This is a movie that straddles a whole bunch of different genres and sub-genres.
It has some superficial affinities to the pinky violence genre (a Japanese exploitation genre that as its name suggests combined sex and violence) but the tone is very very different compared to movies of that type. It really doesn’t feel at all like a pinky violence movie. It’s a gothic horror movie but it belongs to a particular and extremely interesting Japanese sub-genre, the ghost cat story.
It’s also very definitely an erotic horror movie.
It is set in 1958. Brothels have just been made illegal but before the legislation has even come into effect a way has been to evade the new laws. Brothels are closing down and re-opening as Turkish bathhouses. Technically the girls are not prostitutes. In practice of course that’s exactly what they still are. This story takes place in the bathhouse owned by Genzō Kakinuma (Taiji Tonoyama) and his wife Utae (Tomoko Mayama).
One of the girls, Yukino (Naomi Tani), has decided that this is the right moment to quit the business. She will live a respectable life with her husband. Her sister Mayumi (Misa Ohara) will live with them. What she doesn’t know is that he is a gangster, a gambler and a psycho.
Yukino is betrayed by her husband in several different ways.
He becomes the manager of the bathhouse. He has been having an affair with the wife of the owner. So he has betrayed both his wife and his boss. And he has also betrayed the trust of Yukino’s sister Mayumi. They will later betray Genzō Kakinuma’s daughter Natsuyo (Terumi Azuma).
Perhaps he should have been more careful to make sure that her cat Kuro wasn’t watching. Cats notice things. And they don’t forgive.
One thing does worry the treacherous couple. They are aware that a black cat has been watching them.
Much mayhem will ensue.
A ghost cat can be a supernatural creature or the ghost of someone who has been murdered.
You have to bear in mind that whereas cats in western folklore are often associated with witchcraft cats are not seen as sinister by the Japanese. In a ghost cat story the ghost cat will often act as an agent of just retribution or righteous revenge.
This is not one of those All Men Are Evil stories. In this movie women can be every bit as vicious, treacherous and evil as men.
There’s some extreme violence and quite a bit of gore in this movie. There’s also a lot of nudity and sex.
The tone and the style are wildly different compared to European, British and American gothic horror films. The special effects are completely bonkers. The lighting and the use of colour give the film a very surreal otherworldly look. This is like a dark gothic horror fairy tale and the intention was clearly to make it look as artificial and stylised as possible.
One thing to keep in mind is that while this is an exploitation movie it’s also a major-studio picture with a reasonably generous budget made by experienced industry professionals.
Despite its links to the pinky violence genre A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse is essentially an erotic gothic horror movie, and a very good one. Highly recommended.
Mondo Macabro’s Blu-Ray presentation looks great. The imaginative use of lighting makes this a movie that really does need to be seen on Blu-Ray. There are some extras including an audio commentary.
I’ve also reviewed an earlier extremely good ghost cat movie, The Haunted Castle (1969). There are many other ghost cat movies and I’m keen to track down as many of them as I can.
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