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The Living Skeleton

Play trailer Poster for The Living Skeleton 1968 1h 21m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A ransacked freighter's violent past haunts a young woman living in a seaside town.

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews If looking for a ghost story that's not perfect, artistically shot, prone to violence and entertaining, this one is it. Rated: B Dec 10, 2019 Full Review Steve Biodrowski Cinefantastique This early example of a Japanese kaidan (ghost story) with a contemporary setting begins strong but gradually devolves into stupidity, as the scenario figuratively rips itself to shreds with a series of increasingly ridiculous plot twists. Rated: 2/5 Jun 30, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Albert D Like Sccooby Dooh but Japanese and pretty scary. Loved this movie, especially for fans of classic Japanese horror! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/16/24 Full Review DanTheMan 2 Being the only film directed by Hiroshi Matsuno, The Living Skeleton has often been described as the love child of David Lynch's Twin Peaks and John Carpenter's The Fog. An atmospheric tale of revenge from beyond the watery grave, mixing elements of ghost stories, doppelgänger thrillers and mad-scientist flicks, married only by its unconventional direction, editing and beautiful black-and-white photography. From Matsuno's direction to Noburo Nishiyama's Morricone-esque music, it's an engagingly haunting, wild and eerie work, interspersed with bouts of violence and grim murder, all led by Kikko Matsuoka's incredible performance. Representing the peak of Shochiku's dalliance with horror convention, The Living Skeleton is a chilling and genuinely unnerving black-and-white update of the bygone Kaidan tradition. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/07/23 Full Review joe m Decent horror-suspense film from Japan that keeps you guessing. Look past the rather dated special effects. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member "The Living Skeleton" é mais uma produção da Shochiku feita com muito mais boa vontade do que dinheiro (até porque esse deve ter voado com as extravagâncias de "The X From Outer Space"). A história de duas irmãs, separadas por um acontecimento trágico a bordo de um navio chamado "The Dragon King", dá todas as cambalhotas possíveis e sobrevive só mesmo porque há uma boa atmosfera de assombração e várias cenas fabulosas com morcegos muito mal feitos. De resto, parece que "The Living Skeleton" falha por não saber picar a carne que tinha na travessa. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A bit dated but interesting if you like Japanese horror. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a blueprint for how horror movies should operate. 21st-century American horror always putts around for the first half hour of the main character's home life and stretches everything out. Here are 80 minutes that start with a bang, plant you on a creepy ghost ship within 15 minutes, and take you on a supernatural revenge binge (including a genuinely surprising twist!). Yeah, most of the effects are so low-budget they veer into comedy, and the acting won't sell you on any of the terror, but the whole production is just too fun to dislike. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Living Skeleton

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A ransacked freighter's violent past haunts a young woman living in a seaside town.
Director
Hiroshi Matsuno
Producer
Akira Inomata
Screenwriter
Kyûzô Kobayashi, Kikuma Shimoiizaka
Genre
Horror
Original Language
Japanese
Runtime
1h 21m