American photographer and his sweet wife (Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor) find a new home in Tokyo thanks to a friend of theirs (David Denman) who sets them up in a building to both live and work, but they encounter a lingering, pestering spirit. This Onryō could very well have a reason for showing up (and ruining) Jackson's photographic sessions with models in/outdoors, as well as, constantly turning up to haunt them. It seems Jackson and Denman (and also their mutual friend, played by John Hensley) eventually recognize exactly who this spirit is and why she is hanging around to remind them of past sins. Formulaic, dull plotting (the sheen had then worn off the allure of American remakes of Asian horror so popular in the late 90s/early 2000s by 2008), and a severe lack of imagination leave this remake dying on the screen without much to grab us. An image of why Jackson feels such a weight on his shoulders seems to be one of the few scenes (I also dug the scene where Taylor visits the magazine popular for showing (and creating, especially) spirit photography, and is shown a room with authentic photographs of specters on film) that leave an impression at all, but even it has been better executed before. You can just revisit (or watch for the first time) the Thai Shutter film and experience better creeps than what are available in this uninspired remake. One of the shining examples of how remaking past films over a period of time can numb the senses of horror fans, eventually draining our desire to even watch their Asian counterparts. The finale, where Jackson goes to great lengths to remove what is haunting him, is the death knell in this rather worthless remake. Taylor tries her best to encourage our sympathies for her difficult situation (not of her making; she's a victim of circumstance, unaware of what her husband done), but her character is basically reactionary, while Jackson bores with a performance and character that aren't able to rise above the material. Encountering a dead body with flies out her mouth may be the lone scary scene in the whole film.