AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Frances Farmer The basic premise of this film is simple: two peasant women are brutally set upon by a band of low-grade samurai who rape them and burn down their house, killing them. After this horrible crime spree, the women's spirits return and they use their feminine wiles to trick and murder as many samurai as they can get their clutches on. This samurai killing machine works flawlessly until the son and husband of the two vengeful spirits shows up after a long absence. The son/husband is, himself, a samurai. Obviously, this career choice puts the two women in quite an uncomfortable bind. Do they choose love, or vengeance?"Kuroneko" is a workmanlike entry in the long tradition of samurai ghost story films. Attractively filmed with spirits flying everywhere in a manner that prefigures "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," it isn't boring to watch. However, "Kuroneko" definitely lacks the secret sauce that separates a decent movie from a great one. What's lacking? I think the acting isn't so great, and the story and direction aren't top drawer either. It just didn't live up to the hype for this viewer.If you watch "Ugetsu Monogatari" by Kenji Mizoguchi, you will see a much higher order of filmmaking devoted to a similar subject. The maker of "Kuroneko," Kaneto Shindo, worked extensively with Mizoguchi, but he does not seem to have absorbed the master's talent sufficiently to bring "Kuroneko" up to the level of "Ugetsu." Even Shindo's own "Onibaba" (from just a few years earlier) is a much better movie than "Kuroneko," in my opinion.In summary, "Kuroneko" is diverting, but it is not a masterpiece of postwar Japanese cinema. Manage your expectations carefully, and you can enjoy its charms without suffering too much disappointment. However, if you are a cat lover, the prominence given to felines in this movie may help to make up for its other shortcomings.

Cosmoeticadotcom Japanese film director Kaneto Shindo's 1968 black and white horror film, Kuroneko (Yabu No Naka No Kuroneko or The Black Cat From The Groves), is a film both in step with its era- especially with the horror films coming out of Italy, and those from England's Hammer studios, yet it is also a much deeper and cinematic film. It got worldwide acclaim, upon its release, but didn't get good stateside distribution due to the cancellation of the 1968 Cannes Film Festival where it was considered one of the strongest entries. In a sense, it shares much with another horror film released the same year, from Sweden's Ingmar Bergman, Hour Of The Wolf, wherein the dead return to prey on the living. Yet it also owes a debt to Jacques Tourneur's classic 1942 horror masterpiece Cat People.Yet, unlike that masterful film from two decades earlier, the characters in Kuroneko are never really more than archetypes in this film; but it works because this is not a realistic film, but an allegory on evil, vengeance and choosing one's enemies well, on both ends of the dilemma presented. The characters are merely instruments to affect and communicate an idea to the audience. However, despite their non-realistic overall personae, the characters often speak realistically, in terms of their emotive reactions, and this juxtaposition of the expected with the not so expected adds a psychological tension to the drama, in its schisms, that its actual narrative does not necessarily bear. And it's in these moments that Kuroneko occasionally laps at greatness, even if it never fully lashes its tongue about the quality. But, sometimes a good lick is all one needs.

Martin Teller Some obvious similarities to Shindo's earlier ONIBABA, as a woman and her mother-in-law are raped by samurai, and turn to supernatural forces to seek their revenge. Shindo uses an impressive array of tricks to maintain the unsettling, creepy atmosphere -- sparse Noh-style staging, bold chiaroscuro lighting, avant-garde soundtrack, abrupt time cuts, wire work, superimpositions and other special effects. It's a very atmospheric kaidan, almost Gothic in tone. Rape is of course a disturbingly common occurrence in Japanese cinema, but here Shindo uses it as the groundwork for a decidedly feminist agenda. The film does have a few pacing issues, particular during the erotic portions in the middle (although some of it is lovely). I thought more could have been done with this story, but the visual aspects and the mood make it memorable.

slayrrr666 "Black Cat" is a really enjoyable and disturbing ghost story.**SPOILERS**Traveling to a remote village, Raiko Minamoto (Kei Sato) and his samurai gang find Yone, (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter Shigei, (Kiwako Taichi) alone in the village, then rape and murder both of them before setting fire to their home and continuing on. When a black cat arrives at the scene afterward, the other members of the samurai group, out on their own traveling the land by themselves, all come upon the same situation of having to rescue a woman from a creepy forest and taken back to her mother's house, before meeting the same grisly fate time and time again. When he learns of the treachery to his men, revered warrior Gintoki, (Kichiemon Nakamura) is enlisted to launch a battle against the malicious ghosts who have tormented his friends.The Good News: This was a really enjoyable and entertaining ghost effort. One of it's better parts is the incredibly strong and brutal opening. Showcasing nothing at all, done totally in long, silent takes and focusing not on the acts themselves, but the crazed animalistic expressions of the troops as they go about the act, it sets a tone for the film that is perfect and captures the perfect balance for the rampage later. There's also a lot to like from this one's visual images, which is always one of the main parts of these films. Perhaps some of the best is displayed by the eerie and almost ghostly journey through the forest shown early on, as the white-dressed woman almost floats through the scenery while the horseman struggles to follow behind, even losing her in the trees at one point. The forest is presented as a dark, dangerous place, and with the strange way they're presented makes for a great scene. His later monologue in their house, where the background turns into a ghostly forest superimposed over it as he recounts his story makes for an impressive visual. The fight scene from the one smart enough to avoid the ghosts originally, with them both whipping around the air and the rapid slashing at them is a really great way to up the fun here. Even the very beginning, where the slow-burning fire is shown taking out the village hut and consumes it in a giant fire with their burnt bodies still inside laying in the wreckage of the burning wood is a fine sight. The later scenes of the ghost's rampages are so much fun that they're some of the film's best moments, especially when the dupe-less samurai are lead into the house time and again to meet their deaths by the ghosts, and then the main one, where the head samurai discovers that he knows who they are and resort to a relentless series of mind-games to torment him is just a blast. With the different ways that they go about it, with the dancing and different rituals that are presented, it becomes quite expressive and incredibly enjoyable. There's also some nice action scenes in here, with the fight against the barbarian in the reed-filled swamp being a particular highlight. The film also generates some fun from it's rather bountiful gore, which is quite big for the time. Most of the group is taken out by a ripped-out throat, with close-ups of the aftermath, as well as some really nice stabbing, a wicked decapitation, one has their arm chopped off and the shots of the burnt women after the fire are all worthwhile. The ghost make-up at the end is nothing short of impressive either, as there's some real chills to be found from their look in these scenes. These here are the film's best points.The Bad News: Frankly, the most irritating is the fact that this one really just has the same thing happening in it's middle section over and over again without any difference. The daughter shows up in distress, leads the unwary party back to the house while engaging in a tea-ceremony with her mother before the untimely end, which is the exact same thing that happens to each of the men. It doesn't change the formula at all, except for one of them to discover the treachery and at least fight back, but there's still nothing new that this develops. That its one of the last ones does help somewhat, but the montage of the ones previously isn't all that great. The other part of this that doesn't really stand out is the extremely slow-going pace to it. There's some really long scenes in here that don't really serve much for this one beyond giving it some length, yet it has a lot of talking in them anyway. The near-incessant talking becomes a little too much to bear at certain points, especially the eternally-agonizing revelation scene where the ghosts reveal their intentions. It just drags on forever, lasting twice as long as it should've been but it just talks it's way through everything, letting it last a little longer than it should. These, though, are the only flaws in this one.The Final Verdict: While not the fastest-moving film around, there's still plenty of stuff here to like about this one, making it one of the top entries around. Give it a shot if you're into that kind of film or a fan of Asian horror cinema, though those who can't enjoy the films should seek elsewhere.Rated R: Violence, Language, Nudity, a lengthy, tame Sex-Scene and an inexplicit Rape scene