Review: Kuroneko (1968)

Kuroneko, also called ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove’, is a 1968 Japanese horror film that I recently watched. With many elements expressed – revenge, true love, honor, and the afterlife – Kuroneko is an interesting movie to check out. It is directed by Kaneto Shindo; it is not rated, but I would consider it like an ‘R’ for brief nudity, violence, and sexual situations. The language spoken is Japanese, and the presentation is in black and white.

**spoiler alert** Kuroneko is set in one of the feudal eras in Japan; we are not given an exact date, but reading further about the film, I learned it is supposed to be during the Heian Period which was from 794-1185 AD. A woman and her adult daughter are seen eating inside their run down hut near a bamboo grove. A group of barbaric looking soldiers come out of the forest, descend on the hut, rape and murder the women, then set the dwelling on fire. Later, in the ashes of this moment, we see the two women’s bodies being examined by a black cat.

Soon we see Shige (the daughter) out late in a town square where she meets a samurai on horseback. She asks him to see her home so she is not attacked by bandits. They proceed to her nice looking large house where she invites the samurai inside. Her mother appears from another room, and serves the man several drinks. The mother leaves the room and we see her initiate an eerie looking dance. Shige then begins to seduce the samurai, but just as quickly as the moment starts, we see Shige tear out his throat with her mouth. Several more samurai are lured by Shige, seduced, and killed in this manner.

Meanwhile we see young solider fighting in a battle; he kills the enemy leader. He decapitates the body and brings the head to the local governor named Raiko. The solider is made a samurai for his accomplishment. The new samurai, Gintoki, then heads to his home, only to find it burned down and his wife and mother missing. Raiko has also now been informed of the killings of the other samurai, so he dispatches Gintoki to investigate and destroy the monsters responsible.

Gintoki comes across Shige in the town square, and goes with her back to the house as the previous samurai had also done. However, Gintoki begins to comment to Shige and the mother that the two of them look exactly like his wife and mother, but three of them seem reluctant to acknowledge this fact. Rather than kill him, Shige instructs Gintoki to leave and come back the next night, which he does. At this point they both embrace the fact that they are husband and wife, now reunited. Each morning Gintoki leaves, and comes back at night to be with Shige. After 7 nights, Gintoki returns to the house and Shige is gone. He does not understand, and questions his mother, who then proceeds to explain that she and Shige were murdered. They prayed to the gods of the underworld to allow them to take their revenge. The two were permitted to live on earth by drinking the blood of the samurai they killed, however, Shige forsook her vows (killing samurai, including Gintoki) to have one week of love with Gintoki again, and she is now in hell, forever. Gintoki is overcome with grief, but reports back to Raiko that he has destroyed one of the two ghosts responsible for the killings. Raiko sends Gintoki back to destroy the remaining spirit. Gintoki confronts his mother, and cuts off one of her arms, but she later returns to retrieve it from him. The last scene of the movie we see Gintoki failing about helplessly on the floor of his former home, the burned out cottage while snow falls and covers his now dead body.
Let me start by noting that while the film is considered in the ‘horror’ genre, I think of it more like a supernatural thriller. There are a few shocking elements, but compared to what is on TV and in film today, it is extremely mild.
The pace of the movie is somewhat slow and not overly tense, but the director does an excellent job of masking the “horror” of these murderous spirits by having cast beautiful women. Further, Shige and mother also move through the scenes like delicate Japanese royalty, and, as I mentioned earlier just prior to each of the killings the mother is seen dancing gracefully. This dichotomy is something I truly appreciate about Kuroneko. Also, using the samurai, a symbol of honor in the history of Japan, as the protagonist, the antagonists, and victims, was masterful as far as the story-telling went.
You will not be scared watching Kuroneko, the Japanese horror film, but you will be intrigued by these characters as their fates play out, almost like a Greek tragedy. The visuals throughout, while simplistic, are quite beautiful, which is not something you will often hear associated with a “horror” film.