Chime

A proven hand at creepy, blood-curling thrillers that start slow but furiously dig their way into your consciousness, trailblazing Japanese visionary Kiyoshi Kurosawa blew through last year on an absolute creative high with a triple-header including “Cloud” and a French-language remake of his 1998 cult classic “Serpent’s Path”.

All of them are absolutely worth a watch, but the one you really want to keep tabs on is this overlooked gem about a former chef making ends meet as a culinary arts teacher who loses all grips on reality after hearing a mysterious bell-like noise that drives people to flip out and commit gruesome acts of violence. Keep in mind, there’s also the fact that he may or may not have killed his wife and son.

Running at a remarkably tight 45 minutes, “Chime” cuts straight to the chase but leaves a profound impact with a palpable sense of dread that seeps into virtually every frame. In a just world, you’d see it routinely cropping up on round-up lists of this ilk and propped up as a landmark achievement by one of the genre’s foremost innovators. Sadly, the film never had much of a chance of getting a fair shake overseas as it’s only available to rent online through a shady NFT scheme website (yuck!).