*Never After Dark* is one of the most hypnotic ghost stories to emerge recently. This Japanese production avoids the paranormal clichés that have become tiresome in post-*The Conjuring* cinema, creating instead a constant sense of psychological unease that emanates from both the human and supernatural characters. Airi (Moeka Hoshi) is an itinerant medium who helps people rid themselves of ghosts. She often relies on the help of the spirit of her late sister, Miku (Kurumi Inagaki), with whom she regularly converses (we see Miku reflected in windows and mirrors). Teiko (Tae Kimura), the new owner of a large, isolated house, hires Airi—along with her son, Gunji (Kento Kako)—to remove a ghost from the property. Airi accepts, but on the condition that Teiko and Gunji stay away while she works. Since the "veil" between the world of the living and the afterlife is too thin at night, she performs her work only during the day. The most novel aspect of *Never After Dark* is that Airi ...
Haru (Rinko Kikuchi—always a pleasure to see her on the big screen) is already prone to fantasy long before life’s harsh realities come knocking. One need only consider how she feels when engaging in her favorite pastime: ballroom dancing. When Haru (and her beloved husband Luis, played by Alejandro Edda) take the floor during a local competition in her native Tokyo, she imagines them soaring into the sky, literally dancing above everyone else. Haru is thus living in her own world when reality abruptly intrudes—and, in the context of her celestial fantasy, comes crashing down—robbing her in an instant of both Luis and her passion for dance. What follows is a drama about grief of a unique sort: part melodrama, part telenovela, yet entirely original and deceptively light in tone. Not every step may be perfectly executed (insert ballroom dance metaphors here), but *Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!* possesses an effervescent spirit often missing from stories of this kind, anchored by a charming ...