Tormented AKA Rabbit Horror (2011) Blu-ray 3D [Region Free / US only]

[whippet]

Newly released in the US and is listed at $14.99 at BestBuy and Amazon. It's a typical j horror flick that has good reviews on picture quality. 3d is not utilized to its full potential but is said to be strong in places and good depth throughout. I believe it is a natively shot flick. Somehow related to Shock Labyrinth.

Anyone had a chance to check it out yet?

[tigermoth]

It's 'Rabbit Horror' just retitled isn't it?

[explorer6]

is it ok to watch subtitles on a plasma tv with the burn in concerns? i've avoided it so far.
subtitles might be weird in 3d also... dunno.

[Zivouhr]

Will be interested in hearing more about the 3D on this one.

The review is up, they said the 3D is good from what I could read.

[Blueoktober]

Watched completely on a passive system and the depth was amazingly strong. There are some demo scenes in this film, especially the opening credits with the spiral stairwell and blood.

The quality of the picture is pretty poor at times, almost DVD quality, but I can say on my passive system I saw no crosstalk and amazing depth (Passive is not known for depth.)

On my active system, I tested the first 15 minutes or so and it almost made me go crosseyed with all the crosstalk. I have a Sony Bravia LED and Sony PS3 for that system. The depth is so intense that it hurts at times.

That said, the movie is awful. I laughed out oud most of the time, and the depth level of the subtitles are in between some of the pop out and background depth and can really be distracting.

For $15 you cannot go wrong if you have a passive system. Seriously was totally engrossing and strong with the 3D.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Blueoktober

Watched completely on a passive system and the depth was amazingly strong. There are some demo scenes in this film, especially the opening credits with the spiral stairwell and blood.

The quality of the picture is pretty poor at times, almost DVD quality, but I can say on my passive system I saw no crosstalk and amazing depth (Passive is not known for depth.)

On my active system, I tested the first 15 minutes or so and it almost made me go crosseyed with all the crosstalk. I have a Sony Bravia LED and Sony PS3 for that system. The depth is so intense that it hurts at times.

That said, the movie is awful. I laughed out oud most of the time, and the depth level of the subtitles are in between some of the pop out and background depth and can really be distracting.

For $15 you cannot go wrong if you have a passive system. Seriously was totally engrossing and strong with the 3D.

Passive isn’t known for depth? Is that accurate as I have never experienced any depth issues with passive.

[vinnie97]

This is $10 at Best Buy today. Horrifically (and unintentionally) funny is the assessment?

[TM2-Megatron]

I'm not aware of any appreciable difference in depth between active and passive systems; certainly in theory there shouldn't be any. But the post you're quoting is from 5 years ago, so there was likely a lot of misinformation in the active vs passive debate back then.

[Zivouhr]

Thanks for the details on the 3D. I see Tormented 3D is only 3.99 on bestbuy .com.

As far as a passive 3DTV (using real D 3D glasses from the theaters) compared to an Active 3DTV, I have both and the 3D is equally strong for strong 3D films on both sets. Up close, is where active has the advantage, despite a slight flickering effect if you angle your head the wrong way. Even so, I do prefer passive since I sit about 6 foot away and never have to worry about batteries as with the active 3D glasses.

[UFAlien]

I saw this on Netflix back when they did 3D streaming. It's better than Shimizu's other 3D horror flick The Shock Labyrinth - both in terms of 3D photography and general movie quality - but it's still... not his best work.

According to IMDb the whole thing was shot on one of those "prosumer" 3D camcorders that were all the rage at the time as opposed to professional cinema cameras, which probably explains the picture quality issues.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

I saw this on Netflix back when they did 3D streaming. It's better than Shimizu's other 3D horror flick The Shock Labyrinth - both in terms of 3D photography and general movie quality - but it's still... not his best work.

According to IMDb the whole thing was shot on one of those "prosumer" 3D camcorders that were all the rage at the time as opposed to professional cinema cameras, which probably explains the picture quality issues.

Thanks for the details on the cameras, UF.

Asian Horror Movies: TORMENTED (2011) Official Trailer - Well Go USA - YouTube

[Zivouhr]

As a fan of the Silent Hill games, and while the movies weren't too bad (but not scary IMO), I noticed quite a few similarities in style for the nightmarish imagery shown in Tormented 3D. There is a rabbit costume and stuffed animal in the film that is a recurring character of dread for the woman and her brother. The story moves very slowly, but there is a lot of surrealism throughout the film, keeping things just interesting enough to keep watching, since much of the film takes place in a small house, when not at an amusement park.

The story is about the suffering and nightmarish experiences of a mute woman for mysterious reasons. At the 45 minute mark, the plot finally begins to reveal the underlying cause, and the film had more purpose then.

3D Review of Tormented 3D: Filmed in 3D

3D Layering: 10/10. Mostly strong 3D throughout.
3D Pop Outs: Plentiful and strong pop outs including snow, bubbles, blood, a stuffed animal rabbit toy, fluffy seeds from a dandelion, and more.
3D Framing: 10/10. Nearly every shot is framed with 3D in mind, showing the director clearly cared about the 3D presentation for maximum 3D.
Favorite 3D shot: The sister and her brother are watching a 3D film in a movie theater, and a stuffed animal floats slowly out of the screen resulting in a great pop out effect. The scene even reminds me of when I first saw an Imax Theme Park 3D documentary years ago, and the objects were visually inches in front of my face, as the kid in this film also sees.
Other notable shots include the circular staircase, the cut out books the father creates, and the various hallways projected in strong 3D.

3D Summary: 10/10. Strong to very strong 3D throughout most of the filmed 3D of the movie Tormented, and while the film is slow and in another language (English subtitles), it's definitely a very impressive 3D experience I don't regret watching.

Note: There are about 3 short shots in the film that use some intentional grain effects during an outdoor scene with a real rabbit. I'm mostly certain that grain effect was intentional and not an issue with the cameras, since the grain effect is edited to fade out at one point, and cuts smoothly into the clear picture again after the rabbit scene. The rest of the film looks sharp and clear most of the way.

I saw this film for $3.99 brand new not long ago, and finally gave it a chance. It exceeded my expectations for the 3D especially.

[Joe D.]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

As a fan of the Silent Hill games, and while the movies weren't too bad (but not scary IMO), I noticed quite a few similarities in style for the nightmarish imagery shown in Tormented 3D. There is a rabbit costume and stuffed animal in the film that is a recurring character of dread for the woman and her brother. The story moves very slowly, but there is a lot of surrealism throughout the film, keeping things just interesting enough to keep watching, since much of the film takes place in a small house, when not at an amusement park.

The story is about the suffering and nightmarish experiences of a mute woman for mysterious reasons. At the 45 minute mark, the plot finally begins to reveal the underlying cause, and the film had more purpose then.

3D Review of Tormented 3D: Filmed in 3D

3D Layering: 10/10. Mostly strong 3D throughout.
3D Pop Outs: Plentiful and strong pop outs including snow, bubbles, blood, a stuffed animal rabbit toy, fluffy seeds from a dandelion, and more.
3D Framing: 10/10. Nearly every shot is framed with 3D in mind, showing the director clearly cared about the 3D presentation for maximum 3D.
Favorite 3D shot: The sister and her brother are watching a 3D film in a movie theater, and a stuffed animal floats slowly out of the screen resulting in a great pop out effect. The scene even reminds me of when I first saw an Imax Theme Park 3D documentary years ago, and the objects were visually inches in front of my face, as the kid in this film also sees.
Other notable shots include the circular staircase, the cut out books the father creates, and the various hallways projected in strong 3D.

3D Summary: 10/10. Strong to very strong 3D throughout most of the filmed 3D of the movie Tormented, and while the film is slow and in another language (English subtitles), it's definitely a very impressive 3D experience I don't regret watching.

Note: There are about 3 short shots in the film that use some intentional grain effects during an outdoor scene with a real rabbit. I'm mostly certain that grain effect was intentional and not an issue with the cameras, since the grain effect is edited to fade out at one point, and cuts smoothly into the clear picture again after the rabbit scene. The rest of the film looks sharp and clear most of the way.

I saw this film for $3.99 brand new not long ago, and finally gave it a chance. It exceeded my expectations for the 3D especially.

Hi Ziv,

Well, you convinced me again. With Amazon bonus points got a brand new copy with shipping for $7.25.

Not the bargain you got but I decided to "splurge" anyway based on what you said. Bet you're now feeling the pressure!

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Joe D.

Hi Ziv,

Well, you convinced me again. With Amazon bonus points got a brand new copy with shipping for $7.25.

Not the bargain you got but I decided to "splurge" anyway based on what you said. Bet you're now feeling the pressure!

Cool, Joe. No pressure at all, this is a winner for the 3D without a doubt. A great 3D experience. Enjoy the 3D!

[Doombear]

I hope they make a third film in the Rabbit series.

[Zivouhr]

It's been since 2011 when Tormented was made/released, so a good 8 years gone by, suggesting a 3rd film is unlikely from the creator, who the film states also directed a version of The Grudge. But yes, if there ever was another one, best to film it in 3D as this was.

[UFAlien]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

It's been since 2011 when Tormented was made/released, so a good 8 years gone by, suggesting a 3rd film is unlikely from the creator, who the film states also directed a version of The Grudge. But yes, if there ever was another one, best to film it in 3D as this was.

He didn't just direct "a version" of The Grudge, he single-handedly created the entire franchise and directed the first six(!) movies, for Japanese and American audiences. Unfortunately most of his recent output is pretty bad, but he had some other solid movies like Reincarnation and Marebito.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

He didn't just direct "a version" of The Grudge, he single-handedly created the entire franchise and directed the first six(!) movies, for Japanese and American audiences. Unfortunately most of his recent output is pretty bad, but he had some other solid movies like Reincarnation and Marebito.

Thanks UF. I wasn't sure which ones he directed, and only referenced the box art's "From the Director of The Grudge", though I remember there was a US version too. Cool to hear he's a creative director, thanks. I'll have to look up his more recent work. Would you say the 3D was worthwhile for Shock Labyrinth? I like how he segues it into Tormented on the movie screen.

[UFAlien]

Shock Labyrinth is a terrible movie and honestly has pretty bad native 3D. Lots of issues with retinal rivalry and effects being layered in at the wrong depth. I would not recommend it.

[Zivouhr]

Okay, thanks a lot for the heads up on that one. He was probably still learning how to film in 3D. With Tormented, he got most of it right and it looks great in 3D. This being from 2011 though, it's unlikely he'll return to 3D any time soon.

I saw the US Grudge in theaters with Sarah Michelle Gellar, which was an interesting movie, but didn't see the original one yet.

UFAlien, I remember you saw Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill Revelation 3D. In the 2nd film, a lot of things from that film remind me of some of the horror elements in Tormented, though the 3D is stronger here overall, as SHRevelation's 3D tends to range from mild, medium and sometimes strong, but usually with very strong but few pop outs. Tormented had more strong pop outs overall I'd say.

I'll definitely watch this one again in 3D.