Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
Mansion of the Ghost Cat @ the Sydney Japanese Film Festival
December 4th 2007 22:14
I think the Japanese have cornered the market on horror films, mastering the art of discomfort and tension... modern J-Horror films have nailed the idea of anticipation and dread, combining sparse special effects with fascinating storytelling.
The precursor to all of this is the Japanese theatre, Kabuki, which frequently used ghosts and angry spirits to drive the plot... when filmmaking came to Japan: "Pretty much as soon as the first motion picture camera came off the boat here, someone picked it up and started making horror movies."
Nakagawa was a pivotal director in the horror genre; he was a Buddhist, and his films reflected on the punishments deserved if an honest life was not observed... Black Cat Mansion was one of his earlier works, and it shows the seminal techniques that would later inspire modern J-Horror directors.
The film starts off with a beautifully haunted long take through a dark, unlit hospital. The lack of light conceals everything except for the illumination from a flashlight. Two doctors wheel a dead woman on a trolley past the camera... from this opening shot, the audience is visibly disturbed.
We're soon shown a haunted house, which a doctor and his ill wife are moving into, in order to get away from Tokyo. The black and white cinematography is beautiful, giving us detail on the actors' faces, but saturating the background, infusing the screen with an unsettling atmosphere.
Naturally, the house is haunted, and a vengeful spirit, called an onryo, begins to torment the wife.
Naturally, there's a reason. The husband and his brother-in-law go see a Buddhist priest, who tells, via a flashback, the story of the house, back in Feudal Japan.
During this part of the movie, we find out that a cruel samurai killed another samurai without reason, then raped his blind mother. The mother, before killing herself, casts a curse on the house, calling upon a cat-spirit to enact vengeance.
I should mention that throughout this sequence, the entire audience was chuckling. Years of being terrified by films like Audition, Ju-on and The Ring have left modern audiences desensitized to simple killing, and the over-acting and predictability of Black Cat Mansion is adorably campy now.
Nakagawa creates a story that we've all heard before, but the movie is so wonderfully stylish, especially for a movie from '58, that it's absolutely adorable to watch. He casts long shadows in doorways, uses silhouettes from behind paper walls, and films from angles that a sneaky cat would watch from.
It's funny to watch today, but Black Cat Mansion is an absolute rare gem... it's been spiritually remade over and over by modern directors, but what an event, to watch this old reel in a big cinema. Nakagawa creates a beautifully filmed movie with pace and precision, marred only by the questionable acting, one that would have terrified audiences in the 60s.
Check out other films showing at the 11th Japanese Film Festival, on from Nov. 29 - Dec. 8 in Sydney.
I say: Hard to find, but worth it for the sheer ingenuity of the filmmaking. Long takes, controlled camera movements - Nakagawa is Japan's early horror master. Watch it!
See it for: Though it's not meant to be cheesy, in the B&W scenes, the wife tries to convince her husband that the house is haunted, and he predictably deflects every argument. 'I saw a ghost!' - 'No, you're mistaken', 'The nurse saw a ghost!' - 'No, she's mistaken, too', 'There's blood on the walls!' - 'We'll paint over it'... hilarious!
* the first image is from the festival website and the second image is from the excellent review on SaruDama
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
This sounds like quite an experience, I'd love to see something at the festival, but I'm not sure I can. It's great to hear what you think..
Tracy
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
It's incredible to see the work of an old master. Plus, the festival is in the George street cinemas, so centrally located for your convenience.
I understand, though... it's tough to hit all the festivals..
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Tracy
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Anonymous