Teketeke (film)

In Nagoya, Japan, an office worker named Hiromi walks home at night, taking a path along an overpass near a train station and railway. She hears a scuttling sound and is chased by a fast unseen entity that slices her in half at the waist.

A schoolgirl named Kana Ohashi is best friends with Ayaka Sekiguchi, who likes soccer player Utsumi Keita. Utsumi shows Kana and Ayaka a news report about the death in Nagoya. He recalls a story he heard in elementary school about Teke Teke, a ghost missing her lower half. When individuals walk on the overpass at night, it is said that Teke Teke will chase after them (making a "teke teke" noise as she drags herself along the ground), and that if they look back, she will cut them in half.

Ayaka, upset that Utsumi seems to like Kana more than her, angrily takes a different route home. Reaching the overpass, she sees Teke Teke, and it severs her. Kana learns that Hiromi's boyfriend was arrested by Aichi Prefecture police for her murder. He denies any involvement in her death, and told authorities that he saw a woman with no lower half. The next night, she places a bouquet of flowers at the site of Ayaka's death. She hears Ayaka call her name, and turns to see Teke Teke, who begins to chase her. She runs into Utsumi, who helps her escape on his bike. Kana conducts research about Teke Teke. Her cousin Rie Hirayama informs her that anyone who encounters Teke Teke and survives is said to die three days later. They visit a scholar in Kakogawa, who tells them of a woman who committed suicide in 1948 by jumping off of an overpass in Mikasa-cho. The scholar's assistant, Takeda, leads them to the daughter of a landlord who lived in that area. She tells them that the woman was a nurse named Kashima Reiko, who was assaulted and raped by an American soldier. Traumatized, Kashima associated the color red with the bleeding she experienced, and discarded all red objects in her sight as a result.

Takeda informs Kana and Rie of rumors he heard in middle school of a memorial built for Kashima in Mikasa-cho, which has since fallen over. Rie, who reveals that she also encountered Teke Teke, drives to Mikasa-cho with Kana. They discover the fallen memorial in a forested area and lift it back into its original position. After returning to Rie's red car, they notice Teke Teke. They abandon the vehicle, removing red clothes and accessories as they flee. Rie accidentally cuts her head on a branch, causing her to bleed. Teke Teke slices her in two, and rushes toward Kana. Some time later, a group of children are seen walking and discussing rumors about Kashima, and Teke Teke runs behind them.

In a mid-credits scene, Takeda visits Kana and her mother, who are living at a new residence one year later. Kana, who has been in an almost catatonic state since Rie's death, is offered a red box of sweets by Takeda, which causes her to become hysterical.

The film premiered at Kineca Omori, Shinagawa, Tokyo on 21 March 2009, and was screened alongside its sequel, Teketeke 2.[4] Mami Yamasaki and Mai Nishida, along with Teketeke 2 cast members Sayuri Iwata and Hatsune Matsushima, attended the premiere.[4]

Teketeke received mixed reviews. Chris Fox of Wicked Horror called the film "a textbook-example of low-budget genre filmmaking done right".[5] Adam Symchuk of Asian Movie Pulse wrote that "beyond the phenomenal creature design the film remains a rather generic telling of a popular urban legend with a plot and performances that are just passable".[6] Niina Doherty of HorrorNews.net criticized the film's pacing, the "somewhat clichéd characters", and the execution of the Teke Teke ghost, and wrote that "It's not that Teketeke is a terrible film, it's just incredibly mediocre".[1] Andrew Mack of Screen Anarchy wrote that the film "was neither suspenseful nor scary and I also wish it was a whole lot gorier than it was".[7]

• Teketeke at IMDb
• Teketeke at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official website (in Japanese)
• テケテケ(2009) at allcinema (in Japanese)
• テケテケ at KINENOTE (in Japanese)