Directed by Nobuo Nakagawa
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)
A samurai kills the father of a girl he wants to marry when he won't give his consent. After marrying the girl, he decides to kill her as well so he can pursue someone with more money. Along with an accomplice, they fabricate a story that his wife had an affair, kill her and the unjustly accused man, nail their bodies to wood shutters and cut them in half. Apparently this is accepted punishment in medieval Japan. The story takes a turn for the surreal when they are terrorized by the undead, more zombies than ghosts. Superb makeup effects and bold colors bring to mind later efforts by Italian directors like Argento and the Hammer cannon of horror, but this is firmly rooted in Japanese tradition. Occasionally overacted, particularly by the actresses, and the first half or so can be melodramatic, but the second half is some of the best color horror you're likely to find in the late 50s.
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