Girls in the Dark (2017)

When I decided to watch this I had a very low expectation for it. But man, it was twists and turn until the very end. The plot was very good. Just when I though I figured out how it will end, something will happen that causes me to rethink things.

I liked it. For me, it was not something predictable and it was different.

You definitely should watch it. It may not be for everyone's taste though since the theme was dark.

I liked how the characters were played, very interesting.

I'm happy that I did not waste almost 2 hours of my life by watching this.

^_^

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The Dark Maidens is a film that I did not have the intention of watching at all. I hadn't seen a trailer for it, I had not come across its page on MDL or IMDB, nothing of the sort. I was clearing out my "watch later" list on my YouTube when I came across "Mystery 2017 School Japan Detective Eng Sub" and I decided since I had some time to kill I'd watch it and see why I had it saved in my to watch later.

I think I can safely say that is one of the best decisions I have done when it comes down to watching something because of random chance.

When I first began this, due to the name the uploader had set it as (The Dark Maidens), I believed this was going to be another high school set suicide blood fest horror film living up to many of Japan's horror tropes in their films. After the first twenty minutes or so, I had to pause to come and read the synopsis because I was confused. After reading it, I did think twice about watching it as I don't really go for the whole murder mystery genre; I find quite often Japan doesn't do it as well as they do their high school based horror. Shrugging it off, I decided why not because I'd already started it: and wow.

The Dark Maidens took me on a long, twisting, amazing journey of friendship and betrayal, of life and death. The first thing I picked up from this film was the utterly beautiful connections from well-known murder mysteries - such as Miss Marple and Agatha Christie, of whom are referenced in the film's prominent literature club. Although reminiscent, it still had its own originality that left me glued to my screen - something that is pretty rare for me. Usually, I have to pause quite a bit and rest my eyes due to poor eyesight and having to read subtitles, but I watched this almost entirely in its completeness.
As the twists begin to unfold, the story becomes more and more convoluted with such a shocking twist and turn at the end that was nothing short of smart. I was confused for a short while in this film but the script writing sets it up utterly perfectly for its ending. The writing in this is absolutely nothing sort of genius and I haven't been left this gobsmacked by a twist in a film for a long, long time.

The cast in this was perfectly selected. Every single cast member played their roles perfectly, whilst also giving off such a feeling of ethereal beauty (along with a little help from the gorgeous editing), that made me feel like I was watching a twisted fairy tale rather than a murder mystery. Their acting in this was spot on and they took what they were given with the script and made it, simply, their own.

Every single thing about this film adds up to create something that I would say is nothing short of a masterpiece. There was nothing in this film I can even recall as a fault, nor can I think of anything I would have liked to see more or done better. This is one of those films I recommend everyone try if they can find the time to try it out and I am utterly grateful for whatever choices I made to sit and watch it when I did. This has definitely opened me up to the murder mystery genre; that's something I never thought would happen with how obvious and guessable many are in the genre.

I have seen comments and remarks that this is quite rushed for the film considering this is based off a book and frankly, I' thankful I watched the film first. I didn't know this franchise existed and I will definitely be reading the book later this year after watching this. I would say, having not read the book, if you want a full experience for the film to definitely watch the film first. I don't think if I had read the book first that I would have enjoyed this as much as I had done and although it spoils some of the book, from what I have seen, there is a lot more content in the book that is free game to discover brand new even after watching the film.

Note: My rewatch value rating is pretty low, but that's because after the first time you watch it with all the initial twists and such that - half of the original intrigue is gone. I'd definitely rewatch it again, but I definitely don't think it would have the same all round effect as the first time you watch it. It is definitely not anything against the film at all.

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Man this is good!! Really good! :o And the acting is brilliant! And so bloody dark and disturbing...love it lol

It wasn't at all what I expected!! It started kind of slow so I thought it would be boring but I was so wrong.

Plot twist after plot twist..and in my opinion, I think it's not a kind of story you can predict. :)

The actresses brilliantly played out their roles! I'm glad that I watched this movie...even though it's disturbing lol

I'm not sure if it's the kind of movie everyone will like but people who like dark movies will probably like it. :)

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Gente, que filme maravilhoso!
Eu adorei a forma como a história é contada, de vários pontos de vista, e que a gente não sabe quem tá falando e mesmo se há só uma verdade. E a reviravolta no final foi impressionante. Tinha muito que eu não assistia um filme japonês que me deixasse tão intrigada e com tanta vontade de saber o que ia acontecer na cena seguinte.
Também gostei que mostrou que as adolescentes japonesas não são assim tão inocentes como a gente imagina e me fez refletir sobre o que exatamente é a amizade e o que mantém as pessoas unidas.
Super recomendo esse filme.

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melodramatic overkill

I've kept this review absolutely spoiler free because this is a movie which would completely lose any charm it has if the viewer is spoiled. Although, I personally found the poster of the movie and the arrangement of main roles in the cast itself to be a very huge spoiler.

The movie focusses on five girls at a literature club meeting, who take the podium one by one to read a short story presenting their view on the death of Shiraishi Itsumi, the queen bee of Seibo Maria Girls School. In each story the girls tell us how the kind Shiraishi Itsumi invited them to the elusive literature club, and each blames a different member for her death–mind you, this one i found quite interesting, how neither of the four think Itsumi suicided.

This a three tier story, the first being the account by the girls. Next is a message from the dead Shiraishi Itsumi herself and it reveals certain surprising details. By the end of it, we wonder is Itsumi really dead? That's where the last part of the movie comes in.

The real crimes and motivations of the girls are unexpected and quite dark considering the character we've been presented earlier–mind you, presented by they themselves. Darker is the story of Itsumi, who hides a viciousness behind that beatific smile. Darkest and craziest is the character who has been absolutely blameless. Although I could fairly predict which direction this was headed and who was lying, it would be wrong to call “Girls in the Dark” predictable.

For a thriller, it is not exactly gripping, but you somehow want to see how it ends you know? It is completely a psychological story which utilises the unreliable narration and the story will elude you till the very end, not because it's a particularly good plot twist, but because they drag it till the end. Instead of four girls, they should've kept to three because the story of the third girl Diane is just so out of place (maybe they just needed her to plant the lily flowers from France?) and makes it drag even more.

The motivations of the characters were not entertaining at all, and Itsumi herself was the most confusing one. There was no explanation for why she did what she did when she would've been much better off otherwise. The exposition of the villain is particularly ineffective, the ending was dull (and yes, after watching ten japanese productions, it's really not that hard to predict what was in that soup). Final takeaway: inconsistent storytelling which tried too hard.

Trigger warnings are potential spoilers and have been included comment below the review

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As I like Mystery and Murder Mystery Genres and reading many good reviews about this movie, I decided to watch it.

The setting and plot, though not unique, was kind of new for Japanese Movies. There lost of twist and turns in the movie but nothing that can get you on edge of your seat. I was able to predict most of the twist and so there was nothing in the movie that could have suprised me.

What I think is that they should have put some more effort to build up Mystery and Suspense.

If you have watched many Mystery Movie or have read Mystery Novels like me, then you might get disappointed.

The Acting was Good, but sometimes it felt fake to me. The Music was Okay.

It's an Entertaining but average Movie.

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