I, however, am on the fence. I didn't feel like there were a lot of answers to be found in this and while that initially bothered me, I am starting to wonder if it was intentional seeing as how when someone takes their own life, those they leave behind are left with unanswered questions. I might not have understood it completely but the things that I liked were equal to the things I didn't. I might watch again at some point but until then I'll just have to continue to ride this fence.One little thing, aside from the from the fact that he was a nutcase, did anyone else find Genesis fabulous? Even though he considered himself a Charles Manson I got more of a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" vibe while watching him. Loved the shoes!!

The movie starts off in a relatively typical gruesome gory Japanese style and promises to be an interesting investigative thriller. However as soon as you've seen the 50-odd schoolgirls voluntarily jump to their deaths, you're greeted with footage that makes it blindingly obvious what's behind the whole thing. So that's the whole thriller aspect of the movie gone within the first 5-6 minutes and you might as well stop watching then, because nearly all further events contribute nothing more than vague symbolism and gore and stick out as some kind of agenda the movie is trying to desperately push. The story is illogical, none of the events seem plausible even in it's own universe with extremely persuasive cryptic children, it never really goes anywhere with the plot and then just ends for no reason.Having read some of the other reviews that claim this movie is some kind of masterpiece of social commentary, I have to say that just because a movie tries to address issues in society does not make it good by default.

all i was told about this film was "50 Japanese school girls throw themselves in front of a train in the first 5 minutes of this film" and i was hooked! so i found a copy of the film and began to watch. it seemed like a typical Japanese horror film at first but then it started to become a tad weird when the school kids were all trying to one up the others and get more people to kill themselves. the film was great, the camera work and editing made it even more creepy than it was. but some things just seemed bizarre to me. like why did some guy resembling Lady GaGa decide to kidnap 2 girls and hold them in a bowling alley and decide to kill animals while singing a song?!?!?!?!?! not many thins were explained during this film, but that happens a lot in Japanese horror.but all in all a great film. a definite must see before you die. or one of those films that you have to show your friends.

I just finished watching the film and went straight online to see the reviews hoping something will come out of it. It is true this movie had some metaphors and it doesn't deliver everything straightforward but it was really a mess! If you are going to say something through metaphors and symbols your structure should be SUPER SOLID so every "symbol" adds up and connects to each other. A lot of people claim that you have to know the Japanese culture or be a Buddhist (or whatever) to get the film which I believe is totally ridiculous! Even the "what happens when you die" belief the Buddhists have is widely known all over the world (it is not 300BC anymore). This film did not mention that it is for Japanese Buddhist only and if that was the case then the director the writer and everybody else simply failed to deliver their message to a wider audience. It is very easy to throw stuff in a movie and then just say it means something whether it is "the poor pop culture" or "the love of animals" or even "Christmas! (the scene were the police officer has the last bag of flesh and he is covered in Christmas lights". At least if you are going to be absurd about it and just talk with symbols do it like Alejandro Jodorowsky did on his masterpiece Holy Mountain - meaning leave the detective story a little more to the side and prepare us for it.Conclusion - The movie tried to tell a detective story with a deeper meaning/message. The connection of the detective story with the symbols was a failure as they were just all over the place. IMO There are no symbols or concepts or topics in this film concerning only the Japanese Buddhist Asian etc culture - yes we pretty much have the same concerns, society problems and worries over here too (And chickens and Christmas lights and tattoos and stupid pop bands). I give 5 cause they tried. You can watch this film if you want but i wouldn't recommend it.