Kurneko
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Kaneto Shindo
Written by Kaneto Shindo
Starring Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi
The Criterion Collection
Release Date: October 18, 2011

You can feel it in the air. The weather is changing, leaves are falling, and costumes are about to be brought out, as Halloween is just a day away. And while the majority of people will be going to the well for their cinematic slices of terror, Criterion, in their inescapable wisdom, has decided to not only follow up last year’s great release of the cult horror masterpiece Hausu with yet another cult horror offering, but hell, even cats are involved with this sucker.

Kuroneko is the name of this atmospheric gem, and it comes to us from the mind of Japanese auteur Kaneto Shindo. Best known for his fellow Criterion staple, the hauntingly devastating Onibaba, Kurnoeko (Black Cat) is equally as meditative and brooding, and is just as much of a masterful folk tale as that horror classic.