what be once think of a a mere urban legend ( a tall and surgical mask woman who spirit off with young child during the twilight hour ) turn out to be something much more than a scary tale . this be the premise behind shiraishi koji late horror or thriller kuchisake onna ( slit mouth woman ) . kuchisake onna begin with the abduction of several child in the kanegawa prefecture of japan . neighborhood gossip attribute the kidnapping to a wife tale of a horrifically scar ghost call kuchisake onna ( slit mouth woman ) who wear a surgical mask to hide her deformity . the local elementary school and where many of the abduct be student and step up effort to protect their student by have teacher escort the student to and from school . teacher yamashita kyoko ( sato eriko ) and matsuzaki noboru ( kato haruhiko ) be among the teacher assign to help out . amid the hysteria of the kidnapping and yamazaki learn that her student sasaki mika ( kuwana rie ) have be physically abuse by her mother ( kawai chiharu ) and do not want to go home . this strike a raw chord with yamazaki a she herself lose custody of her own child whom she abuse a year ago . a they talk and the kuchisake onna appear and spirit off mika . yamazaki tell police that what she saw be definitely not human . police official dismiss her claim a nonsense and she be put on administrative leave . matsuzaki be the only one who believe her and suspect that kuchisake onna be the inhuman vengeful spirit of his own mother ( mizuno miki ) who abuse both he and his sibling and who suffer from tb ( tuberculosis ) . together they attempt to unravel this ghostly mystery . what they find however be even more dark and tragic than they be lead to believe . kuchisake onna be a lackluster bore with cheap thrill and a silly story and embarrass act . i be a big fan of both statuesque and model or actress sato eriko ( playgirl and cutie honey ) and stunt woman turn actress mizuno miki ( senrigan and my lover be a sniper and odoru dai sousasen ) but frankly their acting here be terrible . the movie be neither horrific and thrill nor suspenseful and be almost like some cheap tv movie you would find late at night on subscription cable . there be one or two somewhat frightful scene but they unfortunately be too few and far in between . the kuchisake onna character definitely have a freakishly interesting look and which bear a resemblance to christopher nolan new joker design for the upcoming dark knight movie as well a asano tadanobu kakihara character in koroshi no ichi . shiraishi koji ( who also write the screenplay ) be no stranger to the genre have direct other cheap horror project like noroi and ju rei but be unable to elicit the genuine shock and thrill like his contemporary nakata hideo ( ring ) or shimizu takashi ( ju on represent the grudge ) do in their movie and what we get be just a tame ghost story with no bite . the central focus on tween character seem to suggest that this film may have be aim towards child and hence the relative low volume of bloodshed ( although as mention above there be one or two scene that be somewhat frighten ) . the overall theme of child abuse be use merely a a provocative and exploitive vehicle . it be a cheap shot use in the hope of spark some sort of emotional response and we do not really see it examine in any serious or meaningful way . kuchisake onna reminds me of clive barker candyman in spirit with perhaps wes craven nightmare on elm street thrown in for good measure but with none of either film inventiveness . the predictable end leaf open the unlikely chance of a sequel but i hope that this do not transpire a just the thought of another kuchisake onna film . well and that would be the true horror .