Introduction to Japanese Horror Film

Beginning with Godzilla, Colette Balmain follows the evolution of Japanese horror from the 1950s to contemporary classics such as Ringuand Ju-On: The Grudge. Divided thematically, she identifies the vengeful virgin, the demonic child, the doomed lovers, and the supernatural serial killer, relating them to traditional Japanese mythology and folk-tales. She also unpacks the aesthetics of the Japanese horror film and the uses of setting, lighting, music, and mise-en-scene that make Japanese horror such a visceral experience. She concludes with the impact of Japanese horror on contemporary American cinema, reading remakes of Ringu, Dark Water, and Ju-On: The Grudge. Key Features:Covers the classics of Japanese horror, from Pitfall, Tales of Ugetsu, Kwaidan, Onibaba, Hellish Love, and Empire of Desireto cult films such as Pulse, St John's Wort, Infection, and Living Hell: A Japanese Chainsaw Massacre.Analyzes the relationship between cultural mythology and the horror genre.Explores the evolution of the erotic ghost story in the 1960s and 1970s.Examines the contemporary relationship between Japanese and American horror.

Colette Balmain is Senior Lecturer in Film at the Buckinghamshire New University.