Kuroneko ( Yabu no naka no kuroneko ) ( Black Cat from the Grove ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ]

Kuroneko ( Yabu no naka no kuroneko ) ( Black Cat from the Grove ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] Review

It's easy enough to hack dvd players to play this, so all fans of atmospheric horror should buy it and treat themselves. Soldiers rape and murder a mother and daughter who come back as bloodsucking cat ghosts. But it's also a love story, because the daughter's husband was forced to fight, and he returns after years of absence.... No cheesy effects: it's all in the artful use of shadow and light. Plus, the use of sound (pulsing drums, sparse screeching noises) is just amazing. Kubrick definitely studied this film.

Kuroneko ( Yabu no naka no kuroneko ) ( Black Cat from the Grove ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] Feature

• THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Booklet, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Remastered, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: 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. Plot twists abound as the older, vengeful spirit seeks to exact poetic justice despite the younger ghost's reluctance to destroy the man who once loved her. Though not on the epic level of Kwaidan or Onibaba, this adaptation of an ancient folk tale benefits from the same cultural richness, as well as a touch of social allegory.