The 16th International Film Festival of Kerala is hosting a variety of films of various genres. And in the category of horror films, well acclaimed ‘Kaidan Horror Classics’ is all set to thrill the audience. This Japanese horror collection has its original title as Ayoshiki Bungo Kaidan . It had been rated as the most horrifying series in many recognised international film festivals.
Kaidan are the Japanese folk tales mostly based upon ghosts and supernatural powers.
Kaidan Horror Classics is a set of four telefilms, each of about 40 minutes that was aired on the Japanese channel NHK between August 23 and August 26 last year. Each story was written by renowned writers, and famous directors turned them to reels. The four telefilms are (according to the order of their telecast):
The Arm [ Kataude ]
The Whistler [ Hazakura to mabue ]
The Nose [ Hana ]
The Day After [ Nochinohi ]
The Arm directed by Ochiai Masayuki, was the first of four to be aired on August 23. It is based on a story written by Yasunari Kawabata. It tells the story of a fascinating beautiful woman towards whom a man falls in love. The man talks to the girl, and finally, makes her to agree to give him her hand for one night. The girl detaches her hand and the man takes it away. But when he reaches his house, the hand starts talking to him. Then the most interesting thing happens. Mitsuru Hirata and Sei Asina are the stars in the movie.
The story of Osamu Dazai was turned to Hazakura to mabue by Tsukamoto Shinya. This film is the story of a young woman who is forbidden from leaving her house by her father for marrying the person she loved. At home, she takes care of her dying sibling. But one day she finds lot of love letters in the name of her dying sister, that too from an unknown person. Even though the film is tagged under horror, its plot is largely driven by emotions. The lead roles are handled by Aoba Kawai, Jun Kunimura and Eri Tokunaga.
Yutaka Matsushige and HarukaIgawai staring film The Nose is the film version of the short story written by Akutagawa Ryunosuke. This was directed by Sang-il Lee. Set in the medieval era, this a story of a monk with a long nose. Being ridiculed for his appearance, he prefers staying indoors. Unable to tolerate the taunt, one day the monk kills a boy. Faced with the ire of villagers, he revives the boy. The boy, on getting the new birth, begins to take revenge upon the monk. This story is effective, more because of the art work and the added effects.
The last film, the Day After written by Saisei Muro is directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. It tells the story of an eight year boy who visits a grieving couple every day. The couple considers him to be their son who had died at a very young age. The real identity of the boy is the thread of the film.
These films are categorized as the classics of the Japanese not just on account of the horror effect but because of the rich art content.
