21, 2008 in the United States and Canada and grossed $10,447,559 in 2,753 theaters in its opening weekend, ranking #3 at the box office behind Horton Hears a Who!'s second weekend and Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns. As of June 26, 2008, it has grossed a total of $47,879,410 worldwide – $25,928,550 in the United States and Canada and $21,950,860 in other territories.

The film's $8 million budget and its almost $48 million worldwide grossing has secured the film as an extremely lucrative success.

Home media

Shutter was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 15, 2008. The Unrated Edition runs 5 minutes longer and includes commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.

See also

• List of ghost films

Soundtrack

Shutter: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Nathan Barr
Released	March 18, 2008
Label	Lakeshore Records

Track listing

1. "Welcome to Tokyo" – 1:55
2. "We Hit a Girl!" – 2:58
3. "TGK" – 1:37
4. "Making Love" – 2:40
5. "Alone in Tokyo" – 0:59
6. "The Spirit Room" – 2:27
7. "The Argument" – 3:05
8. "Fly in the Eye" – 2:31
9. "Visiting Murase" – 2:27
10. "Jane Visits TGK" – 4:29
11. "The Truth" – 1:54
12. "I Saw Megumi" – 1:56
13. "Driving to Megumi's" – 3:18
14. "Rest in Peace" – 2:35
15. "Flip Book" – 3:21
16. "The Whole Truth" – 2:39
17. "Psych Ward" – 1:02
18. "Good to Me" (performed by Nathan Barr & Lisbeth Scott) – 3:23

Commercial songs from film, but not on soundtrack

• "Falling" – Performed by Krysten Berg
• "Just the Tip" – Performed by Becca Styles
• "Come on Shake" – Performed by Shake
• "That Kinda Booty" – Performed by Dem Naughty Boyz
• "Sky Business" – Performed by Matt Pelling & Paul Williard
• "Nasty Funky Crazy" – Performed by Becca Styles
• "Fallout" – Performed by Brydon Stace
• "In a War" – Performed by Michael Popieluch
• "Underwater" – Performed by A.M. Pacific
• "Omo Cha No Cha Cha Cha" – Performed by Akiyuki Nosaka, Osamu Yosioka, and Nonuyoshi Koshibe
• "Do Something" – Performed by Shane Tsurugi for Rock Life
• "Seventy-Seven" – Performed by Dino Zisis
• "Oh, Joey" – Performed by Lucky 13

Remakes

Shutter (2004) (Thai)	Sivi (2007) (Tamil)	Shutter (2008) (English)	Click (2010) (Hindi)	Photo (2006) (Telugu)
Ananda Everingham	Yogi Srinivasan	Joshua Jackson	Shreyas Talpade	Anand
Natthaweeranuch Thongmee	Anuja Iyer	Rachael Taylor	Sadha	Anjali

External links

• Shutter at IMDb
• Shutter at AllMovie
• Shutter at Box Office Mojo
• Shutter at Rotten Tomatoes
• Shutter at Metacritic