Saturday, December 10, 2011

KURONEKO (Japanese) (1968)


From the man who gave us eerie Japanese psychological horror ‘Onibaba’, here is another equally brilliant supernatural horror offering not to be missed. It begins with a bunch of hungry and thirsty warriors came around a secluded hut surrounded by grove where two ladies live alone. They not only ravaged the house for food but also gang raped the young girl. The house is set on fire as soon as they left. Next is haunting horror journey in company of stray black cats, deceptive specter full of appearances and disappearances, a series of night affairs began with chance, guided by lust and ended with revenge trap. Don’t consider it as entire spoiler of the film; since this is just what one third of the film is, the rest is still an intriguing thrill of more than an hour.

Just like ‘Onibaba’, Kaneto Shindo maintained a haunting atmospheric set up in fine B&W frames. The paddy field and a round pit of ‘Onibaba’ replaced here with a dark narrow path and a house surrounded by bamboo clad jungle. The natural set up adds unusual wild and raw tense feel into the frames and action. In both the films passionate love is used as catalyst factor progressing the drama and action. It’s this treatment and style which sets this supernatural revenge fable into something unique and unforgettable classic experience on screen.

Ratings-8/10 

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