There are two kinds of Japanese thrillers: Those that don't translate very well to the Western world, and those that don't translate at all.

Another Heaven (from one of the producers of Ringu) is pretty squarely in the latter group, though that doesn't make it as complete a waste of time as it ought to be. It starts with promise: A group of cops investigate a murder scene: The victim is dead on the floor, his head sliced open and his brain cooking in a pot of stew on the stove. What follows gets confusing, and fast, as it turns out a bunch of brainless folks are on the loose, and they're all killing people before they die themselves.

Don't think about it too much -- it doesn't make sense any way you slice it (no pun intended). It turns out the murder spree is due to something involving a spiritual force and prescription drugs. It's nonsense that isn't aided by iffy subtitles ("It's an antibiotic... for headaches.") and a 130-minute running time. No doubt it will soon be remade in the U.S. and will make no sense at all.

Writer/director Jôji Iida also needs to learn some restraint with the camera. He just can't stop moving it, and he errs on the side of being to close on his subjects. Why must every shot hover right and left, up and down, on half the face of its subject? I'm nauseous just remembering it.

Jap-splatter fans will eat Another Heaven up -- and not just for its many Matrix homages -- but the rest of us will just wonder what the fuss is about.

Oh right, there is no fuss.