The stars: Joshua Jackson, Rachel Taylor.
The story: Newlyweds Ben (Jackson) and Jane (Taylor) arrive in Japan where he works as a photographer. Before you can say "snap" they have a car crash caused by a mysterious woman who promptly vanishes.
Soon Jane starts seeing the same woman in Tokyo... and she also seems to crop up in Ben's photographs. When bodies start falling Jane delves into the mystery of "spirit photography", aiming to find out who the woman is.
The verdict: Yet another Hollywood re-make of an Asian horror film (the original this time came from Thailand) which once again fails to really score in terms of pure chills.
That being said, Shutter is nicely put together and well performed by the two leads - Jackson is perfect as the good-natured snapper who may not be all he appears, while Taylor manages the tricky task of looking groomed, gorgeous and terrified all at the same time.
While never seriously frightening, Shutter is well-paced and attractively shot, with the nasty twists a welcome relief to the feeling of spooky deja-vu we get for most of the movie.
Given that we have seen long-haired ghosty girls emerge from mobiles, videotapes and computers over recent years, let's face it, there is really nothing new here.
Final Cut Tokyo terror tale is a slow developer. ***
Opens Friday, May 16
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