Nakata's latest, The Complex, is at first and indeed second glance a return to familiar territory. The eponymous setting is a run-down block of flats very like the one in Dark Water. As in the earlier film the protagonist is a woman whose mental health seems fragile, and the haunting itself is down to an accident rather than malice. The focus of the film is not so much horror (though there's a decent measure of it) as neglect, and the harm that a selfish, thoughtless society can inflict on its weakest members.
The film begins with scenes of mundane domesticity, as nursing student Asuka (former pop star Atsuko Maeda) moves into the complex with her parents and younger brother. During the bustle of unpacking there's a typically subtle hint of things being not-quite-right which is very brief but telling. Asuka is disconcerted by a reclusive elderly neighbour whose loud alarm clock goes off very early in the morning. And is that a scratching at the wall?
It's no surprise when the old man next door turns out to have died from malnutrition. He left claw marks on the wall that divided his home from Asuka's room. Cue some bad dreams for Asuka, and the arrival of a clear-up squad, specialising in cases of death by neglect. One of the team, Shinobu (Hiroki Narimiya), explains to Asuka that the ghosts of the lonely often attach themselves to other lonely people; such spirits are best avoided. And soon we find that Shinobu has his own burden...
I don't think anyone who has enjoyed Nakata's work will be disappointed with this one. There is an effective haunting, a bit of bait-and-switch, a Big Reveal, and a climactic scene of genuine horror. The supporting cast are as good as we've come to expect from a director who depicts the stained, worn fabric of Japanese society with a few deft character strokes, and fortunately for the film's overall balance Atsuko Maeda acquits herself well.
Some of the scenes have a slightly familiar feel, because full-on supernatural horror in a realistic setting is a familiar concept. There are only so many ways the Bad Thing can manifest itself and do harm. But there is a lot of interesting stuff here, not least a rehash of that old favourite, the attempted (Shinto/shamanistic) exorcism that goes on as the Evil Force batters at the threshold.
So, The Complex is a qualified success - not a classic, perhaps, but a solid addition to the Nakata canon and proof that the Japanese ghost story is still alive on screen.
There seems to be no English subtitled trailer, so here's the Japanese one.
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