In 2020, director Hideo Nakata released “Stigmatized Properties,” a shocker based on the nonfiction writings of comedian Tanishi Matsubara describing his experiences living in so-called stigmatized properties where tragic deaths occurred, be it by suicide or murder.
Now, Nakata is back with a skin-crawling, humor-inflected follow-up, “Stigmatized Properties: Possession,” set again in the strange corner of Japanese show business where “experts” in the paranormal comment on investigations of supposedly haunted places. Matsubara rose to fame as one of these investigators, though after staying in dozens of stigmatized properties, he has also become one of the experts.
Scripted by Daisuke Hosaka, “Possession” has a lighter touch than the previous film, which took its ghosts too literally. Just when things are getting silly, however, something happens that makes even the more cartoonish characters sober up, as if they had reached into a popcorn box and touched a clammy hand.
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