Despite a few minor tweaks, the addition of gore by way of eye trauma, and a modern polish on an old trope, 'Stare' doesn't stray far from the J-horror formula introduced by 'Ringu' two decades ago.

Stare doesn’t necessarily give J-horror fans anything new. Still, the film’s incredibly creepy. Adachi’s screenplay touches on themes about how / why folk tales affect us, and how the past connects with modernity through urban legends.

Well-made, sufficiently eerie and with a fun spectre in Shirai-san, the film is worth checking out, and is several notches above Hideo Nakata's limp Sadako

If you're a fan of Japanese horror, and Japanese ghost stories in particular, then you'll want to give Stare a look.