Kuroi jûnin no onna

While not one of the master's great works, Ten Dark Women is well worth watching.

The B&W cinematography is creepy and strikes exactly the right tone. Awkward camera angles are suitably unsettling. The women, especially the main actresses, are lit to near-perfection, and they look great.

The groovy bass-dominated background music, in a classic 60s emblematic style, is simply superb. Where can I find this soundtrack ? Although the premise is outrageous, the story is easily involving enough to suspend disbelief. The dark mood is established from the first shot and never lets go. That said, the final third of TDW tends to the ridiculous and does run out of puff.

One can't help but envy Ichikawa. He got together a fine selection of Japan's loveliest stars, and coaxed from them disturbing and even frightening performances of women so scorned that they manage to plot murderous revenge, despite continuous in-fighting, justifiable mistrust and changing motives.

Ignore the naysayers. For its few faults, TDW is great offbeat entertainment.