Chime is a psychological horror that lasts for 45 minutes, combining the ordinary kitchen and cooking classes with an ever-increasing sense of fear that comes back every time you look at an innocent kitchen knife. Takuji (Mutsuo Yoshioka, showing an enigmatic detachment) is a teacher at a cookery school who has no personal life to speak of and whose professional manner is as sterile as his apartment. When one of his students claims to hear a mysterious chime-like noise, it sets off a chain of events which result in Takuji’s sanity unravelling. Or where do you even start with Chime, a film that keeps secrets and lives off the shocks of its knife-edge turns? The director is Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It lasts 45 minutes. These two facts make it feel like nothing so much as the first episode of a television series for which we will never see another episode only adding to the intrigue. It could have been on late at night when you were far too young; it would have stayed with you.
The story follows Matsuoka (Mutsuo Yoshioka), who teaches at the culinary school where the film opens. We are in what looks like any other classroom: people washing things, peeling things, slicing things, then putting everything neatly into bowls on tables behind them. Everything is still fine when we see Tashiro (Toshiki Ayata) who seems to be working erratically, he is chopping onions in such a way that might have been funny had it not been for something else about him that was making everyone uncomfortable. He later explains “I had half my brain replaced by machinery” also “I can hear this ‘chime’.” None of this gets cleared up over the next few scenes or indeed ever again after that scene ends. The following week in class another student named Akemi recoils from the sight of raw chicken. Matsuoka is shaken. We will not say any more than that.
The director has always had a sense that unknown terror lurks under the surface of everyday life, as indeed it does no further away than a button or a knife’s flick. The shocks of Chime’s opening sequences have little obvious afterlife which makes them all the more unsettling, instead leaving us to track along behind Matsuoka into a world turned uncanny, he goes home, he sees people, you wait and wait, almost begging for relief. Aesthetically Chime starts in clean metallic sterility (evoked by Matsuoka’s pristine classroom) but then ends in jarring handheld video as if we have entered one film and left another entirely for a second you’re reminded of the stalkers in Caché then it ends.
At the beginning of this year, Chime became the first of three Kurosawa projects to be released. Serpent’s Path, his own film remake starring Damien Bonnard and Mathieu Amalric, is the second, Cloud is the third, and will be shown in Japan this September. The plot revolves around violent incidents that “happen for no reason at all,” according to the director. This statement could also apply to Chime, which dwells on terrible psychological aftereffects of violence while indicating a dream so clear that it feels like nightmare one of those patchy bad dreams from which you’re glad to wake up but afraid not to.
When it comes to horror movies, Kurosawa never disappoints he always knows what he’s doing: tone, texture, and rhythm are skillfully managed throughout the entire film resulting in some of the creepiest vibes you’ll ever experience at any movie theater this year. He takes inspiration from his own best works (Cure) where he played with horror tropes as well audiovisual choices; instead zagging when others might zig; generally messing around with audience expectations every chance he gets.
“This is ‘a work that aims to shock viewers and leave them with a strong sense of fear after watching it a crazy movie,’” said Kurosawa mission accomplished! But there’s more, it’s truly disturbing too; I think this might be his most frightening piece since Retribution (2016) or even Pulse (2001). Once again terrorizing mundane things themselves here seen through an intentionally sterile style marked by creeping alienation reminiscent Cure, Pulse, and Creepy but now heightened further still it was conveyed through student kitchens portrayed as cold steel interiors leading into desolate urban landscapes walked through Takuji while each contributing chillingness necessary for such films’ atmospheres.
While Chime isn’t big on showing blood or guts most scary moments happen off-screen or are left to viewer’s imagination it’s still plenty scary. In fact, I’d say this is one of those movies where less is more when it comes to horror because sometimes what you don’t see can be scarier than what you do. The narrative ellipses and screams at unseen objects frame make for an incredibly effective depiction of isolation as well mental deterioration. Sound design mixed with subtly experimental cinematography creates a disquieting experience that will stay with viewers long after credits roll.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom in Chime, there are some pretty funny moments too! For example, Takujis wife has this hilarious obsession with recycling everything on earth which gives the film a distinct Twin Peaks The Return vibe like something David Lynch would come up with during one his lighter moods. But let’s face it, things aren’t going to end well here folks. Takuji’s family (especially his wife) display odd behaviors throughout the movie perhaps they’ve been possessed? Maybe they’re just kooky? Who knows! Only 45 minutes long Kurosawa leaves much room for interpretation but honestly that only adds its charm don’t you think?
Strangely enough, Chime seems to be heading towards something called Roadstead a platform where digital movies can be bought and resold or rented out to others who want watch them. Sounds kind of dystopian if ask me, but hey we’ll see how things go down when push comes shove now won’t we?
Chime, regardless of the model of distribution it uses, is still an excellent example of Kurosawa’s skills when it comes to dealing with ambiguity, creepiness, and bad dreams. I really hope this suggests good things about his next movie a French-language version of The Serpent’s Path. But for now, find a way to see Chime if you can! It’s highly worth it.
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