Paul Celano (chelano) First I will say that I don't really need to mention the cast. Well I will mention Miki Mizuno who plays the slit-mouthed woman. She was pretty scary. I only really liked her character, but thank god the others kept dying. This movie was based on a myth, which always gives a horror film an extra creepy film. Don't get me wrong, I did like the story and how it was laid out. The acting was OK. That is why I thought the film was decent. But it had things in it that did seem to upset me. I understood the story line, but parts of it they could of left it. Seemed to cheesy at some parts. That and some of the characters seemed why too scared at one moment and then they would get this courage to be brave. Wouldn't work though. I think the film as potential. If they made another, they could probably make it more scary and better. The film runs an hour and a half, but I think if they added about twenty more minutes, they could of explained a few holes.

vmorda Carved is different from most Asian horror flicks in the regard that the story doesn't become overly convoluted and confusing, yet at the same time, it does little to add complexity to the explanation or back story of the Slit-Mouthed Woman. Essentially a really evil person dies, so naturally their ghost continues to have the same actions of the person that they once were. If you can go into this movie accepting this fact, and not with the mentality of expecting something smart or challenging from the story, then you should easily enjoy this.With that said, this is indeed another norm of the Asian horror genre, "vengeful ghost girl." However the concept of the ghost, and the urban legend revolving around it (which is based on a real legend), does feel fresh and unique. The main selling point of the Slit-Mouthed Woman's motif is that she specifically targets children with overly sized scissors. Which naturally makes for perfect, innocent victims in this film, as they are easy to sympathize for. Carved is not shy in having the kiddies get hurt or killed. I wouldn't say the visual execution of such is excessive any way, but the idea of it may be too disturbing for some viewers. So if you're sensitive to the idea of child abuse (which this film's story is primarily based on) or seeing a corpse of a kid, then avoid watching this. Though I feel that this reason alone is what makes Carved successful as a genuine horror flick. Unlike American slasher films, where horny teenagers make stupid decisions quickly and you ultimately we care less about what happens to them in the end (not to say that there isn't some merit in that).The main characters are as interesting just as well, as Matsuzaki was once a victim of child abuse, and Yamashita was regretfully an abusive mother herself. So there is motivation for their characters to stop the Slit-Mouthed Woman from kidnapping and harming another little tot, while over coming their own, personal conflicts. With a visually grotesque and interesting antagonist (regardless of having a nonsensical weakness and catch phrase, that is more related to the actual legend then the movie's character), I can't help but to recommend this for those who feel tired with most Asian horror flicks and are looking for something different.

massaster760 A small town in Japan is facing a serious crisis... the curse of the Kuchisake Onna (a.k.a. The Slit Mouthed Woman). A facially disfigured spirit of a woman who sports a huge pair of scissors and an immense hatred for children. After an opening which features the legend of the Slit-Mouthed woman being told through several sets of characters. The film wastes no time and goes right into the children's abduction. The only thing standing between the spirit and innocent children are two teachers at the local elementary school; Ms. Yamashita and Mr. Matsuzaki. As the list of children whom have disappears begins to lengthen, the two teachers set out to solve the mystery of the Kuchisake Onna. Slit-Mouthed Woman is not necessarily a "bad" film. The plot has a dose of originality and the premise is great. Also, some of the scenes involving the spirit and the abducted children are truly horrific and harrowing. However, the delivery is stilted, and the film has two major faults (as listed below).Kuchisake Onna is plagued with (in my opinion) the worst horror cliché in the book. Anytime the Slit-Mouthed Woman appears, the films protagonists stand around, frozen like rabbits in car headlights, seemingly incapable of running, or defending themselves. In 2007, this type of lackluster horror formula is played out. Especially considering that the Kuchisake Onna can't be killed, it would have been much more fun to watch the film's characters give the demon some serious beat-downs... but alas, all they do is scream and try their best to look terrified (while the viewer does their best not to look bored).My other major reservation about Kuchisake Onna, is that I was struck with the feeling that Director Kakesu Shuichi just might have a deep seeded hatred of women. Because the film's female characters-including the ghost-all have one thing in common... they beat the holy hell out of their children. The film's misogynistic tomes seem to come out of nowhere and the female characters (while not beating their children) stand idly by while the Kuchisake Onna steals children from under their noses. My question is, "Where's the Motherly instinct?" I couldn't help but feel that most women would go frantic if placed in similar situations, risking life and limb to protect their offspring... but not in this film.To be sure, the film has some redeeming qualities (I did enjoy how the film played the plot straight out, instead of throwing in the gratuitous plot-twist) but when coupled with the faults mentioned above, Kuchisake Onna stands out as an average J-Horror entry at best. One wishes that the director would have made the female parts more interesting, willful, and less fiendish. It would have made the film a lot more interesting.Bottom Line- Average J-Horror entry with some major faults.

gavin6942 Children tell the story of the slit-mouthed woman, a killer with a deformed face, surgical mask and very long scissors ready to slice up the kids while asking "Am I pretty?". As rumors of the woman spread, the panic in town grows and the rumors become true -- remarkably so, as they seem to come from nowhere. What is the origin of this killer?Something about Asian horror is both appealing and distressing. I can't pinpoint it. The films are different enough from American films to give a special feel to the viewer for when we've had enough of the classic slasher. Yet, no matter how different one Asian film is from another, they seem to all co-exist in the same universe. This film is no exception: while not relying on the same techniques as "Pulse" or "The Grudge" or even "The Ring", there's a sense that we haven't left those worlds too far behind.Like many Asian horror films, there is a sense of the supernatural here. American horror often tries to explain its stories in a reasonable way (even when the villains are of an other-worldly nature). Asian horror is less likely to do so. Here is another example of that. As the film progresses, we learn more about the slit-mouthed woman, but we never really understand how or why she does what she does.I enjoyed the rumors element. I think this was very clever and if the film were longer, I wish they'd have gone into this more and made the plot and background deeper. At one point, a child is asked where the slit-mouthed woman lives and she responds in a house with a red roof on the hill. Despite having no reason to know this (she never saw the house or even the woman), the rumor invariably turn out to be true. I found this very interesting.I also liked the makeup. Having recently seen "Pan's Labyrinth" I saw how cool it was to have a person with a mouth slit open to their ear (and, by the way, if you haven't seen this film you really must). This film makes it the selling point of the movie, not just a brief scene -- the way the woman is shown with the mouth and dead eyes is pretty cool. I didn't find her particularly scary or creepy, but an interesting villain just the same.Perhaps some of the film is lost in translation. A key aspect of the film is that the kids think the woman says "Am I pretty?" and later we are told she says "Aim my neck." I am under the impression that whatever the original wording was, these two phrases are even more similar to create a parallel. Here, the words "pretty" and "neck" are a bit of a stretch. But it slid.If you like Asian horror, I suggest checking this one out. The copy I watched was pre-release, so the picture wasn't fully touched up and there were numbers counting across the top. Once the official DVD is out, I suspect this will be a bit crisper and the sounds even creepier (maybe like the comb noise from "The Grudge"). Either way, I liked it, and it was a good vacation from the same old teenagers in the woods movie.