Review Category: Reviews

THE ALCHEMY PRESS BOOK OF HORRORS 2: STRANGE STORIES AND WEIRD TALES

THE ALCHEMY PRESS BOOK OF HORRORS 2: STRANGE STORIES AND WEIRD TALES / EDITORS: PETER COLEBORN, JAN EDWARDS / PUBLISHER: ALCHEMY PRESS / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 16TH

Whether your favourite place on the horror spectrum is the unnerving and sinister or the outright gory, there will be something to scare and intrigue you here. In this way this second outing for The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors delivers on what it sets out for itself: a selection that showcases horror as the broad church it is. With a preference for the spooky and psychological over the outright bloody, there is plenty of treasure here for the digging. If there’s sometimes a bit too much digging involved, where more aggressive editing could have made that treasure shine brighter, it’s still very much worth the effort.

Expect strong voices and memorable storylines and characters – I Remember Everything by Debbie Bennett and Footprints in the Snow by Eygló Karlsdóttir are particularly satisfying, and the latter is all the scarier for being very relatable right now. For exquisite moments of good old ghostly imagery, The Hate Whisperer by Thana Niveau is an impressive psychological picture; another is The Secret Place by Samantha Lee: a moving portrait of childhood friendship that is as amusing as it is sinister, sad and spooky. Hydrophobia by John Llewellyn Probert, a deeply claustrophobic underwater nightmare that starts leaking into the waking world, is a particularly cold and powerful tale.

In a world where short fiction, small presses, and horror itself have to work that bit harder for their shelf space, the importance of assertive editing for momentum and effect is all the stronger if the horror genre is to show it has the same (if not more) potential for depth and richness as any other. While there is a pervasive sense of words that are too often an end in themselves rather than the conduit for meaning, atmosphere, character, and story they need to be for maximum effect and momentum, the images themselves and the societal what-ifs they represent will stay with you long after you put the book down.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW – SEASON 5

REVIEWED: SEASON 5 (EPISODES 1 – 7) | WHERE TO WATCH: NOWTV, SKY GO

Since its underpar first season, Legends of Tomorrow has become an anomaly among the CW’s Arrowverse shows; a TV show that very much knows what it is – cheap, hokey entertainment – and plays up to that. Seasons 2 to 4 saw the Legends – a bunch of misfit superheroes, supervillains, and assorted hangers-on – save the timeline as many times as they endangered it, all the while having tremendous fun with the tropes of a genre TV show.

Season 5 is no different, and finds the team dealing with Encores – the spirits of some of history’s worst monsters, released by one of John Constantine’s old enemies – while trying to solve a few issues of their own, including grown-up children, ancient artefacts, and the difficulty of a long-distance relationship with a fairy godmother.

The show crossed over with the other Arrowverse shows during the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, and nominally takes place in the same universe as The Flash, Supergirl, and Batwoman, but like Black Lightning (the CW’s other DC outlier), it doesn’t let heavy continuity get in the way of a ridiculous and self-contained plot development.

The settled cast are ion solid form, and although the growing ensemble can mean some are reduced to bit parts in some stories (and one, in particular, went missing for weeks without a mention), they’re still given ample room to flex their artistic muscles with scripts that switch from dramatic to comedic at the drop of a hat.

Tala Ashe, in particular, is in fine fettle, especially considering Season 4’s finale saw her character erased; its replacements, both in the form of her stoner brother who, as a result of timeline meddling, was always with the team, and her old character’s new self as a result of that timeline meddling, are perfect additions to the team, making you forget that the change even happened as easily as those whose actual memories were affected.

The show has already been renewed for a sixth season, as have all the CW shows other than the completed Arrow, and with a whole forever to play with, there’s plenty of material to mine yet. Legends of Tomorrow is a rare thing, a TV show that manages to be mindful and self-referential without disappearing into itself. Treasure it as you’d treasure a coin minted from your eternal soul.

THE IRON MASK

DIRECTOR: OLEG STEPCHENKO | SCREENPLAY: OLEG STEPCHENKO, DMITRY PALTSEV, ALEKSEY PETRUKHIN | STARRING: JACKIE CHAN, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, RUTGER HAUER, CHARLES DANCE, JASON FLEMYNG, XINGTONG YAO | RELEASE DATE: APRIL 10TH

Cine-masochists and trash film fanatics may find much to love in co-writer/director Oleg Stepchenko’s The Iron Mask (TIM). Stepchenko hurls viewers eyes first through a frazzled CG laden, sick tinted spiral into ancient China. An accompanying, exposition stuffed narration bombards our noggin with context which, when combined with the visual assault, bamboozles from the outset. Yet, as The Iron Mask progresses it retains a car crash quality that makes it oddly captivating but for all the wrong reasons.

The dislodged plot (set in the 1700s) sees Jason Flemyng’s drippy cartographer/scientist Jonathan Green who, after being tasked to map Russia’s far east, gets embroiled in a plot involving a mystical royal cover-up/conspiracy while en route to China. Meanwhile, Jackie Chan’s wispy chinned “Master” is imprisoned in the Tower of London, along with the titular iron masked character/Russian Tsar who claims to be Charles the 1st. Both plot to escape with the help of Anna Churina’s Miss Dudley, but have to overcome a Schwarzenegger sized obstacle in the guise of Arnold’s rambunctious James Hook; donned in fresh out of panto fancy dress garb.

Stepchenko’s film is crammed with kung fu, mad barons, miffed wizards (a confederacy of which is split by a shape-shifting witch), an international quest for healing tea and a “dragon with massive eyebrows”. That said, The Iron Mask still miraculously manages to often be mind-numbingly dull; quasi-lobotomising viewers as though subjecting them to a defective hypnosis video. For the better part, it gets by on unintentional WTF moments, bizarre camaraderie, cleft characters, playful imagination and relentless ridiculousness (almost becoming inadvertently Pythonesque), but its shambolic cragginess could reduce audiences to drooling agog if left ungagged, or bleeding from the eyes, brain and soul out of boredom.

The first half is fun, in a Golan/Globus way, but there’s still a good third that’s unfathomably naff. With low expectations and lots of alcohol/hallucinogens, TIM could be a dazzling watch, but analytical sticklers (or anyone sober) may raise eyebrows then drop jaws and biros at its defunctness. For TIM is a colossally bungled, appallingly acted clout of sozzled fantasy nonsense that’s frowzy to the point of almost being abstract. It’s often propped up with vibrant bravado but has sets that seem on the cusp of toppling and digitally twitching creatures that looked banged out by accident in 5 minutes on a Spectrum during a GCSE graphics student’s lunch break. Despite all the aforementioned, TIM‘s greatest crime is rendering one fed up for a good forty minutes, which is a challenge given it’s so frequently vivacious, yet bafflingly crap.

DOCTOR WHO – THE COLLECTION: SEASON 12

DOCTOR WHO – THE COLLECTION: SEASON 12 / CERT: PG / DIRECTORS: CHRISTOPHER BARRY, RODNEY BENNETT, DAVID MALONEY, MICHAEL E BRIANT / SCREENPLAY: TERRANCE DICKS, ROBERT HOLMES, BOB BAKER, DAVE MARTIN, TERRY NATION, GERRY DAVIS / STARRING: TOM BAKER, ELISABETH SLADEN, IAN MARTER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Originally issued as the first ‘classic’ Doctor Who Blu-ray set in February 2018 in a strictly limited edition release, Season 12 – let’s call it ‘the one where Tom Baker arrives and shakes things up as bit’ – sold out in days and quickly became a cherished and much sought-after collectors’ item. Fans who missed out were forced to consider paying eye watering sums of money on a popular auction site if they wanted to get their hands on this rather tasty little celebration of Doctor Who in something approaching its 1970s prime with many wondering if they really needed the luxury of two kidneys. The BBC have bowed to pressure and reissued the set – again in limited numbers – and for a second time, it’s become as rare as hen’s teeth within days of its availability. Unless you can find one lurking in the dark depths of some online retailer or other then it’s back to that popular auction site and weighing up the pros and cons of bodily mutilation…

Season 12 is, by any consideration, a real milestone in the history of Doctor Who. Jon Pertwee had been comfortably ensconced in the role for five years and his reassuring, avuncular presence had made the show a bigger hit that it had been in years. His adventures (firstly largely Earth-based thanks to the period of exile imposed by him by the Time Lords at the end of the 1960s and his second incarnation with his ability to travel in Space and Time slowly restored as the seasons rolled by) were colourful, action packed and richly imaginative. But by 1975, it was time for things to change. New producer Philip Hinchcliffe and his script editor Robert Holmes had a grander vision for the series. They decided that it was time Doctor Who grew up a little, set aside its propensity for tentacle-waving rubber monsters and started exploring the darker side of the Doctor’s universe. But change takes time. The eccentric Tom Baker stepped into the TARDIS and brought a mercurial new energy to both the series and the character and Hinchcliffe was frustrated at taking over the series with a number of scripts already commissioned that singularly did not completely fit the plan he had for the series. Yet Season 12 demonstrates the show moving away from the safety net of the Pertwee era – once the solidly-predictable and rambunctious season opener Robot is out of the way – and moving into more unpredictable territory. Robert Holmes’ Ark in Space (heavily rewritten from an original script by veteran writer John Lucarotti) quickly saw the series’ ratings rise to new heights – the serial is in many ways a precursor to the likes of Alien and is a favourite amongst many fans. Genesis of the Daleks saw the reliable Terry Nation delivering his best script for the series for years in a story that told the story of the creation of the Doctor’s deadliest enemies, introducing the maniacal Davros, who would reappear years later to increasingly diminishing returns until he was spectacularly reimagined in 2008 in the revived series. The Cybermen returned for the first time since 1968 in the mundane but enjoyable Revenge of the Cybermen and two-parter The Sontaran Experiment is a gritty, rather cruel throwaway that quickly reintroduced the warlike potato-heads from Pertwee’s final season. With just 20 episodes (the season’s production was curtailed by industrial action) and a recession hammered budget (necessitating the reuse of some sets and an ‘arc’ structure that loosely connected four serials), Season 12 is very much Doctor Who setting off on a new creative curve and indicating the slightly less child-friendly direction that was to bring the show massive audiences and popular acclaim in the following two seasons.

For many fans, the TARDIS line-up here – Tom Baker, brilliant and buzzing with invention and far from the comedic parody of himself he would sadly become in later years, the magnificent Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Marter as starchy new boy Harry Sullivan (drafted into the series to do some heavy lifting in case an older and less physical actor was cast as the Doctor) – is pretty much iconic. The chemistry between the three is instantly likeable and the partnership’s dissolution early the following year (Marter was written out in Season 13 when it became evident that Baker’s Doctor was more than capable of fending for himself physically) prematurely brought to an end one of the great TARDIS teams (even though we never actually see them all together inside the Doctor’s time machine). It’s not for nothing that Season 12 is so well regarded and beloved by fans.

As ever, your mileage will vary in relation to the issuing of SD TV material on Blu-ray, but Season 12 has scrubbed up nicely, the picture is sharp and colourful, the sound quality has been buffed up and, of course, the set includes almost all the bonus material available from the original DVD releases of the serials. But there’s new stuff here including an engrossing hour long interview with Tom Baker conducted by journalist and super-fan Matthew Sweet, a couple of new ‘making of’ featurettes, Behind the Sofa features in which assorted Who luminaries watch and comment on the episodes and some new VFX on Revenge of the Cybermen.

Season 12 is a little rough around the edges in places, a series working slowly to change its format and yet shackled by some elements from its past. But it’s very much ‘the shape of things’ to come, Hinchliffe’s second and third seasons in embryo form, with Tom Baker bringing a new manic energy to the lead role and offering up countless exciting options for the show’s new direction. If you’re a proper Who fan you will need this in your life and if it’s slipped the net so far, well… what’s a kidney between friends?

THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: DAVID LYNCH / SCREENPLAY: CHRISTOPHER DE VORE, ERIC BERGREN, DAVID LYNCH / STARRING: ANTHONY HOPKINS, JOHN HURT, JOHN GIELGUD, ANN BANCROFT, WENDY HILLER, MICHAEL ELPHICK / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 6TH

David Lynch’s most accessible film celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a glittering new 4K release that not only serves to remind us what a wonderful piece of filmmaking it is in its own right but also, in these difficult times, it reminds us about the importance of kindness, humanity, and dignity in the face of unimaginable and terrifying adversity.

Based loosely on the memoirs of Sir Frederick Treves, the surgeon who rescued horribly disfigured Joseph Merrick (renamed John Merrick in the movie) from a grisly life of squalor in a Victorian freak show, The Elephant Man is a touching, deeply poignant, and achingly sad real life story. Yet it also manages to be uplifting and hopeful and, in the end, it speaks volumes for humanity’s capacity for compassion as much as its propensity for vulgarity and cruelty. Born in Leicester in 1862, Merrick became blighted by a terrible disfigurement and yet he still managed to achieve some measure of happiness and contentment in a short and painful existence in a society typically minded to regard him as some unthinking, unfeeling monster to be gawped and laughed at. Anthony Hopkins plays Treves who finds Merrick exploited and mistreated by the sadistic, alcoholic showman Mr Bytes (Freddie Jones). Treves takes Merrick back to the London Hospital where, despite the initial resistance of the governor Mr Carr-Gomm (Gielgud), Treves is able to secure Merrick comfortable permanent lodgings and when it transpires that he is actually a well read, educated young man he becomes the toast of a largely kindly, fascinated high society. However, he finds that he is unable to escape his past when he is further tormented by loathsome hospital porter Jim (Elphick) before being kidnapped by Bytes who takes Merrick on the road and out of England as a circus attraction. In time, of course, Merrick makes his way back to London where he finds some final peace after his first visit to the theatre.

The Elephant Man – filmed in moody monochrome and looking incredibly sharp in this stunning 4K transfer which accentuates the subtle use of light and shadow – is in many ways a two-hander between Anthony Hopkins (years before he turned into a slab of prime Welsh ham) and John Hurt, unrecognisable under heavy layers of stifling prosthetics. Hopkins brings a quiet, conflicted dignity to his role as Treves, determined to do what he feels is the right thing for the tormented Merrick and yet agonised over whether his well-meaning exploitation of his charge is any more benign than that of Bytes at the freak show. But there’s no mistaking the fondness and tenderness and genuine concern he has for Merrick, played by Hurt with astonishing poignancy and delicacy. We feel everything Merrick is going through; we share in his fear, his bewilderment and his simple delight when exposed to the curious culture of 19th century society and we do it through Hurt’s incredible, nuanced performance, culminating in the iconic moment when, back in London, he is cornered and hounded at Liverpool Street Station and he turns on his would-be attackers and delivers the heartfelt, heart-wrenching cry “I am not an animal… I am a human being.”

Forty years on and The Elephant Man is still a towering milestone in British cinema. It’s never looked better than it does now on 4K and it is as essential a purchase as it’s possible to imagine for any serious cineaste.

BEASTARS, Season 1

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL EPISODES) | WHERE TO WATCH: NETFLIX

Soak your head in a bucket of acid before sitting down for this furry melodrama. By the end you will be tripping hard and have lots of questions. Why did the lion get plastic surgery? Why is that panda uncomfortably butch? Why did anyone feel the need to make rabbits sexy? Yet, by the big comedown, Beastars emerges as a surprisingly tender and engaging drama about loving someone against your better instincts.

It’s a sign of how well thought out the story is that the anthropomorphic aspect only proves a distraction in the early episodes. Maybe it’s because, once you strip away the animals, there is a lot of the atypical anime narrative here – high school, the yakuza and lewd humour to name but a few things. What helps to set Beastars apart is a fascinating focus on instinct and drive. All the major characters, each given the backstories and detail they deserve, are all in some way characterised by instinct. It boils down to their species, and is the main source of tension in the show – an oppositional undercurrent between the carnivores and herbivores keeps things tense. The social commentary is obvious; interspecies prejudice is used as a parallel to human prejudice.

The main storyline, however, concerns lone wolf Legoshi, and his conflicted feelings for the female dwarf rabbit Haru. The dissection of Legoshi’s thinking is Freudian, overtaken by guilt and indecision as the desire to love and the desire to consume bleed into each other. This feeling is brought to life with vivid, stirring moments of colour. The imaginative streak of Fuji TV’s producers is sensational, gifting texture and eye-popping visuals to moments that could have been fine without them. Happily, Beastars doesn’t fall into the trap of making it all about a moping male loner. Haru is granted the same level of complexity and importance, as her own complicated feelings for the friendly but strange wolf take hold.

Beastars maintains the gorgeous hand-drawn look of anime while adding in some extra flourishes. The world is at times dark, other times colourful, and always rich with detail. The one exception is the title sequence, which instead reverts to a simplistic but fantastic stop-motion sequence that signifies all the complexity in a matter of minutes. It depends heavily on the style of the original manga series, but adds extra flourishes. It also retains the little in-jokes that help to characterise each animal (Legoshi is literally a lone wolf, there is a vicious rumour that Haru breeds like… well, a rabbit, and the school heartthrob is a stag).

Make no mistake, this is one weird show. At times it can feel uncomfortably weird, but it never feels overly brazen. The end result is a series that you expect nothing from, yet proves to be a rewarding series. The attention to detail, aesthetic and focus on the two leading characters give this show the emotional edge that it needs to feel like more than just another throwaway anime series.

BINOCULAR

BINOCULAR / AUTHORS: NICK SIDHU, KELLY SMITH / PUBLISHER: MUTANT HOOF BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

‘One very unpleasant story’ boast the quote on the back cover of Binocular; ‘and then another one’. True to its word, the two tales in this self-published work are deeply unpleasant, but that’s where the fun is.

Both stories involve married couples and an outside influence, neither that go in a happy direction. Nick Sidhu’s Six tells of a handyman worming his way into the lives of a happy couple, while Kelly Smith’s Selkie has a more fantastical edge as a pair of close school friends who have developed a nocturnal bond get reacquainted in later life with devastating consequences.

Each story is ably written, with natural characters and relatable situations that grow uncontrollably dire. We can understand the protagonists’ anger with the circumstances, but only up to a point. Despite the otherwise mundane lives of the characters, we’re drawn into the situations and can’t help but feel sympathy with the frustrating happenings. Particularly in Selkie, in which the main character goes to extreme lengths to try to get his old friend back to who he thinks she should be. As one might have gathered by the title, it has elements of sea creature legend, but this isn’t where the diabolical aspect comes in. This second story is the stronger of the two, but each are disturbing in their own ways.

Self-published books tend to be a struggle, but fortunately, Binocular has enough going for it to recommend for fans of macabre kitchen sink horror.

RESIDENT EVIL 3

RESIDENT EVIL 3 / DEVELOPER & PUBLISHER: CAPCOM / PLATFORM: PC, PS4, XBOX ONE (REVIEWED) / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Hot off the heels of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful RE2: Remake, Capcom are pushing the boat out once again, in almost record time, to bring us the highly anticipated remake of the third game in the mainline Resident Evil series. Prior to its 2019 reveal announcement, Capcom had spent almost three years developing the game, mostly in conjunction with and alongside last year’s RE2, so the expectation is that it will be of a similar standard. Have Capcom set the benchmark too high? Will RE3 be another in Capcom’s long line of successes or is it as lifeless as the zombie hordes it features? Let’s stock up on green herbs and take a look, shall we?

RE3 eases us in to proceedings with a brief first person section, introducing the main character of Jill Valentine and filling us in on the plot. After a few chase sequences and cutscenes, we’re dropped right into the middle of Raccoon City and start the main meat and potatoes of the game. Anyone who played last year’s RE2 (and, to a lesser extent, the original series) will know what to expect here. Finding clues and keys, exploration, backtracking and item management are as ubiquitous as ever and comprise the majority of RE3’s gameplay. Much like last year’s title, tank controls and fixed camera angles are abandoned for modern twin stick controls, with the camera being controlled by the player. Graphics and animation are absolutely stunning once again, with the detail and gore shown in the zombies’ deaths being a particular highlight. Some of the lighting effects are absolutely stunning, adding a crazy amount of tension at certain points. Dancing shadows and flickering lights can often make you question just what is behind your shoulder, and illuminating a dark, zombie-infested room with a flashlight is one of the tensest things you will ever do in a videogame.

Presentation on the whole is pretty excellent, with a wonderfully immersive (and surprisingly varied) soundtrack, a highly talented cast of voice actors, extremely in-depth menu options and a generally fantastic attention to detail – this feels more like a labour of love than just another remake. Although this version of Raccoon City appears fresh and distinctive when compared to the original, it also manages to feel entirely authentic. We reckon one of Capcom’s most impressive achievements here (as well as in the RE2 remake) is that, whilst very much feeling like a current/modern game in every conceivable way, it still makes us feel like we’re being transported back to the late 90s and the golden age of survival horror. This is abundantly apparent in the amount of tension created throughout. Almost every battle or encounter is a tense, stress filled affair (particularly on the higher difficulties!) that can almost leave you breathless at times.

One of our few minor criticisms of RE3 almost comes as a result of being a victim of its own authenticity. The original RE2 was a slightly more engaging narrative – and marginally fuller gameplay – experience than the original RE3 and that is also the case here. In all honesty, that’s more of a commendation of RE2 than an indictment of RE3, but it should be noted that the campaign is relatively short (expect to get through it in around 6-8 hours on your first playthrough) with no side campaign. There is, however, tremendous replay value (we’re midway through our third run through here at the Starburst office!). Also, more good news is that included in the RE3 package is a full online multiplayer game called RE: Resistance (although it wasn’t active pre-release so we can’t give our verdict just yet).

Overall, another close to flawless survival horror experience from Capcom. Don’t wait. Get it now!

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE

The Batman of The Animated Series returns, sort of. It’s animated Batman, only not animated. This brand new series picks up after The New Batman Adventures ended, in the years preceding the detective’s retirement. While this version of the Batman is starting to show his age, it won’t take readers long at all to settle back into the groove.

Part one of its debut story pits Batman against Bane, a marauding robot and Lex Luthor, all in fairly short order. Luthor is up to something, Superman is missing and a mysterious youth watches Batman from the shadows. Writers Paul Dini and Alan Burnett tease plenty, but the issue feels like it’s over as soon as it has begun. The Animated Series and tie-in Batman Adventures were masters at spinning whole, complete stories squeezed into 20 minute episodes or one-shot comics, so it’s disconcerting that this one should feel so decompressed.

But this is Animated Series Batman to its core. Kevin Conroy’s voice reverberates as one reads Dini and Burnett’s dialogue, and the art by Ty Templeton (with colours from Monica Kubina) is almost spot on. It’s not as good as that of The Batman Adventures, and the action is somewhat clunky, but the character designs (particularly Luthor, Alfred and Wayne, out of the cowl) are perfectly done.

The Adventures Continue is a fluffy, slightly-too-light work of nostalgia bait, but it gets the job done. Wherever this series takes its Batman, it’s good to have its take on the big man back; re-animated, but not really.

KWAIDAN (1964)

KWAIDAN (1964) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: MASAKI KOBAYASHI / SCREENPLAY: YÔKO MIZUKI / STARRING: MICHIYO ARATAMA, MISAKO WATANABE, RENTARÔ MIKUNI, KENJIRÔ ISHIYAMA / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 27TH

Eureka entertainment continue on its Masters of Cinema label by releasing Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan on Blu-ray. The film consists of four Japanese folk tales and is a subtle, slow but beautiful departure in filmmaking, not found in modern horror.

Unlike horror anthologies such as Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), there is no central story that binds these tales together, we are just presented with them, one after the other, with an intermission half way through – which is a nice touch. Like Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and the Grimm Fairy Tales, these are Japanese stories that were collected in a book by author Lafcadio Hearn, only told orally by superstitious villagers previously. The Black Hair features a samurai, unhappy with his life of poverty, leaving his wife to marry a noblewoman, which he instantly regrets. However, when he is reunited with his first love, it is not the idyllic life he dreamt of. Next we have Woman of the Snow, in which two woodcutters are caught in a snow storm and the eldest is killed by a ghost. She spares the younger man’s life, only if he swears never to divulge what has happened. The longest tale is Hoichi the Earless, about a blind monk, adept at playing the Baiwa, who is forced to perform a song that details a famous battle between rival clans for a group of ghosts. Finally, we have In a Cup of Tea, a story within a story about a guard who sees a spirit in his brew, which he drinks with terrible consequences. There is certainly common themes running through these stories, the perils of being selfish, not keeping a promise or being too arrogant. Getting involved in the world of the supernatural usually doesn’t end well, and if you do, stick to the rules.

Kwaidan uses small sets with painted backgrounds, but it looks magnificent. The fact the stories are set in different periods of ancient Japan, helps the film age well, and being the early ‘60s, this was an early foray into colour. Kobayashi really takes advantage of this, using his palette masterfully; from deep autumn reds to the use of blue light to denote the presence of something otherworldly. The painted backgrounds of Woman of the Snow feature an ominous eye that foreshadows things to come; a theatrical device perfect for this style of vignette. Of course, any anthology always suffers, due to the disjointed nature of having standalone stories, especially ones with no connecting narrative, Hoichi the Earles, probably staying with us too long. However, Eureka has designed a wonderful package that features the original uncut version, an interview with Kim Newman in which he discusses the film, and a video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson that skillfully breaks down the movie and the life of its creator. It’s certainly a testament to Kobayashi that even in high definition, the quality of the sets, lighting and use of angles hasn’t diminished. These stories are truly timeless.