Review of Kuroneko (1968) by Generoso F — 16 Aug 2010

I want to chew you up and consume you.

A young lady and her mother are attacked, raped, and murdered while the man of the house is out at war. The women are transformed into creatures that walk the forest as cats during the day and appear as ghosts in the evening. When the ghosts are found in the woods, they brutally slay the men who find them. The local emperor decides to send one of his best soldiers into the woods to confront the ghosts. When the soldier finds the ghosts, he eerily recognizes them.

?Instead of drinking the blood of hateful samurai, she chose to love you and be banished to hell.?

Shindo Kaneto, director of Children of Hiroshima, The Island, Onibaba (Devil Woman), The Conquest, The Strange Story of Oyuki, and Owl, delivers The Black Cat. The storyline for this film is marvelous. While certain aspects are predictable, the delivery of the story is brilliant and the kill scenes were marvelous. The cast was fabulous and they delivered their roles to perfection.

?Is that your cat??

?No, it?s a stray whose master died.?

This film recently aired on the Independent Film Channel?s (IFC) Samurai Saturday. I have been dying to see Kaneto?s Onibaba film for some time, so I jumped all over the opportunity to see this picture. This was a brilliant film that was delivered to perfection. This film felt like a Kurosawa horror picture. I strongly recommend seeing this film if you are a fan of the samurai or horror genre. This film perfectly blends the two genres.

?Find the monster that has been feeding on the necks of my samurai and exterminate it.?

Grade: A.