Kuroneko – Review

Japanese cinema in the 1960′s was marked by a wave of ghost stories. Onibaba was a great example of this as it was shot by the same director, Kaneto Shinda. A group of marauding Samurai seeking food exits the forest where they come across a house that should have what they require. On entering the house they find it has what they want and a lot more….it has women too. I’m sure you can use your imagination to figure out the horrific events which follow after that. At the same time, this is a meditative and elegaic movie that acted much like a Kabuki play and the story is a very powerful one.

These two women come back as ghosts and what follows is an introduction to how they take revenge, trapping wandering samurai into their pit of hell. The first samurai learns that the Daughter in laws husband Hachi, has been at war for three years and has still not returned. The daughter in law then proceeds to seduce the Samurai, before she brutally attacks him, devouring his throat and sucking his blood. But it’s also a love story, because the daughter’s husband was forced to fight, and he returns after years of absence. The underlying tragic story of lost love is also dealt with brilliantly by Shindo who is on fine form again.

The swamp location is a perfect setting for the film to take place and director Shindo takes full advantage of it, especially during the scenes where the younger of the two women is leading the stray, egotistical Samurai to their inevitable deaths. This is a classic, old-school, Japanese ghost story, told at a measured pace and more creepy than shocking (which means it may not hold the attention of restless viewers who demand a rock’em-sock’em, CGI rollercoaster ride). The cherry on top? Criterion has produced and elegantly handled this film with extreme care and it has never looked better. The characters move with the ritual formality that I love in certain Japanese films, and the story moves on with the ruthless intensity of a Noh drama.

Kuroneko is simply one of the best ghost/horror films ever made. The stylized nature of the film creates the feeling “haunting” in a way that few horror films could ever even imagine. The aesthetics informed many other ghost stories, particulary those from Asia, for example A Chinese Ghost Story, but few other films are as undiluted as Kuroneko. The ghost make-up at the end is nothing short of impressive either, as there’s some real chills to be found from their look in these scenes. These here are the film’s best points. While not the fastest-moving film around, there’s still plenty of stuff here to like about this one, making it one of the top entries around. Give it a shot if you’re into that kind of film or a fan of Asian horror cinema, though those who can’t enjoy the films should seek elsewhere.