Kaneto Shindô - Yabu no naka no kuroneko aka Black Cat from the Grove (1968)

Set in feudal Japan, this atmospheric and violent ghost story (whose title literally translates as The Black Cat in the Bush) begins with the brutal murder of two women by a band of mercenary samurai, whose leader is subsequently tracked down, seduced, and murdered by a young woman possessed by the shape-shifting specter of his victim. Called upon to avenge the warrior's death is none other than the woman's former husband, who has been ordered by his superiors to assassinate the guilty party.





Another excellent classic from Kaneto Shindo who made The Island and Onibaba. Similar to Onibaba, this film is about two women who one day are ambushed by samurai who rape them and burn their house down. Then the women return to life as Bakeneko, cat vampires who lure samurai into a creepy bamboo forest and then drink their blood. This keeps going on until a young man who was victorious in war is hired to hunt down the vampires but he realizes to his horror that these creatures are the vengeful souls of his mother and wife who died while he was off at the war. He is then torn between the his lord, who orders him to kill the ghosts or else he will be killed, and his mother and wife whom he loves and couldn't possibly kill. This film is very creepy and full of grotesque images that stay with you forever. The most horrifying are the charred bodies of the two women being licked by two stray cats and the final image of the poor young man who finally is driven to madness. The film is acted much like a Kabuki play and the story is a very powerful one. The film is both a ghost story and a vampire film and very imaginatively blends the two genres. (IMDB comment)







Kuroneko
Una mujer y su nuera son atacadas y violadas por un grupo de samurais, que las asesinan cuando prenden fuego a la cabaña en que ellas viven. Un gato negro, que lame la sangre de las víctimas, posibilita que estas regresen convertidas en dos "bakeneko" (monstruos felinos), criaturas sedientas de sangre humana. A partir de ese momento, ellas atraen a samurais por las noches, los llevan a sus cabañas, los emborrachan, y cuando estos intentan propasarse, los asesinan de una salvaje mordida en el cuello. Pasado cierto tiempo, regresa de la Guerra un valiente soldado, poniéndose al servicio de un Mikado que le encarga investigar el caso de los samurais asesinados. Por supuesto, el muchacho se da cuenta que la causa son los espíritus de su madre y de su esposa, así que debe afrontar el dilema de liquidar o no a los monstruos. (Cinefania)





Kuroneko
Durant l'ère Heian, une femme et sa filles se font violer par des samourais errants qui mettent ensuite le feu à leur hutte. Un chat, attiré par le corps des deux femmes mortes durant l'incendie, leur suce le sang. Elles deviennent dès lors des chattes vampires qui se vengent des samourais en les tuant. Mais un jour Gintoki, un samourai de retour de la guerre et dont la mère et la fille sont mortes entre temps, est assigné pour débarrasser la région de cette terreur. Il se retrouve face à un dilemme: perdre son rang ou tuer ce qui lui est le plus cher...





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