The Elocutioner Reviews: Urban Legend Story: Hikiko
In Japan there is an urban legend about a girl named Hikiko who was bullied so severely that it began to take a physical toll on her body, twisting and misshaping her into a monster. Now if you see her she will drag you along the ground until you have become as misshapen as she is and die.
This movie seems to be based fairly loosely on this myth. Bullying and child abuse definitely play a large part in the story, but the movie doesn’t seem to adhere closely to the myth itself. In Urban Legend Story: Hikiko we follow the memories of a young boy as he thinks back to his neighbor, a girl who was brutally abused by her mother and bullied relentlessly in school, and even the teachers wouldn’t do anything to protect her! Time and again throughout the movie we see this mysterious woman with long hair and a misshapen body who terrifies those around her… And for good reason!
I was lucky to find this movie in four parts on Youtube where I could watch it with English subtitles, and I’ll include a link to a playlist where you can watch it in it’s entirety here >> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYVYsmrm7sxGB2zBHoVSI-nUBbOPkTdLb
This movie does contain mild jump scares.
My opinion of Urban Legend Story: Hikiko:
I felt the animation for this movie was a bit dated, but it’s definitely worth watching anyway if you are a fan of J horror! The movements of the monster are probably the best part of the animation, and it will send shivers up your spine!
The story was a little hard to follow for me, but I suspect if I knew a bit more about the culture that this movie was created around I would have been able to follow it much easier. The story itself was detailed and comes with a huge plot twist that you will never see coming.
My rating for Urban Legend Story Hikiko: 7/10
There are a few trigger warnings for this movie, which I will include in detail below. The warnings are for child abuse and neglect, animal harm, and bullying.
Trigger Warnings:
Child abuse/neglect: Generally speaking, if you are easily triggered by child abuse or neglect this may not be the movie for you. There are several scenes in which a child is berated by her mother and you hear thumping from the other side of a wall which implies that the child is being beaten by their mother. Also teachers realize that a child is being abused and willfully ignore it.
Animal harm: A kitten is thrown in the air and caught, then tied to the back of a car. It’s implied that the kitten was saved and survived.
Bullying: The movie generally about bullying. One child is relentlessly bullied by the entire class in many scenes. If you are easily triggered by bullying this may not be a great movie for you.
