Only in Asia does the practice of horror as a cinematic art form remain alive and well. Reincarnation, as far as I'm concerned, is a simply masterful horror film that succeeds on levels Hollywood forgot many years ago.

Pulling double duty as the third (and apparently last) entry in Taka Ichise's J-Horror Theater series and one of the 8 Films to Die For from HorrorFest 2006, Reincarnation is in something of a unique position to offer American and other western audiences a gloriously juicy taste of what they're missing if they have yet to make the jump to Asian horror. Of course, not everyone will agree with my five-star assessment of the film, but I am a little surprised by the range of responses to Reincarnation. Those raised on a steady diet of Hollywood slashers may have trouble adjusting to the slower pace of this film's horror, while some may not like the fact that they have to think a little bit as the film goes along; some will balk at the necessity of reading subtitles; and I concede the fact that the ending of the film can be somewhat confusing -- but how can you not be impressed at the atmosphere and nuance intricately woven into this production? During the buildup to the conclusion, you actually have three aspects of the story running in perfect parallel to one another for at least 10 minutes before being melded together brilliantly by director Takashi Shimizu.

On a more visceral level, the film generates some wonderfully creepy moments -- I'll even admit that this film even got one little jump out of me, and that almost never happens to this experienced horror veteran. As far as I'm concerned, Reincarnation is the type of film that can restore your faith in horror films.

Say whatever you'd like about the film, but I don't see how any can disagree that the lovely young actress Yuka delivers a mesmerizing performance in the starring role of Nagisa Sugiura, a budding young actress chosen to play the pivotal role in horror movie director Matsumura's new film, which is based on a hotel massacre that took place in 1970, when a professor killed 11 people in the hotel, including his two young children.

After the audition -- even before she's offered the role -- Nagisa begins having unexplained sightings, mostly of a creepy little girl with an even creepier-looking doll, and nightly nightmares. Oddly enough, a young psychology student also begins having disturbing visions involving the hotel. It's initially unclear what this student has to do with Nagisa and Matsumura's movie, but rest assured that everything will be brought together beautifully in the end. One of the film's great strengths is the fact that it has you asking questions and surmising things all the way through it. This ability to keep the viewer engaged for so long is what makes Reincarnation so special. When, I ask you, is the last time you had an OMG moment in the final 10-15 minutes of a horror film? The masterful ending of Reincarnation is quite full of surprises you may not have seen coming.

Reincarnation is completely unrelated to the two earlier entries in the J-Horror Theater series, Infection and Premonition, so don't think you need to see those before watching this one (although they are both great movies in their own right). It's highly unfortunate that the remaining three films in this project are apparently not going to see the light of day. If you only watch one of these three impressive films, though, Reincarnation is the one to see. It doesn't deliver quite the punch of, for example, A Tale of Two Sisters, but it does operate on a similarly high plane of cinematic horror artistry.