Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek (2005)

Kakurenbo strikes me as a nearly perfect Japanese anime short film. Every scene, angle, cut, motion, and sound throughout the film seems to be tightly measured, charmingly stylized, and originally presented. While the dark atmospherics and one plot element are reminiscent of Spirited Away and The Matrix, the urban setting with its demonic pursuers and ultimate revelations are genuinely original and surprising. The American voice talent is absolutely fine for anime (which always has a snivelly-voiced bully, an average boy, a giggling girl, and so on) and esp. for this production. The soundtrack has the measured stridency of a sacrificial ceremony and the demons are quite fresh and chilling. This is a perfect movie to watch with all the lights out, on Halloween night, alone -- or with someone you can squeeze or hug in suspense! It's 26 minutes long with the last 10 percent of that given to credits. 5 stars.