After the massive success of The Grudge, he continued exploring the genre with films such as Marebito, Reincarnation, Howling Village, and Suicide Forest Village. The Mouths returns Shimizu to this familiar ground with a film that is as unsettling as it is creepy. Takashi Shimizu’s The Mouths blends familiar J-horror imagery with sinister twists and atmosphere, and scares that linger after the credits. The Mouths uses many familiar J-horror visual tropes: pale women, long black hair, stiff faces, and victims with wide, terrified eyes. Overall, The Mouths sometimes relies too heavily on genre tropes, but its best scares show why Shimizu is still a tremendous filmmaker.