Well, I saw this first as I am a fan of Japanese horror movies. I really like the twists and thought that this is unique. But when I saw the movie "The Shining", I am convinced that they adapted the reincarnation plot from this classic Stephen King movie. Anyway, I'm still a fan of Asian horror movies but not this one.

I watched Rinne after reading some reviews that described it as being genuinely scary. I will agree that there is some very creepy imagery in there, and there are some tense moments. I think the reason this didn't work better was because the story was so all over the place. I am not sure if it has to do with the fact that it was a foreign film and I was not used to the storytelling structures of this culture, or if it was just a trippy movie, but I was working too hard to follow the plot to be affected. I was more nervous watching The Strangers, which was a dirt-simple story, but it got right to the business of being scary. With some editing, or a more coherent script, this might have been one of the scariest movies of recent years, but it felt like there were too many unrelated images and stories thrown together just to have something freaky looking to film. I was especially put off by the ending. Having a main character going insane is about as creative as killing them off--that's something they'd tell you not to do in a high school writing class.

"Reincarnation" is a severely engrossing but not entirely exciting entry.**SPOILERS**Returning from an audition, Nagisa Sugiura, (Yuka) learns from her agent Tadashi Murakawa, (Tetta Sugimoto) that she has landed a part in director Ikuo Matsumura, (Kippei Shiina) new film about a real-life murder case in Japan. Arriving on the set to start shooting, she begins to have strange feelings of deja-vu over the project, and eventually starts to think that she has actually experienced reincarnation over one of the guests in real life, the character she's actually playing in the movie. As the visions tell her a different story than the official version, she tries to keep her investigations from the crew while she carries on, eventually learning the truth about everything and tries to put an end to the strange goings-on before anything more dangerous can happen to her.The Good News: There was some good stuff in here when it really tried to. One of the best features is that there's an incredibly enjoyable story here that manages to get better and more entertaining as it goes on. The general concept of the murder-in-the-past is great and creepy on it's own, and when it changes it up there's a lot of fun to be had. There's a couple of great inventions to the story, from the fact that it infuses the film being shot on the tragedy with the events that really happened through flashbacks that are seen through the eyes of one of the actors on the film, and it's all incredibly enjoyable and exciting to see it play out in here. This has a lot of rather fun times to be had, especially when it gets later into the film and it blurs the line between what time it is happening in. The action that occurs, from the family being stalked through the hotel and the different ghosts that spring to life around the location and get in on the action themselves and it becomes all the better. Even some of the earlier scenes, such as the incident in the hallways where the ghosts manage to take over the film shoot and completely blackened them out which only one of the participants notices, the scenes with the young girl running around or the scenes of her in the flashback experiencing the action from the true story as though they're participants in the story is a lot of fun and definitely makes the film more enjoyable. That there's a series of outstanding ghost scenes also manages to provide a lot of great points in this one, making it feel even better. The confrontation in the library stacks are absolutely fantastic, as the setting is perfect for getting the isolation down, the ghostly faces appearing in the darkness provide some great scares and the resolution is perfect for this kind of story. Other good scenes include the fantastic moment in the beginning where she alone keeps feeling like ghosts are walking through the abandoned hotel behind her, and turns to look at each of the three levels merely moments too late to have her prediction come true, a ghost disappearing from view just a split-second before she can see them, and the long, single take is what makes it feel really creepy. The setting of the house is rather good as well, making sure to offer plenty of opportunities for creepy situations, real tension and a credible source for the action to follow and this one here does those in spades. The last plus in the film is the whole deal with the family in the flashbacks, which runs the gamut from creepy to sleazy to utterly freaky and disturbing, and make the film that much better.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot here that didn't work out. One of the only flaws was the fact that the film is just incredibly confusing, especially when it gets to the ending. There's hardly anything here that manages to make sense, from the way it keeps switching between being unable to understand what time-frame it is in, and neither that or the film makes any kind of statement over what's going on. It's impossible to know whether we're in the film version of the past or the actual events that happened, and it's made even worse when the film-crew tries to film the scenes through the reenaction basically being the same as the actual events, making it even more confusing as to what's happening. There's not much hope for it being explained throughout in here, making it just a never-ending series of scenes that don't make any sense at all. The other flaw in this one is the opening minutes of the film, which again don't make any sense at all, only this time as for why they're included. The characters aren't seen again and nothing is mentioned about the point they serve to the film, and all in all their inclusion is a little troubling, even though just on the surface they're fun in and of themselves. Otherwise, the confusing end is the film's only flaw.The Final Verdict: With a lot to really like about it and only a couple of minor flaws, this one manages to score very highly and comes off as really great. Highly recommended to those who have an interest in the Asian genre, if it sounds interesting or fan of the creative cast, otherwise heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence, children in danger and Language

No doubt about it : for a scary movie, it's really scary. Some scenes are really frightful, especially when some characters come to see impossible presences, that make their rational universe slowly collapses into madness, and that transforms their fake fear into a more than real one.There's lot of things in that movie, maybe to much. "Rinne" tells the story of the filming of an horror movie, but also of of the murders that occurred in a Shinning-like hostel thirty years ago, or of an actress who's too involved in her part. There's maybe way too much to tell to find coherency in all that, and what the movie wins in abstract fear, it loses in unity.But if Takashi Shimisu fails to tell us a linear story, he archives to make us fell the deep fear of his characters : some scenes are incredibly frightened and beautifully directed (especially the ones with the ghost-father and his creepy camera-eyes). He really uses noises and visual codes to creates a (Jap')horror atmosphere. It's really too bad that the movie ultimately looks like a catalog of style effects : of course, it works, but is it enough to make a movie ?