Meanwhile on Earth
$10.50
Dir. Yoshihiro Ishikawa
1968, Japan 86 min
Japanese with English subtitles
Rated 18A
Also known as Ghost Cat of the Cursed Pond, Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit is one of the many mid-century Japanese explorations of “Kaibyo” or “ghost cat” mythology, and one of the best. Director Yoshihiro Ishikawa was no stranger to kaibyo country, having co-written Nobuo Nakagawa’s equally chilling Black Cat Mansion (1958) and directed Ghost Cat of Otama Pond (1960). Released the same year as Kaneto Shindo’s more well-known Kuroneko, Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit mines that indelible trope of the cat ghost story: a violent and greedy Lord kills a young woman when she refuses to become his concubine, only for her cat to drink her blood and become her shapeshifting avenger.
“Beginning in a quietly haunting vein reminiscent of Ugetsu,” wrote Spectacle Theatre in their promotional text for a 2016 screening of the film, “Bakeneko descends into a nightmarish parade of splattered blood, decapitations and ghosts gnawing on severed limbs.” Not to be missed by anyone with a beloved feline familiar! (Kier-La Janisse)
New 4K restoration by Severin Films.
We will be selling a limited number of the All The Haunts Be Ours – Volume Two from Severin Films at every folk horror screening in November! All The Haunts Be Ours – Volume Two brings together 24 films representing 18 countries for more of the best-loved, rarely seen, thought-lost and brand-new classics of folk horror, most making their International and/or North American disc debuts; 55+ combined hours of new and archival Special Features including trailers, interviews, audio commentaries, short films, video essays, historical analyses and bonus feature-length films; a 252-page hardcover of newly commissioned folk horror fiction by luminaries that include Chandra Mayor, Ramsey Campbell, Cassandra Khaw and Eden Royce with illustrations by Drazen Kozjan; and much more, all curated and produced by Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched creator Kier-La Janisse. Boxed set design by Luke Insect.
Unquiet spirits have gathered once again! Inspired by Severin Films’ latest compendium of folk horror, the Dave Barber Cinematheque presents All The Haunts Be Ours: Folk Horror Classics from October 11 until November 24. Featuring rarely seen and brand-new classics of folk horror, this series of films explores the strange and magical world of spirits, revenge and forbidden desires.
