DAIEI GOTHIC Volume Two

Once Nippon a time...

- By Ian Berriman

BLU-RAY DEBUT Radiance's second set of Japanese ghost stories once more showcases the classy craftsmanship of the Daiei studio. All three are period tales, which have their roots in old folktales.

Cat lovers should be amused by The Haunted Castle (1969). After a blind monk is killed in a rage by a samurai lord, his sister commits suicide, urging her moggy to lap up some blood. This transforms it into a vengeful spirit with demonic powers. Soon possessed women in the lord's court are spurning baths and swiping carp out of the pond to snack on - but, thankfully, not licking their bumholes.

All this can get a little comical, and the fact that the villain doesn't get his just desserts is frustrating, but there's some exquisite use of lighting to render transformations - like a good conjuring trick.

Ghosts don't actually feature that much in