DVD: Shutter

• Joshua Jackson tries bad horror.

Genre: Horror, remake, J-horror
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Run time: 1 hr 25 mins
DVD released: July 15, 2008
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Rachel Taylor
Verdict: &1/2

This unnecessary J-Horror knockoff (it's actually a remake of a movie from Thailand) answers the question of whether Dawson's Creek's Pacey (Joshua Jackson) can carry a horror movie. Not that there's anything particularly wrong (or right) with his acting (that goes for his role in FOX's mediocre new X-Files wannabe, Fringe, as well), but I kept expecting Dawson or Katie Holmes to come 'round the corner. With its Vengeful Female Spirit and Secrets from the Past, this movie feels as if it were made by someone whose only cinematic references are The Ring and The Grudge and all the lame imitators that followed. The Jackson character and his new wife, played in full I-want-to-be-Naomi-Watts mode by Rachel Taylor, begin to find ghostly images in their photographs — both casual snapshots and in the professional work of Jackson's character. And that could be mildly interesting, but the movie can't even nail ghostly photos in a compelling fashion. The one almost-frightening moment involves a boy gazing at a window reflection on a subway train, and the rest you'll anticipate before it even happens. Shutter is one of those tired movies that leaves you wondering why anyone bothered; it's a picture totally out of focus. // DVD NOTES // Nothing like a steaming pile of cinematic dung gussied up with a dozen self-important featurettes, is there? Everything from shooting in Japan to tips for ghost hunting is covered. Alternate and deleted scenes, including an alternate ending, and audio commentaries are also needlessly included.