Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Masaki Nishiyama
Starring: Lisa Siera, Miyu Okuno, Runa Hirasawa
Race and identity have long been explored in western horror movies but it's a theme rarely interrogated in Japanese genre cinema. With his feature debut, The Invisible Half, writer/director Masaki Nishiyama uses the J-horror template to call out his culture's bigotry towards outsiders.
Lisa Siera plays Elena, a half Japanese/half British teenager who moved with her Japanese mother to Japan as a young child but has struggled to settle. Every time Elena enrols at a new school she is subjected to racist bullying, which leads her to self harm. After ending up in hospital, Elena is released and joins yet another new school. At first it seems things might be different this time. She immediately makes a new friend in Akari (Miyu Okuno), whose admiration for Elena's "exotic" looks is patronising but well-meaning. Elena is also relieved to find that the bullies in her class already have a targeted victim in Nyan (Runa Hirasawa), a shy girl who sits at the back of the classroom, always with her earphones in and constantly clutching her phone.
In recent decades Japanese horror has become known for its integration of technology with movies like Ringu and Pulse positing devices like phones, TVs and the internet as portals from which evil forces enter our world. With his debut, Nishiyama has devised a clever spin on this idea, as it turns out Nyan has a very good reason for holding onto her phone. When some girls steal Nyan's phone and hide it in Elena's bag, Elena later finds it and cuts her fingers on its broken screen. That night Nyan takes her own life by jumping out of a high window in her school. It seems Nyan wasn't simply being menaced by her classmates, but by something otherworldly, and it has now attached itself to Elena. Elena now finds that when she holds her own phone she can see a monstrous figure approaching, and she can hear its movements if she has her earphones in.
Nishiyama mashes up several influences to create a horror movie that nonetheless feels fresh and unique. The monster is about as old school as you can get, its bandaged head and shambling movements giving it the appearance of the classic Mummy of Universal horror. Universal's iteration of The Invisible Man is also recalled when the monster is represented by footsteps appearing in sand, and how it later becomes partly visible when it bleeds. There's something of It Follows in the film's middle portion as Elena attempts to outrun the monster, which keeps catching up with her despite her best efforts.
The concept of Elena relying on her phone to keep her safe is mined for effective tension, and Nishiyama makes nail-biting use of a low battery warning. It's also representative of how isolated teens often use their devices to retreat from the real world into one that feels more secure, one they can control. The idea of Elena's awareness of always being watched by a presence she can't see is an effective metaphor for how it feels to stand out as a minority, or in Nyan's case, as someone who is simply viewed as different.
The Invisible Half has all the thrills we expect of J-Horror, but there's also a deep sadness running through its centre. The very relatable backdrop of school bullying and prejudice adds an uncomfortable reality to the supernatural proceedings. We suspect Elena might be able to defeat the monster by the end, but we know she will likely have to contend with monstrous humans for the rest of her life.
