Teacher Yuko stands in front of the class and
announces she is going to resign. She explains that
Student A and Student B in her class killed her 3 year
old daughter and now in revenge she has infected the
latte they just drank with HIV infected blood. From the
disgusted response of the two boys, it is obvious who
the killers are.
Because her husband was ill with HIV, Yuko had
brought her daughter to school to play in an empty
classroom while she taught in another room. One day,
the child was gone and her body turned up floating in
the swimming pool. A student admits to killing the child
and when she shows compassion at his remorse, he
laughs in her face. When her hubby dies a few months
later she puts her plan into action.
Naoki, one of the murderers, hides himself away from
the world and becomes a deranged recluse who is
arrested for his mother’s murder.
Shuya, the other murderer states that his mother
abused him before abandoning him to pursue a
lucrative and prestigious scientific career. Shuya could
then focus on his own scientific projects – one of which
was an electrocuting machine. Shuya and Naoki lure
Yuko’s daughter to the pool and electrocute her. She
doesn’t die but Naoki impulsively throws her into the
pool after Shuya goes.
Shuya gets involved with a deranged girl called Mizuki.
He kills her after an argument over him having an
oedipus complex.
Shuya plants a bomb at his high school where the
graduation is to be held. His mother has remarried and
he thinks she has forgotten about him. However, Yuko
gets to the bomb and relocates it to Shuya’s mother’s
office. Bang goes the bomb.
Shuya is crying his eyes out when Yuko comes up to
him and says it was revenge but his redemption will
begin now. Shuya looks relieved and Yuko says “Just
kidding” – echoing Shuya’s brazen mocking of her after
he told her he had killed her child.
Confessions is an immensely clever film and intensely
Japanese. It is hard to imagine another country coming
up with such an interesting premise for a film (although
the film was based on a book) and executing it in such
a perfect manner. The recitazione is marvellous. Shuya
thinks he has got one over on Yuko and his callousness
is horrible. He truly is a psychopath. But when Yuko
executes her final revenge, it is so satisfying to see him
on his knees crying like a little girl. The film is intensely
absorbing and does not play like a conventional horror
film – which is probably part of its appeal. It is
definitely one for J-Horror o horror film fan in general
to watch, but be prepared for something wonderfully
different.