tedg This is one of a class of horror films, that seems to have begun with "Eyes without a Face" (1960), then "The Brain that Wouldn't Die" 1962, followed by dozens of instances, including the "real" movie Embryo of 1976. The form is pretty well established. The first part features a male doctor involved in radical research. We incidentally learn of that research in offhand pseudoscience terms. The main focus of that first part is to convince us of his absolute devotion to a woman, his obsession. Its never love in the way we have it in the world, but selfish obsession built on top of movie romance. That way we tap date movies, and imply what happens in some cases after the wedding.The second half reports on the result of this obsession applied to "keeping" his love through applying the tools of his research, and is a sort of tragedy. In all the cases I know, the results are shaped by what cinematic effects are possible at the time. So what we get is a collection of terror that depends on you shifting into movieland. The first half of the movie tricks you into that because we so readily buy into the movie romance world. One could almost say we are a world of stories that become obsessions. Then that investment we make is (with our agreement) turned on us as different cinematic horrors are brought out. Its movie-centric folding at its simplest.How does this one do? Pretty well at the first part, I think. It takes an hour and seventeen minutes, which will probably tax your patience. But its done competently enough. The problem with any such first section is that it depends on movie clichés, because that's what movie romance is all about: here dreamy mooneyed stuff. It worked for me.The second part didn't work. I think it was perhaps because it was so obviously a grabbag of what cheap software could do. The pseudoscience is supposed to give you a bridge, something to use as an internal excuse. But if you know anything at all, it doesn't stick here because it is so, so very bogus.But its still instructive. Failures are as good as successes.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

tsimon58 I like slow and arty movies just fine, but I'm sorry that this doesn't qualify. I rented the movie because I liked the video game and the underlying scientific elements are the same. The movie, however, has an incredibly slow pace. After the first half hour, my husband and I actually turned up the playback speed, so we watched the last 90 minutes in 30. The subtitles stayed on the screen long enough for us to read them and the movement of the actors and the plot seemed to be the right speed. So I guess that says that we were impatient and the movie was tedious. I also think that the plot, while reasonable in principle for most of the movie, takes a wrong turn at the end and gives you a love-conquers-all resolution that just makes it too easy to win.

Charles Herold (cherold) This is a really odd little movie. I suppose it's a thriller, but the thriller part is just in the middle. The beginning is about obsession and is slow moving but fairly compelling. Over half way through it moves into thriller territory and has some genuine chills. But the ending eschews the usual thriller big finish for something haunting and rather beautiful, making one feel this is more a love story than anything else, but a really strange one. The movie has terrific atmosphere and is really pretty original, and while it is sometimes a bit on the lethargic side I thought it was fascinating.

musashimaru This movie could well be a modern version of William Castle's THE TINGLER. But in this case, it's not a parasite hidden in the human spine which wants to free itself and have its own life but rather the mitochondria in the human body. "Mitochondria" is a term of cell biology. They are self-replicating organelles, bounded by 2 membranes, that are found in the cytoplasm of all eukaryotic cells and produce cellular energy in the form of ATP via the oxidative phosphorylation reactions.The theory of PARASITE EVE is that mitochondria are very much a species with their own intentions. And all those years since evolution spat out the first humans, they were waiting for the day when they could finally break free. This day is NOW, and their outbreak of the human bodies would surely mean the end of all human life on earth. It's up to one lonely and desperate Japanese scientist to stop them after his beloved wife was killed as it was long-term planned by the mitochondria.Like in many other modern Japanese horror and science fiction movies, the pace of PARASITE EVE is slow and often melancholic. But the daring storyline of the movie and the tension which is built slowly but surely until the climatic finale is worth watching anyway.Japanese cinema has become an interesting alternative for lovers of the fantastic film genre. The way how Japanese films tell their story differs a great deal from Hollywood productions. If you have a chance to see PARASITE EVE, go see it or even buy it on DVD or VCD. If you're not an action-only fan, you won't regret it.