Asian
MOVIE REVIEW . Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
Taking inspiration from an old Japanese folkloric tale, and its subsequent popular urban legend incarnation in the 1979, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman tells a tale of a vengeful female ghost with a penchant for carving up unsuspecting victims. While the original tale involved an incredibly beautiful, yet vain and adulterous woman, whose wicked ways ultimately lead to a horrible punishment at the hands of her husband, who expanded her mouth widthwise using a sharp blade, later incarnations feature the Slit-Mouth Woman in spectral form, appearing to lone travelers on misty evenings, querying them from behind the guise of a surgical mask as to whether or not they find her pretty. According to this form of the legend, answering this question would then result in the woman removing her mask, revealing her gaping maw, and subsequently chasing down and killing the person with a sharp instrument.
At the height of the legend’s popularity the Slit-Mouth Woman had evolved from simple wayfarer slayer to exclusive child predator. Fueled in no small part by the recent increase in domestic (parent on child and child on parent) violence and murder reported in the Japanese media, it is this peak variant that Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman uses as springboard for telling its tale.
Being that the basic story of Carved is quite similar to that outlined above, I won’t bother to further summarize it here. However, the film does take the liberty of one final and major change to the 
previous legends: this time around the Slit-Mouth Woman (Miki Mizuno, Bayside Shakedown) was not a loose beauty turned victim of an enraged husband, but simply a child abusing single mother. How exactly she came about her famous face I’ll leave for you to find out, but it is no less shocking than the original tale. Still, a problem remains in this film’s changing the origin story of the Slit-Mouth Woman. While she repeatedly asks her victims “am I pretty?,” it makes no sense within the context of the story, as no effort is ever made to convey any sense of vanity on her part. Only rage. Still, that doesn’t mean she’s any less frightening a character. One might even argue that this seemingly illogical questioning only serves to make her appear all the more mad and dangerous.
The structure of Carved is not unlike that of most contemporary “J-Horror,” outings ( I know, I hate the term just as much as you do), featuring an intrepid team (this time a schoolteacher, played by Cutie Honey’s Eriko Sato, and a mysterious man, by Pulse’s Haruhiko Kato) investigating the origin of the killer ghost and in hopes of a possible solution. In fact, the film follows all established genre
conventions so faithfully one could say it verges dangerously on the edge of cliché. Sure, the cinematographic stylings may be a little hipper, and its female ghost possessing the surprising ability to pull her long dark hair out of her eyes (not to mention carry those huge shears), but throughout its initial setup I kept asking myself whether I could possibly be doing something better with my time. However, just after the 40 minute mark the thrills kicked in, and I found myself turned happy camper. The ending proved a little illogical and anti-climactic, but given the suspense of the latter half, I can’t complain too much.
In closing, Carved: The Slit Mouthed Woman may not be the revelation or revitalization Japanese Horror (or horror in general) so desperately needs, but it did have its moments. As familiar as its trappings may be, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman manages its fair share of shocks, suspense, and disturbing situations. Seriously, as jaded as Kris and I may be when it comes to horror films, there were moments that made us gasp in awe and wince in disgust. It may be only be half a great film, but it is still miles better than the majority of “me-too” horror efforts. If you’re at all curious, check it out.
Note that if you have any sort of reservations regarding depictions of children in peril, you might want to think twice about seeing this film.
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Absolutely right.. although I think it was attempting a convoluted social message, it never explained why she kept asking “am I pretty?” so you had to wonder right off the bat if it strayed from the original folklore.. thanks for clearing things up! Sweet review!
Chris - I’ve been disappointed with the last few ‘J-Horror’ films we’ve watched lately, but ‘The Slit-Mouthed Woman’ sounds pretty creepy. I’ll have to check it out!
Kris - Thanks hun!
David - Again, it’s not the greatest, but at least it’s better than most I’ve seen lately. Tell me what you think once you see it.
Thanks a lot. I’ve been wanting to see a lot more J-Horror films. This one sounds like it might be kind of creepy, but also sounds like it may be a bit disappointing. I’ve recently bought Premonition but I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. I’m going to have to start searching around for “The Slit Mouthed Woman” and see if i can find it.
Hey Stormy,
Thanks for reading! You’re right. The movie’s has its moments, but fails in some areas. However, even though it’s a mixed bag, I found it kind of interesting. If you are searching for it you might want to look for “Carved” rather than “The Slit Mouthed Woman”, as a pink film version of the story just came out this week under the second name. That probably won’t be the one you’re interested in seeing
You know, we have Premonition in our queue, I believe, but as with you we have not seen it yet. Have you heard anything either way about that one?
this review totally hits the spot. altough the movie didnt scare me on a visual aspect, it did pull a psycholgical aspect… but maybe i’ve desensitized myself from so many horror movies. regardless of the scare factor, i was contently entertained.
Actually, this kuchisakke onna monster is different from the urban legends. As you mentioned, she’s not just some vain and psycho woman who chases children down after asking them whether or not she’s pretty, before revealing her disfigured face. In the film, she never really asks kids whether or not they think she’s pretty. The only ones who say she does are the people talking about her. Taeko Matsuzaki (more or less the source of this kuchisake onna) asks her son Noboru to cut her head off–”Watashi no kubi wo kire!”–before she becomes weird again and kills him. She keeps asking him to cut her (”watashi (wo) kire”).
With the “ga” and “wo” particle omitted, “Watashi kirei?” and “Watashi kire” sound very close. …And it’s supposed to. This movie is about a well-known urban legend and the film purposely goes over the urban legend through the mouths of children that are presently spreading the close to 30-year-old rumor. So, while watching it, you are supposed to initially think to yourself, “Wait, is she saying “Cut me?”…No, that’s can’t be it. It’s “Am I pretty?” right.” It isn’t until the flashback to Noboru killing his mother that you know you’ve been hearing “Cut me,” since the mothers is clearly saying “Watashi no kubi wo kire” (Cut my head off) and “Watashi wo kire” (Cut me).
This film does stray from the urban legends and offers a new spin on what makes the kuchisake onna, the kuchisake onna. This version may be more frightening to kids, since the kushisake onna can even be you or your friend’s mother. She isn’t just a woman who is out and about, harassing kids with vain questions that they almost never ever can answer right in order to avoid her wrath. Instead, she’s a monster that can pop up anywhere, at anytime to get you, without wasting anytime to ask how she looks. And, she will continue to exist, since abuse will continue to exist. There’s no getting rid of her.
in japan this thing know as kuchisake onna,very scary cuz appears in daylight,bout 4 or 5 pm when the student back from the school,n my friend(hitomi) says his mom saw it once when 19 yeraold,after she back from the school at tokyo, but this thing doesn’t hurt anybody,just show off and ask if he pretty or not,then if we say no she will show his weapon,an put them in the air,but doesn’t chase us,his mom can’t say anything n freeze bout 5 sec n then the ghost gone(not dissapear at once but running n blurring then gone), others say she will chase us and kill us,thats pretty stupid,actually ghost can’t kill people,the reality is people kill people.