When I first mentioned A Slit-Mouthed Woman (or Carved, as its also known) to my Japanese-born partner, she pointed out that it was based on a famous Japanese legend. This 2000s version of the Slit-Mouthed Woman – the Kuchisake-onna in Japanese – is a melding of two versions of the legend. In Japanese mythology, the Kuchisake-onna is a vengeful spirit who returns to haunt her murderer and mutilator; her jealous husband. But the film takes much of its inspiration from the incarnation of the Slit-Mouthed Woman that appeared in 1979. From Wikipedia:

Children walking alone at night may encounter a woman wearing a surgical mask, this is not an unusual sight in Japan as people wear them to protect others from their colds or sickness. The woman will stop the child and ask, “Am I beautiful?” If the child answers no, the child is killed with a pair of scissors which the woman carries. If they answer yes, the woman pulls away the mask, revealing that her mouth is slit from ear to ear and asks “Am I beautiful now?”. If the child answers no, he/she will be cut in half. If the child answers yes, then she will slit his/her mouth like hers. It is impossible to run away from her, as she will simply reappear in front of the victim. It is said she does this because of some marital issues.

When the legend reappeared in the 1970s rumors of ways to escape also emerged. When she asks you, you must say that she is pretty two times in a row, so that she will become confused and her victim can escape while she is lost in thought. Some sources say she can also be confused by answering her question with, rather than yes or no, “You are average.” Unsure of what to do, she will give you enough time to escape. Another escape route is to tell her you have a previous engagement; she will pardon her manners and excuse herself from your presence. In some variations of the tale, she can be distracted by throwing fruit or sweets at her which she will pick up, thus giving the victim a chance to run. One other way is to ask her if you are pretty; she will get confused and leave.

Apparently the alleged sightings of the Slit-Mouthed Woman spread a wave of panic through many towns. Police increased their patrols, and there are even reports of schools ensuring that children went home in large groups. You have to appreciate a bit of classic mass hysteria. 2007’s A Slit-Mouthed Woman retains most of the essentials of the 1979 legend, but it also adds its own spin to the proceedings.

 

A SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN
original title: 口裂け女 (Kuchisake-onna)
aka: Carved
Japan, 2007, Kôji Shiraishi

A Slit-Mouthed Woman opens rather effectively with a montage of children playfully gossiping at home and in the schoolyard about the existence of the Slit-Mouthed Woman. This climaxes in the kidnapping of a young boy by a masked woman wielding a hefty pair of scissors. The police claim it is merely an imposter imitating the Slit-Mouthed Woman, but all schools in the area are put on alert while the search for the boy gets underway. Kyôko Yamashita (Eriko Satô), a teacher at a neighbouring school, takes her class home as instructed by the authorities. The last student to be returned home is Mika (Rie Kuwana), a girl who is being physically abused by her mother (Chiharu Kawai). Before Mika can be returned home, the Slit-Mouthed Woman appears and whisks her away right in front of Kyôko. Kyôko joins forces with Noboru Matsuzaki (Haruhiko Katô), a teacher at her school who hears the voice of the Slit-Mouthed Woman ringing through his mind whenever a child is kidnapped: “Am I pretty?”

To get the negatives out of the way, A Slit-Mouthed Woman is no J-Horror masterpiece and, based on its creepy source material, it is certainly not as good as it could have been. The cast is a mixed bag. While most of the younger performers are okay and Miki Mizuno is decent as the titular villain, the protagonists are horrible. I usually like Eriko Satô – she’s especially great in Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers! (2007). But in a dry role like this, her exaggerated performance leads to a few laughs. Her bug eyed screams would be more in place in a comedy and, this is not her fault but the scriptwriter’s, her character’s schizophrenic spasms are inappropriately hysterical. Haruhiko Katô is not nearly as bad, but he still made me cringe a few times. The film also suffers from some weak scares. The majority of the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s attacks occur during the daytime and simply aren’t very frightening. And I’m not one to complain about plot holes, but there is a gaping one here involving the escape of a victim of the Slit-Mouthed Woman that had me scratching my head.

Although it’s far from perfect, I still found a lot to enjoy in A Slit-Mouthed Woman (but it must be said that I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to Japanese horror movies). A Slit-Mouthed Woman shows considerable balls in its use of children as victims. While most films would shy away from the death of a child character, A Slit-Mouthed Woman doesn’t, making it all the more effective. On top of this, the added themes of child abuse and single motherhood to the Slit-Mouthed Woman legend are an inspired touch. The film’s flashbacks to the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s past are extremely well executed adding significant depth to a gimmicky villain. And while A Slit-Mouthed Woman stumbles on the scares at times, there’s a handful of genuinely chilling scenes – the most successful of which involves a father finding his daughter, mutilated by the Slit-Mouthed Woman, alone in a park.

A Slit-Mouthed Woman is not going to blow anyone away, but if you dig your horror from the East, you should have a mildly good time with this one. Japan has produced far better horror films and far, far worse – A Slit-Mouthed Woman, at least, leans further to the former. Due to the glaring missed opportunities, it can be a frustrating watch at times, but, if you are able to put expectations aside, you’ll find A Slit-Mouthed Woman to be a serviceable piece of fluffy horror. I just hope Eriko Satô stays away from the genre and sticks to comedy.