The tokusatsu and yokai film festival at Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho continues, and today I took in a screening of Along with Ghosts (1969), the final entry in Daiei's celebrated yokai trilogy.
I first saw Along with Ghosts almost exactly 20 years ago, and (to the best of my recollection) that was the only time I'd ever watched the whole thing before today. I thought it was pretty boring at the time and considered it easily the weakest of the trilogy.
Well, I have to say that my opinion really hasn't changed very much in the last 20 years. I still consider it the weakest of the three. There's great stuff in it, of course -- Kojiro Hongo is always good, the yokai are effectively spooky (even if they are less memorable this time around), and Chumei Watanabe's score is fabulous. So there's a lot to praise. But I just think the story drags when the yokai aren't onscreen.
Overall, the other two yokai flicks are more entertaining. That said, I'd still recommend Along with Ghosts over any yokai movie that's come after it. I stopped watching the 2005 remake (or whatever it was) halfway through and never looked back, and the one in current release looks even shabbier (if that's even possible). Thanks, but no thanks, guys. I'll stick with the classics.
No comments:
Post a Comment