Kuroneko (1968)
I have been a big fan of Kaneto Shindo ever since I first saw Onibaba (1964) when I was in high school. Now, when I say I've been a big fan of Shindo, what I'm really saying is that I'm a big fan of Onibaba as none of his other films had ever been released in the United States, until now.
Janus Films, who were responsible for bringing House (Hausu) to these shores recently, are debuting new 35mm prints of Kuroneko this year, allowing for yet another eerie, erotic chapter of Shindo's career to be seen properly by an American audience. However, it is worth noting that for the purposes of this review, I viewed the Masters of Cinema DVD of the film put out by Eureka! in the UK.
Kuroneko is a very easy film to spoil for those who have not seen it, and I'm going to attempt to avoid doing so here. First off, though Janus Films brought House here (and they're clearly marketing this to the crowd that flat out
consumed that film) these films could not be more different. Yes, they're both Japanese ghost stories and feature some whacked out imagery, but that is where the similarities end. House is a fun, over the top, pop-culture infused mind trip and Kuroneko, well, it isn't any of those things. This is serious stuff, even more so than the Janus Films released trailer would lead you to believe.
Without diving into the intricacies of the plot, it primarily concerns a mother and daughter who are raped and murdered only to return as ghost cats. Not quite the "rape and revenge" fare we Americans are used to by a long shot. The film really deviates from the path most taken by films of a similar nature. There are scenes of revenge but they are not necessarily violent, rather, they are more surreal in nature much like what would have resulted if Luis Bunuel helmed a remake of I Spit On Your Grave, only with goddamn feline spirits instead of castration prone woman.
What really stands out here is the imagery in the film. It is very typical of Japanese cinema from the 1960s, which is far from a criticism. In short, it is beautiful. It was shot on 35mm black and white stock and the entire thing has a certain haze quality to it, almost as if the cinematographer was chain smoking the entire time he was shooting. It ends up having an almost eerie similarity to the aesthetic quality of Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. There are some shots in here, that just as still frames, are flat out terrifying. This is easily one of the more honestly creepy films I've seen in some time, and it does not even need dialogue or sound effects to pull this off (though it has plenty of both) but it is a testament to Shindo's craft as a visual storyteller that he can evoke this type of reaction solely on imagery.
Would I recommend this film? Absolutely. However, I must do so with reservations. Japanese horror has had a tendency to get labeled as being "extreme" and "weird" a lot lately and this could have been considered the former upon its time of release and certainly still manages to be the latter, but this is not House and it is certainly not Tokyo Gore Police. This is a very quiet, cerebral, yet equally eerie and bizzare, film. It does feature evil cat ghosts, samurai fighting and severed limbs though and if that is enough to get it the audience it deserves than I can live with that.
Kuroneko (Black Cat) - Original Japanese Trailer (Kaneto Shindo, 1968)