Infection (film)

Infobox Film
name = Infection


caption = Japanese film poster
director = Masayuki Ochiai
producer = Takashige Ichise
eproducer =
aproducer =
writer = Ryoichi Kimizuka (story),
Masayuki Ochiai (screenplay)
starring = Koichi Sato and Masanobu Takashima.
See cast
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = 2004
runtime = 98 minutes
country = Japan
awards =
language = Japanese
budget =
amg_id = 1:321746
imdb_id = 0418778nihongo|"Infection"|感染|Kansen is a 2004 Japanese Horror film, and is volume 1 of 6 in the J-Horror Theater series. The film was directed by Masayuki Ochiai and a theatrical version based on an episode of the Japanese horror TV series "Yonimo Kimyõ na Monogatari" (世にも奇妙な物語 lit. "Tales of the Unusual"). The episode, subtitled "Kyũkan" ("急患" lit. "Urgent Patient"), was written by Ryoichi Kimizuka and first broadcasted in 1991 in Japan. [cite web
url=http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/急患|title=急患|work=|language=Japanese|publishdate=2008-01-12|accessdate=2008-07-02]

The film is going to be remade as a 2009 American film. [cite web
url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418778/movieconnections|title=Kansen (2004) - Movie connections|author=IMDB|language=|publishdate=|accessdate=2008-07-02]

Plot

The film takes place in an under-staffed hospital that is quickly losing money. As night begins to fall, an ambulance comes to the hospital bringing a patient with a strange black rash. Dr. Akiba refuses to admit the patient, due to the hospital being low on resources and staff. While arguing with the paramedic, Akiba is alerted to a serious crisis in Room 3 of the hospital. A patient, though unconscious, has somehow fallen to the floor and his vital signs are dropping quickly. They think they have saved him when they realize that the nurse has apparently misused Potassium chloride instead of Calcium chloride and injected the wrong drug into his intravenous drip (potassium is pronounced as "kariumu" in Japanese which is the Latin for potassium, kalium and calcium is pronounced as "karushiumu" so they may be similar for Japanese viewers; while Calcium chlorate [ [http://www.digital-retribution.com/reviews/dvd/0654.php Infection DVD Review - Digital Retribution ] ] is used at the subtitle in American DVDs rather than Potassium chloride to make more sense for non-Japanese viewers). The present staff members, Doctors Akiba, Uozumi and four nurses, after a long and harsh argument, decide to cover up the true cause of his death and say that he died naturally. They move the body to an unused room and start heating it to speed up decay to hide the damaged blood chemistry.

Soon afterwards, Dr. Akiba discovers that the patient he rejected earlier has been just left in the hallway. Another doctor, Akai, makes his presence known and suggests that they study the symptoms of this new patient as his symptoms (now liquifying into a green goo) represent uncharted medical territory - a chance to make a name for themselves. Not knowing how much Akai knows about the scandalous events in Room 3, the other doctors reluctantly agree to study the new patient - for now anyway. Before long though, the staff learn the patient has vanished from the examination room. Not enough liquid matter remained to suggest the patient had fully liquified, so the staff try to locate him.

It becomes obvious that they are all at risk of infection when a nurse bleeds the same green liquid as the missing patient. She had just been sterilizing some supplies for reuse while holding the trays under boiling water. It is reported that her internal organs are liquifying and they put her on a bed and cover her with plastic.

A nurse who had earlier been practicing giving needles to the burn patient, was found practicing on herself. She mentions that she was a sickly child and looked up to the nurses that helped her, and she wanted to become a nurse. She plunges two needles into herself and green goo explodes out of her.

Dr. Akiba is almost in a panic state when he turns to find another nurse covered in green goo, smiling and hanging upside down from the ceiling.

While returning the burn patient to his original room, Dr. Akiba recalls the events in room number 3, and thinks "Dr. Akai" was the burn patient. Then he recalls that "he" was the burn patient, while Dr. Akai took over Dr. Akiba's role and Dr. Akai gave the orders for the wrong drug.

In the morning, a Doctor Nakazono comes in and finds Dr. Akiba holding a conversation with no one. She challenges him, and Dr. Akiba states he is talking to Dr. Akai. Dr. Akiba realizes he was looking in a mirror, and no one was really there. He looks around and sees several nurses covered in blood, not the green goo that was on them before. He realizes that his last few hours had not been a reality. He accidentally cuts himself and sees his hand as bloody, but in the mirror, he sees it oozing green goo.

As more staff arrive in the morning, the hospital is cleared of all patients due to the night's events. At the end, we see that Dr. Akiba has hidden himself in a locker (where they had heated the body.) The locker is oozing copious amounts of green goo as he cries out meekly for help.

Cast

*Koichi Sato as Dr. Akiba
*Masanobu Takashima as Dr. Uozumi
*Shiro Sano as Dr. Kiyoshi Akai
*Moro Morooka as Dr. Kishida
*Kaho Minami as Head nurse
*Mari Hoshino as Rookie nurse
*Michiko Hada as Dr. Nakazono
*Tae Kimura and Yoko Maki as the other nurses
*Isao Yatsu as a hospital patient

References

External links

*
* [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/features/film2004/ff20041006a1.htm JapanTimes.com review]