Kuroneko (1968)

"What ghost would dare hate us?"

“Strange things happen in a war-torn land.” Do they ever in Kuroneko's ghostly story of revenge. The problem with revenge is that it’s a double-edged sword that can wound both ways.

Yone and Shige are home alone having dinner when a group of 16 samurai come upon their hut. The samurai lay claim to everything in it. When they are done, the women are dead, and their hut goes up in flames. A black cat lingers over the bodies in the smoldering ruins. Not long after, samurai traveling through the Rajomon Gate at night are lured to their deaths by a beautiful woman. Tragedy is at hand when Yone’s son and Shige’s husband returns from the war a successful samurai and the women’s vows must be kept.

“Who cares about peasants or even considers them human?”
This was a strange story about the consequences of revenge. The vengeful ghosts had plenty to be resentful of regarding the world the warring men had created. Hachi loved his mother and his wife, but would he be immune to the rancorous entitlement vented by so many? It also showed the utter disregard for the lives of the peasants, the people hit the hardest by war. The lazy samurai leader Raiko couldn't understand anyone hating the samurai believing they were beloved by all. The suffering peasants' feelings didn't count as they weren't really human. A samurai lured into the women’s house said, “Fighting allows us to eat our fill and have whatever we want.” Not the words one should say to ghosts who had everything stolen by samurai including their lives. The offending samurai faces bore the greed and lust of crazed animals, fitting irony that they died in similar fashion.

The 1960’s special effects were rudimentary, created with darkness and light, fog and shadows. Makeup and hairy cat limbs gave the illusion of feline ghosts. A few wires and even their shadows slipped through the editing process. The greater fear in this film resulted from the ghosts required to fulfill their vows and Hachi who had his own vows to fulfill which put the loved ones on a hellish collision course. I gave this old horror film a small rating’s bump due to its age, but despite that it was a well made film about the costs of war and revenge.

20 October 2024

Triggers: Sexual assault and some nudity

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PROS:
+ The story is a roller coaster of different emotions and is also a mixed bag of cinematic elements that make it unpredictable, complex, and mysterious
+ The interest in the mystery builds throughout the duration of the film and is revealed in an indirect manner, which requires some thinking to piece together
+ Some of the moments were emotionally heavy to ponder and become increasingly upsetting the more you think about them
+ There are some impressive camera shots that layer backgrounds and pan to create a nightmare feel, that appears unnatural and creepy

CONS:
- The music was almost non existent, which worked well for some scenes (making them feel empty and lonely), but some others felt a little dry and boring
- Scenes that were shown to establish the plot weren't explained well at first, leading to some confusion until later revelations in the mystery
- Some symbolic elements of the plot don't really make much sense

This movie surprised me even as I was viewing it, but even more so after it ended. I kept thinking about the meaning behind the ending and decided it is truly great!

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