Two attractive young Japanese kids wander around a deserted, ramshackle and clearly haunted mansion from the onset. Nothing original here for a horror flick and, indeed, nothing much that is original throughout the rest of director Shimoyama Ten's scary movie.

The insipid Nami (Negumi Okina) and her uncharismatic ex-boyfriend Kohei (Koji Okura) are video game programmers visiting said creepy mansion to record its layout for a game they are designing. The footage is simultaneously sent back to the office where their colleagues begin building the game with the images. The fact that the colleagues have oodles more verve and personality than the leads and yet are seldom allowed to stray from the background is one of the major flaws. Then we have a loosely patched together plotline with more holes than a pair of fishnet tights.

The story could and should be more exciting. It employs a mise-en-abime scenario whereby Nami finds herself linked to the haunted house by her past. A not-so-horrifying sequence of events takes place whereby she reacquaints herself with a long lost twin and a crazy father. This is all recorded and made part of the game, but then the game mysteriously takes over.

The film is adapted from a major novel and hugely popular video game in Japan, but somehow it doesn't translate into celluloid. For the first half hour we are taken on a grand and tedious tour of the house, which is neither eerie, nor necessary in setting the scene. The Hammer-house style soundtrack is both clichéd and tacky, when it's not being punctuated with Nami's incessant gasping and panting. Little also to be gained from the St. John's wort of the title, which refers to the flowers growing outside the house, symbolising revenge, while having negligible effect on the storyline.

The cinematography is a vague saving grace, with parts seen as through virtual reality goggles, or with the contrast up high. Nonetheless, it does seem reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, only less frenetic. In fact there are multifarious horror influences visible, which should make this a spoof movie, but instead makes it appear lacking in theme and invention. The final twist is more confusing than shocking and leaves the audience scratching its collective head in bewilderment.

This one is really for the true die-hard fans of the genre, who might not mind its implausibility.