One of the first Asian Masters of Horror, Japanese director Nobuo Nakagawa offered up numerous exceptional horror films in the late 1950s and early 60s with scores of important and legendary titles. After several tales offering variations of ghost tales, Nakagawa decided to go for a more existential tale of remorse and greed which scored him one of the biggest hits of his career and secured his reputation with a vengeance leading to who he is today.
Trying to move on in life, Shiro Shimizu (Shigeru Amachi, from "The Tale of Zatoichi") finds that his involvement with Tamura (Yoichi Numata, from "Ringu") taints his relationship with his fiancée Yukiko Yajima (Utako Mitsuya, from "Attack from Space") as his disdainful attitude really sours her. When they both get involved with a car accident that takes it's victim, they again feel differently about reporting their involvement in the incident, and soon afterward, a series of personal tragedies affects him. As they both take the news normally, he starts to feel the pressure of the …show more content…
One of the better features with this one is the incredibly impressive and enjoyable visual prowess demonstrated. "Jigoku" is a highly visual film, with a large amount of time spent simply on creating wonderful images for inconsequential moments. The encounter on the bridge, the weirdness of the caricatures in the opening montage to their idea of Hell, where shots feature select objects sitting in the middle of the picture with a black frame around everything else that all make for an enjoyable series of scenes. This makes the film incredibly engaging by offering visually engaging work throughout here. Even the non-horror work is in this manner, as cinematographer Mamoru Morita create some impressive work in the crash that sets the film in motion, the scenes of lonely Shiro wandering through the countryside or the fine scenes in the village where he meets up with the family of the one he
Trying to move on in life, Shiro Shimizu (Shigeru Amachi, from "The Tale of Zatoichi") finds that his involvement with Tamura (Yoichi Numata, from "Ringu") taints his relationship with his fiancée Yukiko Yajima (Utako Mitsuya, from "Attack from Space") as his disdainful attitude really sours her. When they both get involved with a car accident that takes it's victim, they again feel differently about reporting their involvement in the incident, and soon afterward, a series of personal tragedies affects him. As they both take the news normally, he starts to feel the pressure of the …show more content…
One of the better features with this one is the incredibly impressive and enjoyable visual prowess demonstrated. "Jigoku" is a highly visual film, with a large amount of time spent simply on creating wonderful images for inconsequential moments. The encounter on the bridge, the weirdness of the caricatures in the opening montage to their idea of Hell, where shots feature select objects sitting in the middle of the picture with a black frame around everything else that all make for an enjoyable series of scenes. This makes the film incredibly engaging by offering visually engaging work throughout here. Even the non-horror work is in this manner, as cinematographer Mamoru Morita create some impressive work in the crash that sets the film in motion, the scenes of lonely Shiro wandering through the countryside or the fine scenes in the village where he meets up with the family of the one he