Kaidan semushi otoko

At the time of this writing the film is only available in Italian with no subtitles and a cropped down watery looking image. But these sever problems can't hide what is a good movie. The Haunting is a clear influence here, there is even a scene with a bulging door, a creepy stature, and I suppose creepy evocative sound fx are also a important element in this film along the black and white widescreen photography. But there are some elements--birds for instance--that appear in this Japnese director's other films, along with some of the same cast members that make this more its own film than a copy of anything else. He may not be an auteur(though he may I haven't seen enough of his films to know) but he's an effective director of genre material with a personal vision style wise and and a good visual storyteller.

And despite the references to, or steals from, other films this is not a rip off it has, especially in its style an approach of its own. It doesn't seem, even with an all Japanese cast, to be very Japanese in feel, especially in the most Italian element which may be the female wailing voice used in the film's score. What I'm saying is this film in unique in several ways.

The opening of the film is especially well done but it has effective evocative moments right on through. A better title might be GHOST and the HUNCHBACK, as the Hunchback isn't a ghost, or of course the film's original title which better reflects what the film is about. A brisk pace helps it move and the visuals are striking.

This effective and interesting film deserves proper presentation at 2:35 aspect ratio and translation.