{"id":32268,"date":"2025-10-16T23:10:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T06:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=32268"},"modified":"2025-10-16T23:10:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T06:10:51","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-daiei-gothic-japanese-ghost-stories-vol-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=32268","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: DAIEI GOTHIC: JAPANESE GHOST STORIES VOL. 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray box set is now available\nfor purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last year, just in time for Halloween, Radiance Films\nreleased Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories<\/em>, a curated collection of\nthree striking period supernatural chillers from Daiei Film . It was an\nimpressive set (The Snow Woman<\/em> really stood out) that made an impression\non international cinema fans. Now, the distributor is delivering Daiei\nGothic: Japanese Ghost Stories Vol. 2<\/em>, which is, well, exactly what you\u2019d\nexpect. It contains three more titles from the studio. Like the previous\nedition, the movies are varied and interesting, making this another set well\nworth picking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radiance Films have undertaken 4K restorations of all the\nfilms included. So, while filmic and possessing some natural grain, the images\nare clean and most certainly an upgrade from previous editions (if you\u2019ve even\nbeen able to find the titles in this part of the world, which is a remarkably\ndifficult task). And with other Radiance Films\u2019 efforts, there are informative\nand enlightening extras that will help viewers understand specific cultural\nreferences in the folk stories being adapted, as well as specific requests made\nby co-producers in the later pictures to help sell the features to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll go through the titles on this set chronologically, as\nthe features arrive from very different periods in Daiei history. The first is The\nDemon of Mount Oe<\/em> (1960), which came during a successful period at the\nstudio. This lavish, all-star epic that has a bit of everything. Naturally,\nthere\u2019s a threatening demon (he was once a husband whose bride was taken from\nhim) now seeking revenge on all humanity. He threatens an entire kingdom he\nbelieves wronged him, forcing everyone to come together and ward off the\nthreat. There are warring regions and samurai who, thanks to some pro-active\nfemale characters, put aside their differences and defeat a greater evil. And the\ndemon itself has the capability to transform, meaning it takes many wild and\noutrageous forms during various battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just about every face in the movie will be familiar to\nJapanese movie enthusiasts, including Kojira Hongo, Kazuo Hasegawa, Ichikawa\nRaizo VIII, Shintaro Katsu and many others. Many critics may complain that the\npacing suffers as a result, but it\u2019s still fun to watch the melodrama between\nthe stellar cast and big supernatural conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And the large-scale battles and monster fights are\nimpressively shot and rendered. One could argue that at times the movie feels\nmore like a Yokai title than a ghost story, but I certainly didn\u2019t mind. The\ndemon turns into an enormous spider, as well as a horned bull at different\npoints, and the practical creature effects are top-notch for the day. Of\ncourse, they don\u2019t always look 100% realistic, but the stylized approach is\ndynamic and has a visual kick to it. You\u2019re unlikely to forget these beasts after\nwitnessing them go on the rampage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an entertaining spectacle that is sure to entertain.\nThe bonuses include an interview with period film historian Taichi Kasuga and a\nvisual essay from Tom Mes. They\u2019re both great speakers and relay important\ninformation about how this big project came together, and the troubles in\ndealing with multiple stars in one picture. Naturally, audiences would want to\nsee the famous performers square off and the screenwriters would have to\npromise big confrontations but also had to be careful not to reward any specific\nplayer with a victorious beat down to please the fans of each lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, the history of \u201cGolden Week\u201d is revealed,\nwhich I never knew. While everyone now refers to it as a series of week-long\nholiday periods in Hong Kong and China, the term did originate from the movie\nindustry. They noted the huge increases in box office revenue during these\nperiods and began embarking on bigger productions to further encourage the\npublic to spend money at the cinema. The \u201cGolden Week\u201d moniker ended up being\nused to generally describe these breaks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch out for cats! That seems to be a very prominent idea\nin The Haunted Castle<\/em> (1969), a later effort from Daiei which features a\nrather nasty and feline. Specifically, the folk tale involves warlord Lord\nNabeshima who demands that a blind monk give up his sister\/caregiver Sayo\n(Mitsuo Kamei) so that she can be his concubine. The monk refuses and is\nkilled, with the murderer gaining control of his estate. Furious sibling Sayo\nthen commits suicide while performing a ceremony. Sayo\u2019s black cat drinks her\nspilled blood and is possessed by her spirit. The animal then arrives at the property\nof the warlord and wreaks havoc, murdering those working under him until\nNabeshima loses all his power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Truth be told, cats (even possessed ones) aren\u2019t exactly\nintimidating and so the picture isn\u2019t all that frightening. But this is a\nbloody film in comparison to the previous title, with some creatively grotesque\nimagery. There are also a few wildly amusing moments, including a scene with\nthe spooky feline flying in the air, as well as an attempt at a cat exorcism\nlate in the story. Despite some of this silliness, it is still an impressively\nmoody picture, with a great deal of the narrative taking place at night with\nplenty of dark areas within the picturesque cinematography. The darks look\nquite solid and impressive on the Blu-ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Extras include an informative discussion with Japanese\nfilmmaker Mari Asato. She gives a bit of history about the folk tale the movie\nis based on and previous versions of the story, as well as analyzing the\nphotography and impressively \u201cpainterly\u201d compositions. As it turns out, this\neffort was directed by Tokuzo Tanaka, who also helmed The Demon of Mount Oe<\/em>\nand The Snow Woman<\/em>, and he seemed to have a skill for telling\nfemale-centric horror tales. Tom Mes presents a video biography of co-star\nIkuko Mori (who played another of the villain\u2019s concubines). Apparently, this\nactress had a tumultuous personal life and stabbed her significant other,\nreceiving a jail sentence just before the release of the film. The crime ended\nup drawing attention and publicity for the picture which helped it at the box\noffice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Ghost of Kasane Swamp<\/em> (1970) came at the end\nof Daiei\u2019s run (the studio would go bankrupt the following year) and has a\nnoticeably smaller budget, although there are still plenty of fascinating\nmoments on display. The characters are mean, with the central figure being\nnasty, debt-ridden, womanizing samurai Fukami (Saburo Date). He murders his\nwife (Mitsuko Tanaka) when she attempts to pay his debt to another man with\nsexual favors (which was a miscommunication on Fukami\u2019s part). He treats her\nand everyone around him like dirt. The scarred wife and the man she had been\nsleeping with return from the dead to take vengeance as scarred, nasty\nspirits.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The cruelty on display is what really distinguishes this\neffort. As mentioned, Fukami is terrible towards others, and the entire town\nisn\u2019t much better morally or ethically. They\u2019re all either trying to cheat each\nother for money or power, and several are obsessed with their looks and\nappearance. The story dishes out just desserts for many characters in\nappropriate ways. Despite the budget, the swamp set is very moody and filled\nwith an atmosphere of dread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bonuses here include an interview with the grandson of\none of the Daiei studio heads. He describes how serious the money problems were\nwith the studio, so much so that this effort was co-financed by Nikkatsu. The\nfollowing year, Nikkatsu would start a \u201cPink\u201d film line with their titles\nfocusing on erotic subject matter. It was at their behest that more sex scenes\nbe added to the story. So, that is why (while not extremely explicit) there are\na few lengthy detours in which the characters participate in sex scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He does mention that the story is scaled back and that there\nare few extras, but that the tight budget also resulted in interesting new\nfilmmaking techniques. In particular, he notes the interesting use of a shaky\ncamera, as well as being inspired by other 60s films to tell its story with\nless-than-heroic characters. There is also a scene-selection film historian\ncommentary that notes these elements. And the disc includes a bonus detailing\nthe original folk tale and the more than seven versions of it that have been\nadapted.  Again, the extras here add important background info that help\nviewers understand the themes.  The image quality is slightly grainier on\nthis title than the others, but it\u2019s likely due to the low budget and the\nquality of the source material<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all, this is another great set containing a trio of notable films. They are all distinct in their own ways and deliver plenty of stylish and exciting sequences. As always, Radiance Films has improved the image quality so that, even if there is a bit of grain on some of the pictures here and there, they look better than ever. And the bonuses really add a lot to add a sense of understanding and enjoyment to the proceedings. Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories Vol. 2<\/em> is a Blu-ray set worth buying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray box set is now available for purchase. Last year, just in time for Halloween, Radiance Films released Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories, a curated collection of three striking period supernatural chillers from Daiei Film . It was an impressive set (The Snow Woman really stood out) that made an impression on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[89,99,100,2933,3075,5054,5057,7314,8258,8259,8261,9319,10386,10387,15922,16584,20462,20463,20950,20951],"class_list":["post-32268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-89","tag-99","tag-100","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blu-ray-reviews","tag-daiei-gothic","tag-daiei-gothic-japanese-ghost-stories-vol-2","tag-fantasy","tag-ghost-of-kasane-swamp","tag-ghost-of-kasane-swamp-blu-ray-review","tag-ghost-stories","tag-horror","tag-japanese","tag-japanese-ghost-stories-volume-2","tag-period","tag-radiance-films","tag-the-demon-of-oe","tag-the-demon-of-oe-blu-ray-review","tag-the-haunted-castle","tag-the-haunted-castle-blu-ray-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}