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Pet Peeve (aka Seeds of Anxiety) (2013) (Japanese Horror).

A series of strange hauntings plague the residents of a strange suburban town. Focus shifts between a handful of characters and their experiences. There's a very ominous mood that is occasionally relieved with absurd spookiness. Things get very creepy, with a few bloody death scenes added to the mix. The appearances of the spirits are different, imaginative, and memorable. It reminded me of old school horror anthologies. This is one of the most creative, bizarre, unpredictable horror films in recent memory. A good example of how ambiguity, an otherworldly feel, and inexplicable horrific events can create a refreshingly different film.

Worth seeking out for fans of the genre.

Creepy? Sure! Bizarre? Totally! Comes with a twist? Don't they all?

Whatever I am going to say, keep this in mind: I do not recommend this one for pretty much no one. Yeah, it's strange, entangled and manages to create a plot in the end, cause at first sight it seems like random spooky scenes, but still, fails short. You can clearly notice that the budget kept them behind a little, and they did make the most of it, so I won't get stuck at special effects, cause those present, are decent to say the least I hope, but the rest, doesn't work out too great.

There are many unexplained scenes, that simply make their appearance only for a jump or two, this being one of the huge fails in my book, but once the end hits, well, you do get a pretty good idea of what happened, or what supposed to happened there. It works rather good for a late night horror, something to fall asleep at, tho some acts might get your heart rate up a little, so, this is where it gets confusing: it does act like a horror, but loses itself in its own creation. Like a self made void, sucking on itself!

For more explanations, watch the movie! But I think you can do a lot better than this one, only Asian horror fanatics should get an eye on it.

Cheers!

Pet Peeve is a film that you can enjoy provided you don't try to figure out why any of the things in the film are happening. In other words, if you don't try to analyze the plot, you'll enjoy the film because it has what you want in a horror film—lots of horrifying images and things that jump out at you.

The film begins with a student moving to a new city to go to the university. However, soon it becomes apparent that the town is haunted. It also becomes apparent that there are several plots taking place and sorting them out is not easy. Don't worry about this—it you keep watching you'll realize that the film actually is shown out of sequence and one of the adult characters is a child in one of the other plots. It is confusing but oddly it doesn't really hurt the film very much. Why all this is happening isn't really necessary to understand…just sit back and allow yourself to be terrified.

Among the weird things that occur in this hellish town is a man who has been cut in half….yet is STILL alive, creepy shadows, a masked man who says nothing but just stares at one of the characters, women with straw for faces, several very grisly murders, a sticker that marks you for death as well as odd spirits with faces that look scrambled—with eyes and a mouth that are twisted sideways. It's all very creepy and with modern CGI, most of it looks incredibly real (though the cut in half guy, at times, doesn't look too real….and I was actually glad about that).

Add to all this some very creepy music, excellent direction that heightened the terror and an overall ambiance of terror and doom, and you have a very enjoyable Japanese horror film…provided you don't worry too much about the plot. As for me, when I gave up trying to understand all this, it made the film much more enjoyable.

Often, my reviews are a bit longer. The problem with Pet Peeve is that talking about it isn't easy—it's just a case where you have to see it and experience it for yourself. Explaining the plot might just confuse you and analyzing it seems pointless. Suffice to say that it is very disturbing, dark and occasionally terrifying—and that's what most folks want in a horror film.