"Premonition" is an exceptional horror film--with a very original plot that kept me on the edge of my....well, actually, it was not my seat--I was actually watching while walking on my treadmill! But either way, it's a dandy film, that's for sure.

The film begins with a family coming back from a trip. The father, Hideki Satomi, is too busy with work he's doing in the back seat of the car to pay any attention to his wife and daughter. When they stop at a pay phone, things get VERY strange. Hideki sees a newspaper on the ground under the phone and something grabs his attention--a clipping that talks about his daughter's death!!! And, the article tells the time she was killed--just a moment away! Hideki tries to run from the phone booth to the car parked across the road--but he's too late. An out of control truck careens into the car and kills the little girl.

Several years pass. Hideki's marriage has crumbled and he's divorced. It seems that his story about seeing the article has ruined his marriage--ask she doesn't believe he saw this weird prescient clip--and it was lost in the confusion of the accident. And, he's simply obsessed by it--as well as quite depressed. The wife returns to him, however, when she realizes that there are others who have described similar things---claiming to have knowledge of deaths JUST BEFORE they occur! There is much more to the film--but I really don't want to ruin the film. Suffice to say, it's extraordinarily creepy and original. And, although technically a horror film, it's also a wonderful film about love and sacrifice. Well worth your time, that's for sure.

A very creative Japanese horror movie, in the style of Ju-On. It's fairly slow-paced, being character and plot driven, but this is the right approach due to its clever, intelligent, and emotional script.

A man starts receiving a newspaper which predicts tragic future events, sort of the "Early Edition" TV show's premise, except in the case of the E.E., the purpose was to give the paper's recipient ample warning to prevent the tragedy. Here, by contrast, the intention is clearly evil. The newspaper appears in an always sinister way, even "chasing" the man sometimes, and forcing him to see future events, which he learns he is not allowed to interfere with; if he does, he will unleash grotesque consequences. Then the paper torments him with a story about his own family.

The characters are very easy to identify with as innocents who have been cast into this danger, and have done nothing wrong, rather than the usual horror movie victims who are evil and/or stupid. The story unfolds in a the fashion of learning new information along with the main character. The terror of the people in jeopardy is well defined, and the story reaches a touching and poignant denouement. Worth watching.

An effective combination of 'change the future'-style sci-fi thriller and traditional Japanese horror. PREMONITION tells the story of an ordinary man caught up in some extraordinary events…and the dark avenues to which he is eventually led as a result of this.

Things kick off with a shocking set-piece in which a young girl is killed in one of those accidents that are filmed so well in Asian cinema. Years later and the father blames himself for not saving her, as he was warned by a newspaper article in the moments before her death. Soon he becomes convinced that he can go back in time to save her, and becomes involved with various psychics who claim to be able to see the future.

What follows is both familiar and unpredictable at the same time. Director Norio Tsuruta, hot off making RING 0, shoots this as a horror rather than science fiction film, so incorporates various scare sequences that end up being very effective. There's little to no gore here, just a creeping psychological approach that pays dividends as the story progresses. I defy anyone not to jump in their seat at the 'faceless ghost' scene.

The pacing is rather slow – when isn't it in a J-horror? – but it gradually picks up as the film builds momentum, culminating in a blistering climax involving our protagonist hopping through realities at a dizzying pace. It reminded me of the hilarious extended fight climax of Wes Craven's SHOCKER, although of course it's treated seriously here. Hiroshi Mikami is excellent as the haunted protagonist – think of the calibre of Hiroyuki Sanada in Ring and you'll be close – and the film as a whole never pulls its punches.