DAIEI GOTHIC VOL 2 – Japanese Ghost Stories

4 stars

Radiance Films. Limited Edition Blu ray. Out Now

Radiance bring us another trio of lesser known ghost tales from Japan. Two from director Tokuzo Tanaka and one from Kimiyoshi Yasuda.

First up is THE DEMON OF MOUNT OE (1960) (Ooe-Yama Shuten-dôji) helmed by Tanaka. The film opens with the mythical depiction of how the titular demon was conquered and then goes on to tell the true (?) story. Women are spirited away by a strange horned beast, a magical sword glows in the presence of evil, the arm of a demon is lopped off and it will return to claim it. The Genji clan warriors banded together and must fight the demon forces and the men that follow it, on the stronghold of Mount Oe. Or something like that… a colourfully told tall tale, this is a bit on the theatrical side, with over the top music. Slightly bonkers, and somewhat convoluted and long winded, it features much sword fighting, large battle scenes and giant monsters – including a giant spider and a large horned beast.

THE HAUNTED CASTLE (1969) (Hiroku Kaibyô-den) is the second film by Tanaka. A local Lord wants the Lady Sayo, who he has become obsessed with, to be his concubine. He is told by her brother, a blind monk, that he will never allow her to be with the lusting Lord. Later, playing a game of Go, he is cheated and ends up stabbed to death. Sayo plans her revenge by feeding her blood to their black cat and it becomes a demon pussycat – a bloody vengeance begins. This is well shot with great use of shadows. The hauntings are effectively freaky – though a feline being scary may be a slight cultural difference and the film as a whole is a bit slow paced.

Last of the trio is GHOST OF KASENE SWAMP (1970) (Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi) and helmed by Yasuda, who had made a version of it some years previous. There was also a version in 1957. This is a tale of greed, money and murder and has a samurai slashing his wife to death and also slaughtering a money lender. Things turn creepy as their spirits return to haunt the living. Stylishly and vividly directed, this is more about the fallout over people’s lust for money than it is about ghosts. Surprisingly gory for the time, the film looks gorgeous with bright colours piercing through. The opening titles look like something out of a Corman/Poe production.

Steve Kirkham

EXTRAS

THE DEMON OF MOUNT OE

Interview with period film historian Taichi Kasuga (19 mins)

A visual essay by Tom Mes (4 mins)

THE HAUNTED CASTLE

Interview with J-horror filmmaker Mari Asato (17 mins)

Visual essay by Tom Mes (6 mins)

THE GHOST OF KASANE SWAMP

Interview with J-horror filmmaker Norio Tsuruta (18 mins)

Visual essay by ghost story scholar Zack Davisson (12 mins)

Select-scene audio commentary by horror film scholar Lindsay Nelson (2025)

All three have trailer Trailer and reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

You also get newly designed box and booklet artwork by Time Tomorrow and a Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by Amber T, Jasper Sharp, and Tom Mes, plus archival writing by Daniel O’Neill and original ghost stories.