Kwaidan (1964): October 23rd, 2016

In this aesthetically haunting and altogether disturbing horror, director Masaki Kobayashi adapts four Japanese folk tales based on Lafcadio Hearn’s writings, mainly Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. If you don’t feel like committing too much time to any one film, this horror is your best option for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Watch one episode at a time, or watch them all at once, either way you cut it, you’ll be left with one of Japan’s most praised horrors, and one that left an everlasting impact on ghost stories to this day.

Synopsis: Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning “ghost story,” this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai (Rentarô Mikuni) marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden (Keiko Kishi), but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi (Katsuo Nakamura) is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author (Osamu Takizawa) relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior’s reflection in his teacup.