I am the type of person that believes only in what I see. I do however keep an open mind about that which I do not understand. I always give a chance for another individual to explain and make me believe in the myths that they conceive to be truth. My lack of faith to some is often viewed as a shallow existence, to others a way for me to start arguments with modern day witches and “bible thumpers”. Little do people know that, even though I have never seen a ghost, nor has God ever shown his presence to me, I could not possibly deny the fact that supernatural beings do exist.
Be it paranoia, or maybe just the overactive imagination that I have been fighting off all my life, the slight cold that occasionally finds its way down my spine did manifest itself last week. The movie that did it for me was Shutter. I left the theater feeling uneasy, peering over my shoulder every so often and into surrounding shadows of the Fox studio lot. Even more embarrassing was the fact that I nearly jumped out of my seat three times during the movie. I never do that! I blame it on
the awesome sound system of that little subterranean “secret viewing lair”.
I have seen all the scary movies in the past, The Exorcist, The Ring, Poltergeist, and Nightmare on Elm Street, though none can even come close to the effect Shutter had on me. It had a lot to do with the way the movie was realistically set in modern time, in an everyday city (Tokyo) with regular characters that each of us probably could relate to. The movies from the past were either too cheesy, too reliant on costumes or saturated with blood and gore. Many will find this movie tasteful, as it is rich with a great plot, great camera work and of course, ghosts.
The drawback to this movie is that the characters are a tad bit dry, though this only strengthens my argument 
that they are characters in which we can relate to. Joshua Jackson co-stars with Rachael Taylor (Transformers). They play a recently married couple that move to Japan to pursue Ben’s (Joshua Jackson) career as a professional photographer. They catch a ghost in one of their pictures and the story evolves from there.
Writer Luke Dawson teams up with the Ring producer Taka Ichise to create a tale that touches on the recent fascination of spirit photography. A photography art form that displays spirits (ghosts) captured on film. If anything, it sparked an interest for me in this art form. I believe most of it is fake, though I dare to believe that some of the pictures might actually be genuine, especially if they are taken with a Polaroid camera. Museums across the world have had spirit photography exhibits and this continues to be a growing trend for occultists.
Bottom line, the movie was different and completely unexpected. Even the most skeptical of people will be unable to deny the fact that ghosts might actually exist. At the least, the story entertains and maintains your interest through an ever-changing plot that will leave you with cold sweats and trick of the mind for the remainder of the evening.
