KURONEKO (1968) movie review

Kuroneko (aka Black Cat) (1968) d. Kaneto Shindo (Japan)

The writer/director of Onibaba delivers a companion tale of horror set in feudal Japan, but whereas that 1964 classic focused on a mother/daughter-in-law team waylaying samurai and scavenging their corpses to survive their poverty, here we have a mother/daughter-in-law team waylaying samurai to avenge their own rapes and murders. Yep, it’s a Japanese ghost story, one that ultimately pits a young warrior Gintoki (Kichiemon Nakamura) against those he loved most in life.

ONIBABA (1964) movie review

Onibaba (1964) d. Shindo, Kaneto (Japan)

Shindo’s allegorical fable (which he also scripted), examining the fate of two widows in 16th century Japan, is a masterpiece of horror conjured from everyday life. Left to fend for themselves while the men are at war, a mother (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) survive by ambushing wandering soldiers and selling their armor for food. When a lusty neighbor (Kei Sato) returns home with news that their son/husband has been slain in battle, a tension-filled triangle is formed – one rife with shifting alliances and rising passions.