Stories of Apparitions Seen in Photos

Yoshikazu Kotani is the lead in the first story....my favorite Japanese actor. I treasure this addition to my Kotani collection.

Stories of Apparitions Seen in Photos is a nice entry in the J-Horror category. Not high on gore, but it does has its suspenseful moments.

A horror collection that I never get tired of. Watch it over and over. Right from the first horror short it is very eerie. The creepiness is high and almost makes your skin crawl. Great J-horror.

Stories of Apparitions is an anthology of ghost stories. A photo that possibly causes suicide is found in the woods; a young student is rumored to be haunted after a creepy photo is released; a group of friends take pictures with a Polaroid camera that can capture ghosts; a peeping tom that sneakily takes pictures of a girl he loves and finds out she may be haunted; and, a young woman receives a haunting photograph from an unknown sender. Stories of Apparitions is a creepy, slow-burning anthology.The stories in this anthology are not directly related, except for the concept, and are about 15-20 minutes long, and the film does not have a frame story (like in Tales from the Hood or Tales from the Darkside.) The short runtime of the stories allows the film to move quickly through the stories and pack in plenty of creepiness. These aren't solely jump-scare stories, as they rely more on tension, creepy imagery, and a few effective jump scares- I like this. The stories are filled with ghostly images and audio, and a few twists. My favorite stories were the Peeping Tom (this one was exceptional), followed by the final story, and then the Polaroid story; unfortunately, I can't remember the exact titles of the stories, but I basically enjoyed the last three stories the most. The first story was good. The second story was okay, I really liked the creepy ending of this one. Although the runtime allows them to go by quickly, it also hurts the storytelling and can leave you a bit confused. Also, the acting was usually decent; there are some scenes that were bad and unnatural due to the acting. The music was great.Overall, Stories of Apparitions is a haunting and creepy anthology, and a great way to kill time, although some stories can be confusing and the acting occasionally feels unnatural (i.e. Bad). Fans of slow-burning ghost stories will enjoy this the most, a rental is recommended otherwise. As of 2/9/13, this film is available on Netflix Streaming (titled "Stories of Apparition") and Amazon Prime Instant Video.Stories of Apparitions has some blood and violence.

We really enjoyed this movie. Yes, it's low budget, and yes it's amateur acting, too. But even so, the stories have a great creep factor and originality. I love that they don't have the typical American happy ending. And even amatuer, low budget Japanese films are quite well done in our opinion. If you like Japanese horror movies, I would recommend this one.

Basically low budget horror shorts. Pool plot outline and acting. Don't waste your time. Watch an old Twilight Zone...or Night Gallery