Demon Pond
夜叉ヶ池
Japan • 1979
Director
#1237Criterion Collection →Synopsis
Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda transforms a classic Kabuki tale with his own extravagant visual style in this dimension-shattering folk-horror fantasia. When a lone traveler (Tsutomu Yamazaki) stumbles upon a remote, drought-stricken village, he finds himself engulfed in a whirlpool of myth, mystery, and magic: in a nearby pond reside spirits who hold the fate of the town’s inhabitants—including lovers Akira (Go Kato) and Yuri (Kabuki legend Tamasaburo Bando, who also plays the ethereal princess reigning over the water)—in their hands. Set to the swirling strains of electronic-music pioneer Isao Tomita’s synth score, DEMON POND blends theatrical artifice with cinematic surrealism for an aquatic-apocalyptic fable of human love and folly caught in the current of nature’s wrath.
Synopsis
Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda transforms a classic Kabuki tale with his own extravagant visual style in this dimension-shattering folk-horror fantasia. When a lone traveler (Tsutomu Yamazaki) stumbles upon a remote, drought-stricken village, he finds himself engulfed in a whirlpool of myth, mystery, and magic: in a nearby pond reside spirits who hold the fate of the town’s inhabitants—including lovers Akira (Go Kato) and Yuri (Kabuki legend Tamasaburo Bando, who also plays the ethereal princess reigning over the water)—in their hands. Set to the swirling strains of electronic-music pioneer Isao Tomita’s synth score, DEMON POND blends theatrical artifice with cinematic surrealism for an aquatic-apocalyptic fable of human love and folly caught in the current of nature’s wrath.
Criterion Closet Pick
(1)
Credits
Crew
DirectorMasahiro Shinoda
WriterTsutomu Tamura, Haruhiko Mimura
CinematographerMasao Kosugi, Noritaka Sakamoto
ComposerIsao Tomita
EditorZen Ikeda, Sachiko Yamaji
Cast
Tamasaburō Bandō Vas Yuri / Princess Shirayuki
Gō Katōas Akira Hagiwara
Tsutomu Yamazakias Gaukuen Yamazaki