Radiance does it again with their new box set, Daiei Gothic Vol. 2. The collection features two films from Tokuzō Tanaka – 1960’s The Demon of Mount Oe and 1969’s The Haunted Castle – and Kimiyoshi Yasuda‘s Ghost of Kasane Swamp from 1970. Together, the three Japanese horror films further secure Daei’s place in film history as an early A24-type figure; A24 continues to attract commercial attention while serving as a haven for auteurs.
Tanaka’s filmography, in particular, has been beautifully restored by Radiance, reestablishing the previously little-known director as a significant figure in Japanese cinema. That’s thanks to their excellent release of his samurai masterpiece, The Betrayal (1966), and their inclusion of his film The Snow Woman (1968) in the first volume of their Daiei Gothic series, which was one of 2024’s best releases. This second volume is even better, with The Haunted Castle worth the price of admission alone.
The Haunted Castle is a masterpiece that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Kwaidan (1964) and Hausu (1977), though less epic than the former and more formal than the latter. Like the other two films in this collection, and indeed many Japanese horror films, The Haunted Castle is based on old folklore. It’s part of a niche subgenre of bakeneko films, or tales of supernatural cats (known as kaibyō).
There have been numerous bakeneko films, most of which are based on three major historical stories. The Haunted Castle is based on the so-called “Nabeshima Disturbance” of the 17th century, though it condenses it considerably and changes some of the characters around. Tanaka was a master of the bakeneko, beginning with his first film, 1958’s Bakeneko Goyōda (or, The Phantom Cat’s Curse). The Haunted Castle is the best of the three Japanese horror films and, arguably, the best of the set.
The Haunted Castle | Radiance
The Haunted Castle chronicles the posthumous vengeance of a once-powerful family after they are displaced by a cruel daimyō, or feudal lord, resulting in their untimely deaths. Their beloved pet cat is sent to haunt the daimyō and his compound, eventually possessing various people to carry out its murderous aims.
Appearing at the tail end of the 1960s, The Haunted Castle showcases the genre’s advancing technical effects and increasing violence. It’s a surprisingly modern film, retaining its scares nicely after all these years. It’s also the best example of Tanaka’s mastery of in-frame editing, with the director creating multiple striking compositions from the same take through creative pans, zooms, and tracking. His use of composites, wire action, and chiaroscuro lighting is utterly striking, as is the phenomenal production design. This is a perfect film.
Tanaka’s other horror film in Daiei Gothic Vol. 2, The Demon of Mount Oe, is also excellent. It’s a creative mash-up of genres, combining classic yōkai monsters with elements of chambara movies and jidaigeki in general. Again, it’s based on an old folk tale, this time from around the 10th century. However, The Demon of Mount Oe radically deconstructs the traditional story of Minamoto no Raikō and the Four Heavenly Kings, creating a practically Attic tragedy in the process.
The Demon of Mount Oe | Radiance
The Demon of Mount Oe is complicated. The film follows samurai and members of the reigning Fujiwara clan as they seek to destroy a group of revolutionary (and supernatural) bandits who are intent on toppling them. Justice and retribution are intricately interwoven throughout the story, with Fuji Yahiro’s script expertly outlining the intersecting fates of its characters.
Fuji Yahiro was one of the best Japanese screenwriters of the period, eventually receiving the Order of the Rising Sun from Emperor Hirohito for films such as Sansho the Bailiff (1954) and The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958). The Demon of Mount Oe is one of his most underrated films, which Daiei Gothic Vol. 2 should change.
It’s incredible to think that Tanaka was only in his third year as a lead director when he made The Demon of Mount Oe, but it makes sense considering he worked as an assistant director on such classics as Rashomon (1950), Ugetsu (1953), and the aforementioned Sansho the Bailiff. The film is a genuine epic, with scenes featuring masses of sword-fighting extras, groups of fire dancers, and giant monsters, but the poignant intimacy of the main narrative is never obfuscated by the elaborate bells and whistles.
While Ghost of Kasane Swamp (also known as The Masseur’s Curse) is the weakest of the three films, it’s still a very good twist on one of Japan’s most adapted kaidan (or ghost story). Originating in the 17th century, the story is a classic study of karma, following generations of crime and punishment, supernatural style.
Ghost of Kasane Swamp | Radiance
Ghost of Kasane Swamp is less of a Japanese horror film than a really nasty film noir, a movie that’s mired in misery. While there are some bloody ghosts, the horror is mostly derived from the casual cruelty of humanity, the everyday suffering of existence, and the humiliating oppression of women. The story follows the daughters of a murdered masseur whose very different lives eventually suffer at the hands of his murderer’s son.
The film presents a brutal vision of humanity at its worst, an unromantic portrait of Japan as lived by the everyday citizen. It’s aided by a dirty, funky score that perfectly complements the occasionally psychedelic and always grungey imagery. Karma is depicted less as a form of justice and more like Nietzsche’s eternal recurrence, previewing the more nihilistic bent that Japanese cinema (and, let’s face it, movies in general) would take in the 1970s.
If there’s an undercurrent throughout the films of Daiei Gothic Vol. 2, it’s how the suffering of women is so embedded in Japanese folklore. That pain is generational and hopeless in Ghost of Kasane Swamp; it’s tragic and beautiful in The Demon of Mount Oe; and it’s a ferocious blast of righteous fury in The Haunted Castle. The actors who take on that suffering – the excellent Mari Asato and Ikuko Mori in The Haunted Castle, the haunting Fujiko Yamamoto in The Demon of Mount Oe, the bitter Maya Kitajima in Ghost of Kasane Swamp – are all phenomenal, and their agony lingers.
AloJapan.com