A classic thriller & psychological horror film
I'm not the biggest anime fan, but I'm also not completely unaware of the genre and have watched anime off and on over the years. I had never heard of this movie before the past month. I decided to give it a go based on the high IMDB rating and simple plot description. I'm glad I did.
It is well worth the watch, particularly if you're a fan of any classic thriller movies - Hitchcock. This also feels very much like a 90s psychological thriller - Lynch. Also think The Bone Collector, Insomnia, Se7en, or Silence of the Lambs. There are things in the movie we would recognize as tropes of the genre now, but are so well done it doesn't come across as kitschy and is very fitting for the time in 1998.
For those of you who are not big into animation or can never seem to 'get it' and still see it as cartoons then I think this movie will really help evolve your view. Sit down and within the first 15-20 minutes I think you'll see this as a piece of film-making and not something that is just animated - you really start to watch it as if they are live characters. You slip past the animation and just follow the story.
There are some considerations for the violence in the movie but honestly it is far less compared to what is present in a lot of horror films now anyways. I did not find it a factor in watching.
The movie does an absolutely stellar job at transitions between scenes and themes throughout that it really isn't animated at that point - it's truly crafted as the art of film making. The story isn't anything revolutionary by now, but it is well told. Interestingly, I read this was originally supposed to be live action but the budget was cut down to direct to video and then direct to video animation. That little tidbit helps explain why this movie is so careful with each 'shot' or scene and how the entire film is brought together. Scenes are deliberate and the plot is moving forward. There isn't dead space or filler. This is a well directed film.
It was never intended to be animated, but the fact that it is undoubtedly gained it more relevance than it ever would have otherwise. Give it your time and you'll be happy you did as it's a solid watch through.