Four films into the Kara no Kyoukai series and the expectation is for a quality dip, something thrown together to appease fans and cover some of the source material that wasn't as glamorous or directorially challenging; The Hollow is none of these things, but it is the closest the collection has become so far to being formulaic. Following a similar tempo to the first film and of comparable lengths, whereas the first was meant as a soft-landing to the dense and chaotic universe of the series, this is more preparatory by taking away the focus from Mikiya and letting both Shiki and Toko expand and develop. Toko is no longer just a quirky red-head and the juxtaposition in Shiki's circumstances from film to film is elaborated upon.
Opening moments after the calamitous ending of film two, Murder Speculation Part One, Shiki is taken to hospital and stabilised but remains in a coma for two years, watched over by Mikiya whom the nurses refer lovingly to as a puppy. Upon awakening her vision is besieged by scratchy, ephemeral fissures and hallucinations of death; after attempting to physically exorcise the visions, she is wrongly diagnosed with aphasia and a speech therapist is called in. Touko masquerades as the therapist and tells Shiki of her affliction while reporting back her progress to her new employee, the expectant Mikiya. At night however, spirits roam the hospital and take a deadly interest in Shiki's predicament.
There isn't a great deal to expand upon with The Hollow, many of the subtleties that were rife in prior films are absent here save for some abstract dreamscapes in the introductory minutes representing the disappearance of Shiki's masculine alter ego, SHIKI. Few words are said about the loss and it is left to both viewer and character to interpret why exactly he was lost during the intervening two years since the accident; the experience indelibly alters Shiki and her ongoing motive is to discover the reasons for his absence. The confirmation of her raison d'etre contextualizes her demeanour in films one and three and while not drastically different from her past, it develops her personality more than any dialogue could. More pleasing is a greater focus on Toko who now plays more than a wise mediator and her involvement with both Shiki and Mikiya is given foundations. Credit to Takako Honda, Touko's voice actor, for a nuanced performance throughout, details such as the timbre change mid sentence when first speaking to Mikiya are masterfully done.
The fourth film is the true introduction to the mechanics of the Kara no Kyoukai universe, ignoring the head-first all-spectacle approach of the first film, there has been a slow build-up to the salvo launched here. Spirits, possession, sorcerers, magic runes and mystic eyes, the full gamut of fantasy archetypes are unleashed without much delicacy or cunning. Ardent Type-Moon fans will be far ahead of the thankfully brief explanations of ongoing events, but for newcomers the film does not dwell on points which can easily be inferred, keeping the pace quick and conflicts fluid. What brief action is present is kept subdued; the horror is nameless and undoubtedly evil, no question of its destruction is ever entertained and gore is restrained compared to the bloodbaths enacted in previous outings.
The Hollow is starkly moderate when put up against the films that have gone before it: most of the story takes place during inky nights or grey rainy days dampening the impact of the still superb art. Interstitials of busy roads and drenched gardens are as breathtaking as ever but other scenes lack the energy that made moments such as the arrival of Shiki in the bamboo forest or Fujino's repose after the destruction of the bridge so iconic. The almost apologetic housekeeping accomplished by the film is, ironically, its greatest flaw; hanging threads are tied off with such frequency that one can only assume it is meant to placate those wholly lost by all the terminology and jumping between character relationships. Subsequently, foreshadowing is absent until post-credits where a dark figure bearing the name Araya Souren, mentioned twice before by Touko, stalks familiar antagonists - it's a shrewdly timed reveal effortlessly filling the viewer with hope and anticipation for the next movie.
Disappointing then for the fourth film to be the first to underwhelm despite being entirely necessary in aggregate. Just as each film understands narrative pacing, so to do they understand series rhythm. Brutality and intrigue draw and engage but without exposition and understanding, the long term entertainment of the audience suffers. Possible though it may be to more evenly spread the incidental introductions and explanations, gathering them all into a single, short-lived film frees the remainder of the series to exist entirely without baggage - nearly all of the origin stories have been covered and the protagonists are set loose. At this point in the series it will only be those with a strong interest who are likely to continue, the content and presentation likely turning the ambivalent away before this film.
Essential and entertaining though it may be, Kara no Kyoukai: The Hollow is an undemanding movie with a bite-size running time and little to ponder beyond what will happen in the sequels. Retaining all of the aesthetic and aural talent that renders the series with startling clarity but stripping back the concealed layers leaves this film feeling shallow and ultimately unrewarding. It still resides well beyond what the majority of other movies and series can offer, but when one has been spoiled so thoroughly it becomes increasingly difficult to be sated.