At Home with John and Debbie

Second of our Sunday DVD rentals was Inugami. Choices Video in Leamington really does have an excellent range of Korean and Japanese films.

We rented Inugami on spec, expecting a terrifying Ring-style festival of terror. Instead we got an atmospheric family drama and ghost story set in the spectacularly beautiful hillside cedar forests of Shikoku island in South West Japan.

There’s something rum about the Bonomiya family — something in their ancient heritage. For some reason spinster Miki the paper maker is most significantly involved. During the family’s preparations for a Festival of Ancestors, a young man named Akira appears in the village. What will he discover?

I’ll be honest and say I’m not sure I made complete sense of the plot, with its references to Japanese mythology that was new to me, and its Oedipal overtones. It’s also true that I was half expecting things to erupt into monster mania even to the end.

I greatly enjoyed the haunting style of the film, and I cautiously recommend it.

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