13 Nights of Shocktober: Onibaba

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 7: Japanese Horror Night
“The Hole, deep and dark. Its darkness has lasted since ancient times.”
Onibaba

For most of its runtime, the period Japanese film Onibaba does not feel like a horror movie. Then the final act puts its characters in an unsettling situation and unleashes chilling and frightening imagery. Onibaba, which translates to Demon Woman, was directed by Kaneto Shindo, who also directed one of my favorite Japanese horror movies, Kuroneko (Black Cat), a moody and haunting ghost story. While Onibaba takes its time before delving into horror, the entire film is dark and eerie.

Set in war torn feudal Japan, two women, one older (Nobuko Otowa) and one younger (Jitsuko Yoshimura), live in a hut in a seemingly endless field of tall grass. They survive by ambushing and killing samurai soldiers lost in the grass and selling their armor and weapons for food. They dispose of the bodies by dumping them in a mysterious pit also in the field of grass. Neither of the women are given names but we learn that they are in-laws. Their son and husband, Kichi, was kidnapped, along with his friend Hachi (Kei Satô), and forced to join a warlord’s army. Only Hachi returns. The mother is immediately suspicious of Hachi and even thinks he may be responsible for her son’s death. She also immediately notices that Hachi is flirtatious with her daughter-in-law. Hachi is a gross, lascivious scoundrel but the daughter-in-law is attracted to him anyway, perhaps because he is the only man close to her age not away at war. It is unclear if the mother is jealous of Hachi’s attraction to her daughter-in-law or if she is just afraid of being left to fend for herself. The daughter-in-law sneaks out at night and runs through the reeds to Hachi’s hut and they begin a torrid affair. Soon after, the mother begins telling her daughter-in-law about demons and ghosts and punishments for sins.

The turn to horror comes when a lone samurai general breaks into the mother’s hut while her daughter-in-law is with Hachi. The samurai wears an odd, creepy mask that he refuses to take off because he claims it protects his beauty. The mother eventually steals the mask and uses it to appear as a demon in the field of grass blocking her daughter-in-law’s way to Hachi’s hut. This plan works, until it goes horribly wrong. The mask is so strange that it might be comical if it wasn’t so creepy. Even though you know it is just the mother in disguise, the image of her appearing out of the dark floating through the grass wearing the mask and long robes is still scary.

The unnatural black hole in the sea of swaying grass is completely incongruous with the surrounding landscape; it’s an uncanny sight. The tall grass looms ominously over the heads of the characters and sways hypnotically in unceasing whistling winds. That constant whistling becomes part of the soundtrack and the world of the characters. The moody atmosphere this creates in just the opening shots never abates, even when the characters are indoors. Every image, eerie or normal, is beautifully photographed in high contrast black and white by cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda. In certain shots the background is pitch black so it looks like the actors are on a bare stage. The ending is abrupt and disquieting; it’s final image and dialogue are haunting. Through atmosphere and a few well selected visuals Onibaba and Kuroneko create memorable and frightening movie watching experiences. 

13 Nights of Shocktober: Kwaidan

by A.J. 

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 9: Anthology Horror Night
Ghost Stories of Old Japan

Kwaidan (1964)

Kwaidan is one of my favorite Japanese horror movies. It is also an anthology film, another favorite genre of mine. I first saw this film several years ago on TCM late at night. It has since become part of their programming rotation and usually airs in October. Kwaidan translates to “Ghost Stories” or “Strange Stories” and the film is exactly that: a collection of ghost stories from Japanese folklore. The vignettes are based on the writings of Lafcadio Hearn, a writer and folklorist who was born in Greece, spent time in the United States, and eventually moved to Japan in the late 1800’s where he married into a samurai family and changed his name to Yakumo Koizumi. Everything about Kwaidan feels so distinctly Japanese that I was surprised to learn that a Westerner was in any way involved.

The first story, titled "The Black Hair," is about a young samurai that abandons his wife to marry into another family of higher status. He comes to regret his decision and returns to his first wife to make amends, but all it not what it seems. This where the story turns to the supernatural. This first segment is a slow burn, but builds to a satisfyingly spooky reveal and sets the tone for the rest of the film. 

The second story, "The Woman of the Snow," is my favorite. A young woodcutter becomes lost in a forest during a snowstorm. The Woman of the Snow, a cold, icy spirit comes to drink the warm blood of the woodcutter, but she takes pity on him because he is so young and handsome. She tells him that he ever tells anyone what he saw in the snowy woods, even his own mother, she will return and kill him. Soon after, the woodcutter meets a lovely girl alone on a road and invites her to take shelter with him and his mother. He and the woman fall in love, marry, and have children, but as the years go by the other women in the village notice that the woman doesn’t age... 

In "Hoichi the Earless," a mysterious samurai comes to a temple at night and asks Hoichi, a blind singer, to perform the ballad of a massacred samurai clan for his lord. The samurai leads Hoichi to a mysterious gathering every night and Hoichi must keep it a secret. The final story, "In a Cup of Tea," is the shortest and most peculiar. A samurai fills up a cup with tea and sees the reflection of another man in the cup. He drinks the tea, mysterious reflection included. Later, at night the samurai gets an otherworldly visitation from the man he drank.

Kwaidan is directed by Masaki Kobayashi whose previous films were social dramas. This was his first horror film and also his first film in color. Kobayashi brilliantly and effectively utilizes color throughout his nearly 3-hour film. Rich, bold colors along with a surreal production design fill Kwaidan with memorable, vivid visuals. The sets and matte paintings are highly stylized so that they appear obviously artificial and surreal. This only enriches the ethereal, storybook atmosphere of the movie. When the woodcutter is lost in the forest in "The Woman of the Snow," the painted clouds in the sky resemble watching eyes. Somehow even the white snow is vivid and intense. Probably the most memorable image in all of Kwaidan is of Hoichi with a holy text written all over his body... except for his ears. This was the image chosen for the Criterion DVD release of Kwaidan.

Kwaidan won the Special Jury Prize at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. It also received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Picture, making it part of the very small club of Oscar nominated horror films. Kwaidan was heavily edited for its American theatrical release but has since been restored to its original version. Though this movie does take its time telling these stories, it doesn’t drag and its epic scope justifies the runtime. Kwaidan feels unique among anthology horror films, and even among other Japanese horror films. It chronicles folklore and evokes the same tone and feel these stories likely had when told by one generation to the next. There is not blood or gore or pop-up scares in Kwaidan, but there is plenty to chill you and make you want to keep the lights on. 

Classic Movie Picks: October 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

10/3: Bogie in Africa

8 PM - The African Queen (1951)
10 PM - Sahara (1943)
12 AM - Beat the Devil (1953)
2 AM - Casablanca (1942)
TCM's Friday Night Spotlight this month shines on films set in Africa, with one night's lineup devoted to films starring Humphrey Bogart. Surely, I don't have to vouch for Casablanca, as I expect most film fans have seen it at least once. If it's been a while since you last visited Rick's Cafe Americain, perhaps you should take this opportunity. I find that no matter how many times I watch, the dialogue still sparkles and the performances still captivate. 
Before I saw The African Queen for the first time, I wasn't really interested in it -- so it's a couple of grumpy old people arguing on a boat, who cares? (Apparently, producer Alexander Korda shared my skepticism.) But I have to say, the film proved to be an entertaining adventure with far more action than I expected. I'm looking forward to going downriver with Bogie and Katharine Hepburn again.
I've not seen Sahara yet, but it comes highly recommended by my father, himself a war movie connoisseur. In this film, Bogart plays a WWII tank commander leading American and British troops through the Libyan desert in search of an oasis. Essentially stranded at a remote outpost, they must defend what little water they have from a thirsty German battalion.
The wild card for me tonight is Beat the Devil; however, I'm intrigued by the story involving a group of con men using various means of subterfuge to get their hands on an African uranium mine. Alongside Bogart are ace character actors Peter Lorre and Robert Morley; Jennifer Jones (this time a blonde!) and Gina Lollobrigida provide the romantic complications. The script by Truman Capote is said to be a sharp spoof of conventional detective stories and noir -- sounds worth a look! 

10/16: Ghost...Smashers?
8 PM - The Ghost Breakers (1940)
2:15 AM - Ghost Chasers (1951)
3:30 AM - The Spook Busters (1946)
Long before Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd strapped on their proton packs as Ghostbusters, the likes of Bob Hope and the Bowery Boys were busting, breaking, and chasing unruly spirits for the sake of comedy. It seems that movie makers have run through almost every permutation of how to describe those that bust ghosts, and tonight's lineup includes some head scratchers...how does one "break" a ghost, anyway? With a hammer? Intense interrogation techniques?
Ghost Breakers pits Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard against ghosts, zombies, and other assorted shady characters inside a haunted castle. The other two films star the Bowery Boys, employing slapstick humor to expose phony spiritualists in Ghost Chasers and to rid a spooky mansion of ghosts in Spook Busters.

10/17, 12:15 AM - Mountains of the Moon (1990)
As a fan of Game of Thrones, I'm curious to see a young Iain Glen (aka Ser Jorah from the HBO series) in an early role that received critical praise. Glen and Patrick Bergin portray two real life British explorers searching for the source of the Nile in the 1800s. This adventure epic was a passion project for director Bob Rafelson, better known for contemporary dramas like Five Easy Pieces. The film was also shot by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins and includes Fiona Shaw, Richard E. Grant, and Delroy Lindo in the supporting cast. Sounds like a winner -- we'll see!
(For the Downtown Abbey fans, you may recognize Glen as Sir Richard Carlisle.)

BONUS PICK: 10/24, 10:45 PM - Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
Another early film role for Iain Glen, but the main attraction here is Sigourney Weaver as naturalist Dian Fossey, who risked her life to study & protect gorillas in their natural habitat. The beautiful footage of real gorillas (some of the shots in the film use stuntmen in gorilla costumes designed by makeup artist Rick Baker) was shot in the Rwanda at Fossey's Karisoke Research Centre.

10/28: Horror Anthologies
8 PM - Dead of Night (1945)
10 PM - Twice Told Tales (1963)
12:15 AM - Kwaidan (1965)
3 AM - The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
5 AM - Torture Garden (1967)
Get in the Halloween mood with five anthology films featuring spooky stories to tell in the dark. The films range from the relatively classy Dead of Night to the more lurid House That Dripped Blood  and Torture Garden (the titles really say it all, don't they?). Twice Told Tales features three adaptations of Nathaniel Hawthorne stories, all starring horror stalwart Vincent Price, whom I regard as a national treasure for his ability to do things like shoot at skeletons or urge people to "scream for their lives" with utter believability and commitment. However, the creepiest film of the bunch may be Kwaidan which features four Japanese stories about encounters with the supernatural.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Tomie

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and, October becomes the month long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

 

Night 6: What's in the bag? Tomie

I'm not the only person recommending horror movies this Shocktober. Every weekday local film buff John Ary is hosting Ain't It Scary Reviews, a special Shocktober edition of the Vulcan Vault review series in which Vulcan Video employees (such as myself), filmmakers, local film personalities, and other special guests recommend lesser seen films for Ain't It Cool News. Today John interviews me about one of my favorite horror movies:

Check in with Ain't It Cool News each weekday for more great Ain't It Scary recommendations. For past segments search for "Ain't It Scary" or "Vulcan Vault."