Demons

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J L Great movie, loved every bit of it, amazing. What a watch highly recommend this film to anyone! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Shot in strikingly low-key (high contrast) black and white - where the darkness threatens to overtake the light in almost every shot. Truly, the film is dark, both in terms of being set predominantly at night (or so it seems) and in terms of its content. Katsuo Nakamura plays a ronin samurai who is actually seeking to become part of the famous 47 ronin who carried out a surprise revenge attack after their lord was forced to commit sepukku. However, he spends all of the movie slumming it under the name "Gengobe", wasting his time with geisha and ne'er-do-wells. In fact, he is soon conned by a geisha (Yasuko Sanjo) and her husband (Juro Karo) into parting ways with the funds needed to join the ronin group. This leads to a very bloody attack on his part (shot gruesomely) but only the various accomplices are killed. His pursuit of the trickster couple uncovers an ironic relationship between all three once their true identities are revealed. But it is too late to stop an even more grotesque and gruesome fate! The film takes its time, moving leisurely, and director Toshio Matsumoto uses a number of strategies to disorient viewers; such as restarting several scenes from the beginning but from a different perspective - or with different content -- contrasting dreams/anxiety with reality. Since both are dark and violent, it is hard to know which is which; later in the picture, some dreams seem to become reality. Rather stagebound but verging on hallucinatory at times. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Isn't afraid to explore the darkest corners of human emotion, which is more frightening than any supernatural entity can be. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member What appears at first like treachery and robbery for ronin Gengo turns out as a bloodbath revenge and ends as a greek tragedy. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Brooding, suffocating vision of Hell on Earth... Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent jidaigeki with psychological horror techniques right out of Yotsuya Kaidan, unsurprisingly. Very bloody and graphic at important points, especially disturbing is a nearly climactic scene involving an infant actor which is best avoided by the very young or if not in the mood. Don't be fooled by the B&W into thinking this is innocuous fare. The emphasis is on deep shadow, repeated action, slow pans, and insane close-ups on tormented faces. Indeed, the opening features our disturbed protagonist pursued by the seemingly disembodied lanterns of the constabulary, their bodies obscured by darkness and black garments not unlike those of Noh theatre attendants. The plot is sort of a doomed side-story related to the famous Chushingura tale of the 47 Ronin. But instead of demonstrating the kind of stoic virtue one might associate with it, our hero is a craven misanthrope. The pace is deliberate, but as he becomes increasingly possessed, we see sudden fantasies of murder spontaneously acted out as though in reality. The increasing tension is highly rewarded, for those interested in a more experimental take breaking from possibly familiar material. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Demons

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