The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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Retribution
Thriller · Horror · Mystery · 2007
A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since the crimes are in the same vicinity, by the same method. However, as evidence points towards the detective, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins questioning his identity. His realization of what seems to be reality results in something far larger and more sinister.
Movie details
Retribution
“The ghosts of the past always come back.”
2007 Thriller · Horror · Mystery 1h 44m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since the crimes are in the same vicinity, by the same method. However, as evidence points towards the detective, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins questioning his identity. His realization of what seems to be reality results in something far larger and more sinister.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Retribution?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Pulse
Horror · 2001
In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world.
Ju-on: The Curse
Horror · 2000
When elementary school teacher Kobayashi investigates the absence of one of his young pupils from the classroom, he finds himself at the doorstep of an anonymous suburban house that harbours a horrible secret, and into which all who enter are doomed.
Dollhouse
Horror · 2025
After losing their child, a mother finds solace in a life-sized ancient doll she finds on the market. When a new daughter enters the family's life, strange things begin to happen and no matter how hard the family tries to get rid of it, the doll always finds its way back.
I See You
Horror · 2019
When a 12-year-old boy goes missing at a local park, a detective investigates the case to help the boy's family find answers.
Night Watch
Mystery · 1973
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser
Animation · 2009
A new member from the Black Organization that shrunk Shinichi's body manages to find out about Shinichi's transformation into Conan. This discovery starts to put those around him in danger as Gin and the other Black Organization members start to take action.
Chasing Sleep
Horror · 2001
A college professor wakes up to find his wife has not returned home, then struggles to understand her disappearance.
The Crimes That Bind
Mystery · 2018
Michiko Oshitani, who lived in Shiga Prefecture, is found dead at an apartment in Tokyo. She was strangled to death. Mutsuo Koshikawa is the owner of the apartment and he goes missing. Detectives including Yuhei Matsumiya who is a cousin of Detective Kyoichiro Kaga , have difficulties in solving the case. They can't find a connection between Michiko Oshitani and Mutsuo Koshikawa. They soon learn that Michiko Oshitani came to Tokyo to visit Hiromi Asai . They graduated from the same school, but there isn't a connection between Hiromi Asai and Mutsuo Koshikawa. Detective Yuhei Matsumiya finds something near Michiko Oshitani's body. That something has the names of 12 bridges surrounding the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. Detective Kyoichiro Kaga learns of the clue and becomes agitated. There's a connection with his late mother
Character
Thriller · 2021
A kind man aspires to become a manga writer, but villains and evil deeds do not come easily to him, for he has little experience or natural inclination for them. Things take a surprise turn when he comes across a family who were described as idealized that are no more. He uses the real-life situation for his work.
Terror by Night
Mystery · 1946
Holmes and Watson board a passenger train bound from London to Edinburgh, to guard the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond worth a fortune belonging to an elderly woman of wealth; but within the first hour of the trip, the woman's son is murdered and the diamond stolen and any of the passengers in their car could be the killer thief.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Written by
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Koji Yakusho
Noboru Yoshioka
Manami Konishi
Harue Nimura
Tsuyoshi Ihara
Toru Miyaji
Riona Hazuki
Woman in Red
Joe Odagiri
Dr. Takagi
Hiroyuki Hirayama
Detective Sakurai
Kaoru Okunuki
Miyuki Yabe
Court is in session
Put Retribution on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.