Actually quite creepy and haunting when it's not getting in its own way with awkward exposition and weird tropes. Significantly though, I get the feeling that's probably due to being 'lost in translation'.Recommended regardless for horror hounds.

'Fatal Frame' is a Japanese lesbian coming-of-age Gothic ghost mystery with a very Victorian flair, all romanticism, no kink, all yearning, and no consummation. Innocent love? Yes. But anything but harmless.To go into the film's plot without missing the point its mysteries (and even its main characters) are a bit too ever-changing and evolving, instead I'll say that the main motive of the film has to be John Everett Millais' 'Ophelia', and the film does justice to that evocative painting that is as beautiful as it is tragically sad and even unsettling. The supernatural element (ghosts) can easily be read as manifestations of extreme (often suppressed) emotions like unrequited (and forbidden) love while also being manifestations of a traumatic past. The mysteriousness and eeriness of the film doesn't just exist for its own sake but serves as an apt reflection of what its teenage characters are going through, with their feelings being new, mysterious or even scary to themselves.If you want to know what you can expect from this film, 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is probably a good reference point in terms of the Victorian girls' boarding school setting, the ethereal beauty, as well as the eeriness in broad daylight. The plot also involves girls suddenly disappearing, but the way in which this fits into the narrative and its function has much more in common with 'Ringu' and its dooming curse than it does with the inexplicable mysteriousness of nature in the Peter Weir classic. But in terms of the general look, feel and pacing it can be somewhat compared to 'A Tale of Two Sisters'. The way in which the mysteries pile up without ever losing the plot and having everything neatly come together is more in line with Vincenzo Natali's 'Haunter' or maybe a compressed version of a mystery anime series.Even though its eeriness I thought was at its highest towards the beginning and in the last section the piling up of mysteries and their explanations exceed the film's climactic point, the atmosphere never lets up, nor does the subdued beauty of its visuals (I love the texture and color palette of its 16mm Kodak film stock) ever lose its classical magic. 'Fatal Frame' is conceived in the modern Japanese storytelling mode (teen-centric, lots of emotion-centric voice-overs that never leave you in doubt about character motivations, etc.), which isn't to everyone's liking, but if you are OK with this or maybe even have an affinity for that mode and if my other descriptions also sounded good to you then this one comes highly recommended.

Having watched this film, the only notable thing I can say about it is the lesbian relationships and how the relationships between girls are handled, and how its so rare to see in horror movies, or movies in general to be a focus.  But even then, you have the Whispering Corridor movies, which have handled such matters far better, while being more interesting than this.The acting is fine, serviceable I'd say, but not great. The music, though I don't remember any of it was fine, due to it not annoying me or thinking any choices were bad or distracting. The plot though, is not very good.Things are pretty interesting at first, a girl who locks herself away and students seem to be infatuated with her, then a photo shows up and a ghostly apparition of her shows up and then people start disappearing. Nothing groundbreaking, but you want to know what happens with a setup like that. Unfortunately, none of the characters really stand out, and are mostly forgettable, and by the third act when things are getting revealed, you start to realise that it's rather stupid and some character motivations start to make a lot less sense. There are no scares here really, no real tension, except maybe with the girls in a 'will they, wont they' thing and some ham-fisted symbolism, no thrills, not even that malaise that occurs in some horror films, where it's not necessarily terrifying you, but you still feel uncomfortable. I'd say it barely qualifies as even creepy.At times this movie feels like a low rent Whispering Corridors knockoff(where some of the same criticisms could be leveled at some movies in the series, but they at least have better plots with more engaging characters), with very loose ties to its license. The plot and overall tone feel quite trite with a been there, done that bland feeling. It does nothing new, and what it does, it does adequately well and nothing more.Watch the Whispering Corridors movies instead if you want a horror movie tackling lesbian relationships or tackling female relationships within an all girls environment. If you want to see the Fatal Frame series on the big screen, well buy a projector and get a PS2 and Wii, because you wont get it here. And no, I haven't approached this movie as a fan of the game and wanting to see it represented in movie form, I just wanted to watch a good movie.

If you played the Fatal Frame video games you will probably be very disappointed after watching this. (heck even if you haven't played them)To give a few examples:The spirit camera barely plays a role in this movie, a child carries this around in a few short scenes.Don't expect haunted houses, abandoned buildings or anything like that.There is just one spirit that keeps popping up the first half of the movie, she's pale and cute..not scary at all.To me it felt like i was watching a drama / romance rather than a horror movieThe acting is fine, and that's the only positive thing i can think of.