Japanese ghost stories aren't about the ravenous ghoul on the frozen staircase, the skeleton in the musty closet, or the deformed monster in the basement, but of the tangled bedclothes or the broken fan. The classics are spawned from steamy weather--sweated out, as if in some fetid moment. Crickets, rain, the cracking of wood--all may enter the world of the strange, in the haunting tradition of Japanese folklore. These four films, springing from the Edo-period tradition of Kaidan (from the Japanese symbols for “mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition", find the uncanny in the beautiful, and will leave you with indelible images that follow you home and keep you up at night, staring into the shadows.
10/3 @ 7:30pm / SERIES: japanese ghost stories Ugetsu
Frequently making appearances on critics' "best films of the 20th century" lists, Kenzi Mizoguchi's most famous film is both a subtle evocation of the supernatural and a testament to the perpetual odds by which men and women coexist in a world torn apart by war and injustice. Inspired by two 16th century ghost fables, Ugetsu explores the journey of two brothers who risk their lives to pursue their obsessions, despite the protests of their loving wives who only wish for a simple, happy life. With supremely beautiful and fluid camerawork, and through a dream-like web of symbolism and horror, Mizoguchi captures an incredible mixture of moods from poignancy to dread--just say aloud the rough translation of the title of this ghost story in English: "Tales of the Pale and Silvery Moon After the Rain", and see if you feel a shiver.
Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953, 35mm, 94 min. Tickets - $10
10/10 @ 7:30pm / SERIES: japanese ghost stories Kuroneko
Stories about nekomata (ghost cats) were among the most popular genres of Japanese horror in the 50s and 60s, and after completing the classic Onibaba, Kaneto Shindo directed Kuroneko, the creepy and emotionally-charged nekomata tale set in feudal Japan. Kuroneko is loosely based on The Cat's Return, a Japanese folktale about two peasant women who, after being raped and killed by a band of samurai, seek revenge as cat-like spirits who lure soldiers in with sex, then pounce and maul them to death. After several of his men have fallen, the local samurai lord seeks revenge, not knowing he shares a previous special connection to the two apparitions. Painting a bleak, realistic portrait of a "noble" soldier class, mixing it with a heartwrenching tale of fate and wrapping it all up in an evocative black-and-white package, Shindo's Kuroneko is a stark horror classic steeped in its nation's chilling history.
Dir. Kaneto Shindo, 1968, 35mm, 95 min.
Watch the Kuroneko trailer!
Tickets - $10
10/17 @ 7:30pm / SERIES: japanese ghost stories Retribution
The Cinefamily brings you one of the latest from the prolific David Lynch of J-horror, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Cure), and produced by Taka Ichise, the behind-the-scenes force responsible for the Ring and Ju-On franchises. Overworked cop Yoshioka investigates a seemingly motiveless murder, a Jane Doe case of a woman in a red dress drowned in a shallow pool of water. The only clues mysteriously point straight at Yoshioka himself, even though he has zero recollection of the crime. As more bodies and searing plot twists crop up, alongside a succession of minor earthquakes, Yoshioka's mind turns against him, and he swims through a waking nightmare of ghostly visitations, a disintegrating relationship with his girlfriend, and a post-industrial Tokyo landscape that would turn-on J.G. Ballard. Like the other directors in this series, Kurosawa gives us a bloodless horror, but a chilling and supremely effective one.
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2006, 35mm, 104 min.
Watch the Japanese trailer forRetribution!
Tickets - $10
10/24 @ 7:15pm / SERIES: japanese ghost stories Kwaidan
One of the most internationally revered Japanese films, Kwaidan is that rare creature, a horror film capable of functioning as a work of art regardless of genre. This quartet of ghost stories caused a sensation when released, racking up awards at Cannes and, along with Onibaba and Ugetsu, introducing English-speaking viewers to an entirely different kind of cinematic terror. Kwaidan is a sensually amazing experience--every frame of the film is perfectly composed and a wondrous feat of color lighting; you could literally freeze-frame at any point and have a painting on the screen. Director Masaki Kobayashi (The Human Condition) displays a remarkable command of the medium here, and the vibrant, unnatural backdrops have influenced several generations of filmmakers both in the East and West. Imagine The Twilight Zone with the scope of Coppola and Fellini's visual flair, and that might convey some of the tone of this unique masterpiece.
Dir. Masaki Kobayashi, 1964, 35mm, 183 min.
Ugetsu
Retribution
Kwaidan
