Overview: Daiei Gothic is a collection of three of Japan’s most famous ghost stories that have haunted people for centuries!

Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub) directs ‘The Ghost of Yotsuya’, in which a woman returns from the grave as a horribly disfigured phantom to torment her husband and his new bride.

In ‘The Snow Woman’, directed by Tokuzo Tanaka (Zatoichi), a woodcutter must keep his oath to a vengeful female spirit or pay the ultimate price.

‘The Bride from Hades’ by Satsuo Yamamoto (Shinobi) sees a handsome samurai so enchanted by a courtesan’s beauty that he fails to realize that it is a ghost.

These three film versions from the Daiei studio form a pinnacle of atmospheric Japanese horror. Their elegant visuals and ominous shadows rival the best of Terence Fisher or Mario Bava, while their iconic female ghosts would greatly influence Asian genre cinema, from Hong Kong fantasy spectacles such as A Chinese Ghost Story to J-horror.

Blu-ray Verdict: Up first is ‘The Ghost of Yotsuya’ (1959), which the ghost of a samurai’s wife takes revenge on her husband. In truth, I was definitely hooked by the premise and the poster, but I did not expect it to be this awesome!

It’s a tale of two halves, with 30 minutes of build-up doing a ton of work to make you completely despise lemon, culminating in 45 minutes straight of relentlessly insane surreal horror! And trust me, the build-up was absolutely necessary in making the climax so immensely satisfying within the utter chaos that was unfolding on screen.

I also did not know that the movie would be in color, but the color added so much to the surrealism of the cinematic experience. The movie is not afraid to get absurd and trippy which I for one greatly appreciate the lack of shame there within!

Up next is ‘The Snow Woman’ (1968) in which the lives of a master sculptor and his young apprentice are changed forever when they meet an evil witch during a snow storm.

Horror fairy tales are perhaps my favorite type of horror. The Snow Woman is also a haunting love story, which I definitely appreciate, once in a while. Especially one as familiar as it is beautiful, with transformation sequences I couldn’t look away from at times.

An artist commissioned to carve a statue finds the perfect tree in a forest, but is forced to spend the night there during a fierce snowstorm. When the treacherous snow ghost appears, she spares his life because he’s so young and beautiful in exchange for his promise never to tell a living soul about the encounter.

Not long after the artist is miraculously rescued from the blizzard, a mysterious young woman just happens to take shelter from the rain outside his home.

Of course, none of this is going to end well, but the ensuing melodrama really resonated with me emotionally, so I must have been in the perfect mood for a tragic romance. I might even revisit this one again, but I think I might save it for a dark and snowy night. Then again, with all this warm weather, who knows.

Lastly, we get ‘The Bride from Hades’ (1971), where on the night of the summer Obon festival, Hagiwara Shinzaburo meets a beautiful courtesan named Otsuyu. Not knowing she’s a ghost, he becomes infatuated by her.

Interestingly, this is the third film I’ve seen this month about having sex with ghosts in the past year! Highly atmospheric, this Japanese ghost tale deals with themes of longing, service, greed, community, and the desire for companionship.

The cinematography and sound design are both done well and pull you into settings and story. While this isn’t especially scary, it’s got those classic ghost story vibes and was an enjoyable watch. The entire village getting involved with things made this extra fun.

Dude was kind of a dummy, but who can blame him – we’ve all done silly things for love. However, in the words of the late Meatloaf, maybe don’t do that!

LIMITED EDITION BOX-SET SPECIAL FEATURES:
New 4K restorations of The Bride from Hades and The Snow Woman
High-Definition digital transfer of The Ghost of Yotsuya
Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film
Optional English subtitles for all films
Newly designed box and booklet artwork by Time Tomorrow
Six postcards featuring original archive imagery from the films
Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by authors Tom Mes and Zack Davisson, newly translated archival reviews and ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn

THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA
New interview with filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa
A visual essay on the history and adaptations of the classic Ghost of Yotsuya story by author Kyoko Hirano
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

THE BRIDE FROM HADES
Audio commentary by author Jasper Sharp
New interview with filmmaker Hiroshi Takahashi
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

THE SNOW WOMAN
New interview with filmmaker Masayuki Ochiai
A visual essay on writer Lafcadio Hearn
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

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