Now this was a pleasant surprise. A psycho-thriller about an artist whose life begins to deteriorate after discovering she has a double with questionable intentions. Soon she realizes she is not the only one with such a problem.

Although initially the film might give an impression of an unoriginal J-horror, after watching it I can safely say that it is something much deeper and better. Recently, quite a few films with a similar idea were released, but each approaches it in a separate, distinct way. Bilocation is very ambitious, almost as Jake Gyllenhaal's Enemy. But most of the twists here are introduced in the last third, and each of them will employ your brain and offer a new perspective on the events you just witnessed. Until then, the film relies mainly on (an effective) atmosphere and classic Japanese horror style shared by virtually all local directors (long pauses during speech and looks over one's shoulder are unavoidable). Just because of that, and occasional pacing problems, the score isn't even higher, although I suspect a re-watch might increase it.

If you think of this as a pure horror movie, then it is certainly one of the most intelligent in the last couple of years. Don't miss it.

I watched this movie after reading the synopsis only. So I didn't expect much than what I read in the movie plot. But this movie proved to be one of the most elegant movies made in the fantasy genre. It's like a beautiful tragic poem. This is one of the best twist-end movies. Kudos to the director for clever story telling. But the end really affected me and I felt sorry for the heroine. A real gem.

Finding myself with a chance to view a film with a long(ish) run time for the first time in weeks,I started looking at the titles I have waiting to be viewed. Being in the mood for more J-Horror after seeing the amazing The Snow Woman (1968) I stumbled on a 2 hour J-Horror I had forgotten about picking up! This led to me looking into the mirror.

View on the film:

Gathering Takamura round the table with the other victims of Bilocations ( lookalike ghosts),writer/director Mari Asato & cinematographer Yûta Tsukinaga take the most lingering elements of J-Horror, (long takes of blurred, ghostly figures walking in the background, ghosts fading into black smoke) and gives them an eerie sting, stuck by symmetrical shots of the victims (unknowingly) being in step with their Bilocations a floor below,and the use of mirrors to catch reflections drilling the anxiety of the blurred double getting nearer. Allowing the ghosts to take on a partly solid form,Asato uses the outbreak of short,sharp,shock moments of violence from the Bilocations to their real versions to pull open the wounds of misery of the people who are haunted live.

Mirroring Haruka Hôjô's novel is his adaptation, Asato threads Takamura's discovery of the Bilocation with a cerebral Sci-Fi edge, held by the ghost/Bilocation invading/ subtly seeping in to infect and gain control of the victims family, and the "support" group Takamura attends being a shadowy secret society. Piecing together Takamura's fight to peel off her Bilocation in the first hour, Asato brilliantly opens up left-field revelations in the final hour, that chillingly alter the perspective of what has gone before. After making it clear how all in the group must use mirrors to recognise the ghosts,Asato gets to the twists by sadly taking a mis-step and having everyone randomly forget this established rule at a crucial moment. Haunted by this new embodiment, Asami Mizukawa gives an outstanding performance of layering Takamura in gradual alterations which make the twists spark when Takamura faces her Bilocation.