Kwaidan

film 31 of obligatory october of horror gonna do the usual anthology thing of having short reviews for each part, talking about common themes, and then trying to turn that into one rating. the black hair: didn't really do much for me narratively. nicely stylized, fit the tone and story well. never felt bored or anything, just didn't get very invested. 6.5/10 the woman of the snow: colours! definitely also didn't bore me, had a somewhat more interesting story. felt kinda like a stage play. 7.5/10 hoichi the earless: this is by far the longest story which really helps it feel more fleshed out... read more

Absolutely loved the first two stories, the other two were amazing I guess. read more

Kwaidan: No Way Out By Geoffrey OBrien ESSAYS — OCT 21, 2015 For a film so widely and indelibly remembered, Masaki Kobayashis Kwaidan has confounded a surprising number of critics over the years. Ever since its release in 1965, there have been those who have found it too long, too artificial, too self-consciously exotic, not socially minded enough for the director of The Human Condition (1959–61) and Harakiri (1962), not scary or gory enough to qualify as a horror film. To be sure, this four-part adaptation of four renowned ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn—not quite comparable to any... read more