In Re/Member, Asuka is a lonely high school student who has no friends. Every day, she goes to school alone, she spends hours working alone, and then she goes home alone, with no positive interactions from anyone her own age.
Every day for Asuka is the same. Life is less than fun, and navigating her way through high school, and avoiding being teased and/or bullied is a challenge in itself.
One night, when she goes to sleep, Asuka dreams that she is back at school and surrounded by a group of her classmates. None of them know why they are here, but all have one thing in common; they are being chased by a supernatural entity.
This entity – which the group dub ‘The Red Person’ – starts killing off members of the group, one by one. All fall at the hands of The Red Person, including Asuka.
But Asuka doesn’t die, and instead wakes up in her bed the following morning. However, as she soon discovers, this isn’t the following morning, it is the same morning from yesterday.
Heading off to school, she meets up with all of the students that were in her dream. These students are also reliving the same day, having experienced the same dream as Asuka.
After discovering they are stuck in a time loop, the group work together to try and uncover the truth behind the dream, as well as the identity of the mysterious ‘Red Person’. They hope this will allow them to move forward in time, and stop them from having to live an eternal nightmare.
Directed by Eiichirô Hasumi, Re/Member (aka Remember Member, aka Karada Sagashi), stars Kanna Hashimoto and Gordon Maeda. The film is a Japanese, time-loop, teen horror movie, which is new to Netflix this week, and if you want something easy to delve into, then this film could be for you.
Dark, creepy, and featuring plenty of ‘kills’, Re/Member is a solid slice of horror, with just enough punch to round out its running time. The movie boasts some decent practical effects, a likeable cast, and plenty of atmosphere, and it doesn’t take too long to get going.
Sure, it’s not original stuff, and the time loop concept has been done to death (Groundhog Day, Happy Death Day, etc), but here it is used quite effectively. The looping provides an excuse to place Asuka amongst a group of people she doesn’t usually connect with, who in turn become friends, and this allows her to grow, develop, and flourish.
While the film is a horror story, and the supernatural elements are what drive the picture forward, there is plenty of room for some teen bonding too. Amongst all the blood, and occasional gore, there are a number of lighter moments, where friendships form, and this adds some weight to story.
Re/Member isn’t perfect though, and it does struggle a little in its mid-section, when the threat level seems pretty low. As the day repeats again and again, death becomes somewhat inconsequential, and this does temporarily rob the movie of some suspense.
Thankfully though, a new plot wrinkle introduced two-thirds of the way into the film, does switch things up a little, and this breathes additional life into the looping scenario. This new story beat gives the movie a second wind, and keeps things ticking along nicely as Re/Member heads towards its big finale.
And the big finale is fun and engaging. The teens take on The Red Person one last time, with their lives and friendships on the line, and this all proves to be thoroughly enjoyable stuff.
Re/Member may not boast a unique premise, but it takes some familiar ideas, reworks them for the teen crowd, and makes everything come together pretty well. The teen cast all do an admirable job of selling their parts, the practical effects used to bring The Red Person to life are all good, and there is enough blood and guts to keep horror fans happy.
If you enjoy Japanese horror movies, have a thing for time loop stories, or you just want a few good old-fashioned frights, then give Re/Member a couple of hours of your time. It is simple horror, but it is simple horror done well.
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