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Ghost Cat Of Otama Pond, Ishikawa Yoshiro, Japan 1960, horror

This Shin Toho 1960 production directed by Ishikawa Yoshihiro is a fantasy pic, "The Ghost Cat Of Otama Pond" (Kaibyo Otama-ga-ike). It features a young couple caught in a web of ghostly revenge, with a black cat monitoring the scenes between those living and those dead.

The shadowy period atmosphere of a haunted mansion plunges a young fiance to be possessed by a mysterious vision of an "old bag". Keiko's boyfriend is told that the spirit of the cat that possessed her must be exorcised or she will die.

The plot switches to the feudal period where a family is wiped out by feudal landlords upon which the family cat, Tama, takes revenge.

The most controversial film ever produced by Shintoho.
"Girl Divers Of Spook Mansion ", Magatani Morihei's horror thriller "The Bloody Sword Of The 99th Virgin " (Kyujukyu-honme no Kimusume) is set in the mountains of Iwate Prefecture - a remote area that might be described as the Ozarks of Japan. The mountain folk are depicted as superstitious, with their religious and folk beliefs in sharp contrast to the "village" people.

Magatani drums up a scary atmosphere, after 2 young women tourists from Tokyo, Mieko (Mihara Yoko) and Hanayo (Minakami Keiko), get rounded up and sacrificed by the tribal head. When their blood proves to be "unpure", however, a new maiden is sought from the "civilized" village, turning out to be the daughter of the police chief investigating the vanished tourists.

The police discover 98 long swords on the temple grounds, all forged with the blood of sacrificed virgins while preparations for the festival proceed including the ritual sacrifice for the 99th sword. For some reason, the theme of the opposing cultures was deemed delicate in Japan and the film has rarely been shown for supposed "political" reasons and reproduction into video is unallowed, great care being taken to avoid piracy, including giving the theater viewers the one-over before entering to see the film, for any hidden copying equipment.

Girl Divers Of Spook Mansion, Magatani Morihei, Japan 1959, horror

The Bloody Sword Of The 99th Virgin, Magatani Morihei, Japan 1959, horror