#kuniko gamera

[thezanyarthropleura]

March 21 (1 of 2: 1969)

(This post covers Gamera: vs. Guiron, look out for a separate Gamera vs. Jiger post later today)

Happy 54 years to Gamera vs. Guiron, the fifth film in the Showa era, and happy 53 years to Gamera vs. Jiger, the sixth film in the Showa era. Two back-to-back films with quadrupedal enemy monsters, even if Guiron apparently only is because the suit was too impractical for him to be bipedal. Also, two films that play reference to major cross-culture world events happening around the time of release.

Gamera vs. Guiron is the tragic tale of two single mothers, Kuniko and Elza, who are clearly in love with each other, but who’ve been so broken by repression and stolen dreams that they seal themselves in worlds where anything strange and exciting, even with proof, is simply fantasy, and life goals outside the strictly practical are to be brushed aside as demons of false hope. Despite an alien invasion taking place the previous year (confirmed as canon by its presence in flashbacks from Akio’s memories), both women refuse to believe Kuniko’s daughter Tomoko when she insists Akio and Tom were abducted by an alien spaceship, dismissing all previous alien sightings as made-up stories. Elza insists it’s unhealthy to allow children to believe such things, and Kuniko pushes her children away from their love of space and toward their studies – especially Tomoko, who she perhaps has some desperate hope will be given better options in life than she herself was.

Also, Guiron is a giant knife monster, Space Gyaos gets chopped up like a thanksgiving turkey, and Gamera competes in the Olympics. Perhaps I haven’t made it sound like it so far, but make no mistake, this is a FUN Gamera movie, perhaps the most fun out of all of them! It’s also the film where I put on my continuity goggles (overtop of my shipping goggles) and start yelling “I’ve connected the two points!” into the void, so get ready folks, this one’s a doozy!

This film might as well be called Gamera’s space adventure, because that’s exactly what it is, a film where Gamera gets to go into space and fight monsters on an alien planet. The monster action is well-known for being extensive, brutal, and filled with fun and wacky moments. If you’ve ever seen that widely-circulated clip of Gamera swinging again and again around a yellow pole, only to succumb to gravity and reverse directions for another few goes around, that’s from this movie, and no, it doesn’t really make any more sense in context, other than apparently having been inspired by the then-recent 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico.

All this monster wackiness is observed by the aforementioned two children, Akio and Tom, who are lured to space by their innate, hopeful desire to visit an advanced civilization that’s solved all the tragic problems of Earth (joke all you want about Akio’s insistence that ‘war’ and ‘traffic accidents’ are the two equivalent pillars of evil, you won’t after Gamera the Brave). This film begins the tradition of including a third child protagonist, specifically one boy’s sister, who is present in the film but doesn’t get to go on the main adventure, instead being relegated to subplots. This would continue into the next movie, Gamera vs. Jiger, but be resolved by the final mainline Showa film Gamera vs. Zigra, in which one of the main two is a little girl who has her own sidelined sister character. In this case, the third wheel is Akio’s sister Tomoko, who spends the film sneaking around desperately trying to pry Kuniko and Elza out of their small, closed-off, oppressed worlds to realize their children are in real trouble.

Now, this isn’t really a movie one is supposed to think too much about, but since I’m the type of kaiju fan who’s at her happiest when metaphorically disassembling 18th-century warships and soldering together their primary armaments into complex and beautiful public art installations… let’s do some canon-welding!

Our primary antagonists here are Barbella and Florbella, apparently the two sole humanoid inhabitants of planet Tera. Nearly all the exposition they give about their species and planet is in the presence of Akio and Tom, who they’re intending to deceive, such that it can be taken as a stretch of the truth if there’s any truth to it at all. Their real objective is to harvest the children’s brains and use the information contained within to adapt themselves, a process they compare to microorganisms acclimating to a new environment. They seem intent on using this adaptation process for some sort of invasion or at least infiltration of planet Earth.

Characteristics we see outside of the children’s presence, and thus that can be assumed to be true of their species, include eyes that glow and flicker yellow in low light conditions (a trait shared by the ‘human suits’ used by the Virasians in the previous film), the fact they disintegrate completely into light upon death (a trait shared by Giruge from Super Monster, who this author assumes is a fourth Spacewoman from the peaceful star M88 and thus this trait can be applied to the others), that they can communicate in a fast, chirp-like language but don’t always use it (later continuing to speak in Japanese/English depending on the film version even when they two of them are alone), and that they apparently possess a cultural philosophy in which the useless must be killed.

Ideas they relay to the children, and thus cannot be completely trusted as fact, include that they are the last survivors of a civilization advanced enough to control the weather (similar to the Muans), that the planet they inhabit, Tera, is beginning an ice age, thus necessitating their speedy departure for Earth, and that a powerful computer is responsible for, through an apparent error, creating destructive monsters that wiped out the rest of their people (similar to the Atlanteans and Nilai-Kanai).

One idea relayed to the children, but that there is solid evidence for in the film, is that the facility they occupy is besieged by creatures called Space Gyaos. Space Gyaos is very interesting, because we see (mostly in the background on monitors) that there are in fact many of them, allegedly having infested the planet and killed off is population. It’s eerily reminiscent of what regular Gyaos would eventually become known for in the Heisei trilogy and beyond. Presuming Barbella and Florbella are telling the truth about the planet’s computer being responsible for the Space Gyaos, it brings to mind the inevitable question of whether it’s also somehow connected to the Earth Gyaos. Does this supposed computer, and by extension the two women and their society on Tera, have some secret connection to ancient Earth?

Building on the speculations of Den Valdron and Chris N. in regard to the Toho alien races and the ancient Muans, it might be logical to assume the Teran people are a lost space colony of the ancient Atlanteans. However, something we have to contend with here are the characteristics listed above, which seem to preclude them being completely human. In particular, the fact they disintegrate on death (which happens regardless of whether or not they are killed by an energy weapon), seems to point in the direction of them being energy beings or artificial constructs of some kind.

If we connect the Terans to both the M88 inhabitants and the Virasian human suits, it’s clear they mimic human biology to high degree – they can bleed, they have fleshy limbs, they eat and sleep – but then somehow have the capacity to dissolve into energy. And if they can return to energy, perhaps they were created from it, leading to the question of who or what created them. Fortunately, this film already introduces something said to be capable of creating living beings – the Teran control computer.

It is my speculation that no living Atlanteans made it into space, but something they created did - an artificial construct that played a role in the creation of at least the Gyaos, and retained the template in order to produce a new kind of Gyaos on planet Tera. A construct that has some limited capacity to create energy-based servitors that evoke the image of its human creators (with all or at least some variations given the capacity to communicate with the construct in its own electronic language, to process organic matter into electronic data, and instilled with an enforced mentality of strict utilitarianism), some of which later broke free of its control and spread throughout the galaxy to ultimately become its enemies. A construct that, after having its monsters and servitors defeated on Tera but being, itself, left intact, would go into hiding, recouping its losses until, eleven years later, it would launch a final invasion of its planet of origin, Earth, restarting the Tera production facility and utilizing copies of all the monster templates at its disposal.

As an addendum to the timeline put forth in my post on the Wold-Newton literary concept and kaiju cinema, here are the events, as I suggest they have occurred, in the chronicle of Atlantean Genetic Supercomputer Zanon:

12,000 years ago: As Atlantis is destroyed, an artificial intelligence used in the Atlantean genetics program escapes into space, either already or sometime thereafter named “Zanon.” It brings with it the plans for many of the Atlanteans’ creations, including the previously-made Gyaos, Barugon, and Jiger. It is unknown if Guiron, Zigra, and Viras had also been created at that point, had been designed but not yet produced, or were new designs invented by Zanon after it fled into space (Thematically, I personally prefer the middle version). It is also unknown whether Zanon has the capacity to create a Gamera, and if so, whether the amount of Mana needed is what makes such an attempt too costly and impractical.

12,000 years ago to 1968: Either immediately or in the intervening millennia, Zanon settles on planet Tera, produces the Space Gyaos and Guiron, and creates a race of hybridized biological/energy servitors to do its bidding, not all necessarily in that order. At some point, a significant amount of these servitors rebel or otherwise are separated from Zanon’s control, and establish at least one colony, the Peaceful Star M88. Zanon would later attack and destroy M88, leaving at least three, perhaps four survivors. It is unknown whether Zanon is responsible for the Zigra and Virasian specimens that come to act independently in the galaxy during this time, or whether they’d been previously produced by the Atlanteans and made their way into space following Atlantis’s destruction. Either way, the Virasians at some point acquire humanoid disguises bearing a common origin with the Zanon servitors.

1968: Virasians outside Zanon’s control make two attempts to invade Earth, the first thwarted immediately by Gamera and the second by two human children. It is possible this brought Earth and perhaps Gamera to Zanon’s attention, and may have played a role in Zanon potentially targeting children for information the next year.

1969: By this year, Zanon is operating on Tera with the aid of two servitors and Guiron. The Space Gyaos are no longer under Zanon’s control, if they ever were, and Guiron must be used to defend Zanon’s computer core from their attacks. An unoccupied spacecraft is sent to Earth in a plot to capture and return specimens of modern humans to Tera, where knowledge of Earth’s present civilization will be extracted from their minds and used to plan a later invasion of the world. The plan is thwarted by Gamera, who rescues the two captured children. In the ensuing battle, both servitors and Guiron are killed, but Zanon’s computer core remains outside Gamera’s suspicions and is able to flee the planet.

1971: A Zigra outside Zanon’s control attempts to invade Earth, and is killed by Gamera. This may have influenced Zanon’s later decisions, either by further motivating it to see Earth as a threat or convincing it to delay and gather more forces prior to making a full invasion.

1980: By this year, three survivors of M88 are present on Earth, secretly embedded in the population but known to its inhabitants as “Spacewomen” when they act using their uniforms and abilities. Zanon is now operating out of a mobile starship and is aided by one servitor, whose independence suggests she may be a survivor of M88 or another colony who has willfully sworn allegiance to Zanon. The kaiju production facility on Tera has also been reactivated and is in use by Zanon. Gamera destroys all the newly-produced kaiju and uses a sacrificial Mana blast to destroy Zanon’s starship, presumably ending the rogue Atlantean AI’s reign of terror for good.

(*continuity goggles off*) Gamera vs. Guiron is one of my favorite Showa films, its fun factor eclipsing most others and its unique setting and possible lore boosting its appeal. In my view, it’s the definitive ‘turn off your brain and enjoy the nonsense’ Gamera movie, and it’s bound to be a fun time for any viewer willing to roll with it. And we can only hope there’s a brighter, happier future ahead for Kuniko and Elza, who have now come to accept the supernatural as part of their lives and may, perhaps, let go of some other old ideas and recognize the love they share for what it is.

Enjoy this movie with cosmic brownies and some sliced-up Gyaos pepperoni.

[docrotten]

THE SNAKE GIRL AND THE SILVER-HAIRED WITCH (1968) – Episode 175 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“She’s a snake! My sister’s a snake!” Hmmm, that makes for an interesting family tree. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, and Jeff Mohr along with guest host Bryan Clark – as they discuss The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (1968, Hebi musume to hakuhatsuma) from the studio (Daiei) and director (Noriaki Yuasa) that brought you the Gamera films.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 175 – The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (1968)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

After years in an orphanage, a young girl named Sayuri is reunited with her estranged family. Her new home includes an amnesiac mother, a sister confined to the attic, and an absent father who experiments with poisonous snakes. Sayuri receives a less than cordial reception from her sister, Tamami. Still, when a witch attacks Sayuri, the two sisters must overlook their differences and join forces to battle her.

  Directed by: Noriaki Yuasa

Writing Credits: Kimiyuki Hasegawa (writer); Kazuo Kozu (story “Hebimusune to Hakuhatsuki”); Kazuo Umezu (manga)

Music by: Shunsuke Kikuchi

Cinematography by: Akira Uehara

Selected Cast:

Yûko Hamada as Yuko Nanjo (as Yuko Hamada)

Sachiko Meguro as Shige Kito

Yachie Matsui as Sayuri Nanjo

Mayumi Takahashi as Tamami Nanjo

Sei Hiraizumi as Tatsuya Hayashi

Yoshirô Kitahara as Goro Nanjo

Kuniko Miyake as Sister Yamakawa – The Director of Orphan asylum

Osamu Maruyama as Doctor

Saburô Ishiguro as Teacher Sasaki

Tadashi Date as School Servant

Mariko Fukuhara as Doll

Kazuo Umezu as Taxi Driver

Join the Grue Crew and guest host Bryan Clark to explore Daphne’s choice for this episode, The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (1968). This Japanese release involves venomous snakes, creepy spiders, a hideous witch, detachable limbs, a snake girl, and atmospheric visuals in a creepy “Scooby-doo” mystery. What will the Grue Crew think?

At the time of this writing, The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch is available for streaming from the Shudder, AMC+, and Arrow. The film is also available on physical media in the Blu-ray format from Arrow Video.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Chad is At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964). Yup. They’re going to Brazil to meet up with Zé do Caixão, also known as Coffin Joe! 

[NOTE: The crew switched from Tonight I’ll Possess Your Corpse (1967) (as announced on the podcast) to At Midnight I’ll Take Your Corpse (1964).]

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[brokehorrorfan]

The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch will be released on Blu-ray on September 21 via Arrow Video. Mike Lee-Graham designed the new cover art for the 1968 Japanese tokusatsu film; the original poster is on the reverse side.

Noriaki Yuasa (Gamera) directs from a script by Kimiyuki Hasegawa (Kamen Rider), based on the manga by Kazuo Umezu. Yûko Hamada, Sachiko Meguro, Yachie Matsui, Mayumi Takahashi, Sei Hiraizumi, Yoshirô Kitahara, and Kuniko Miyake star. Daiei Studios (Gamera) produces.

The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch is presented in high definition with original Japanese uncompressed mono audio and English subtitles. Read on for the special features.

Special features:

Audio commentary by film historian David Kalat (new)

Interview with manga and folklore scholar Zack Davisson (new)

Theatrical trailer

Image gallery

A young girl named Sayuri is reunited with her estranged family after years in an orphanage – but trouble lurks within the walls of the large family home. Her mother is an amnesiac after a car accident six months earlier, her sullen sister is confined to the attic and a young housemaid dies inexplicably of a heart attack just before Sayuri arrives... is it all connected to her father’s work studying venomous snakes? And is the fanged, serpentine figure that haunts Sayuri’s dreams the same one spying on her through holes in the wall?

[culturalgutter]

Have you ever had terrifying dreams of a snakes flying at you and eyes watching you through a knot of wood? Have you ever felt the hands of the Silver-Haired Witch around your throat? Have you ever feared that your sister might, in fact, be a malicious snake girl?

Last month I wrote about Kazuo Umezu’s snake woman / hebi onna stories collected in Reptilia published by IDW Publishing in 2007. This month, I’m writing about, Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (1968) a film adaptation of Umezu’s work. Snake Girl and The Silver-Haired Witch screenwriters Kimiyuki Hasegawa and Kazuo Koze used two stories from Reptilia: “Afraid of Mommy” and “Reptilia.” Some comics adaptations recreate a narrative or storyline. Some try to recreate a comic shot for shot, like Sin City (2005) or 300 (2006). But Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch is an intriguing adaptation. It is more about capturing the feel of Umezu’s manga and using particular elements while creating a whole new story.  It reminds me of 1930s and 1940s film adaptations of literary works and plays that note they are “suggested by” their source material or even of Roger Corman’s Poe films, that are certainly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s–and sometimes H.P. Lovecraft’s–works, but certainly aren’t “faithful” adaptations in the sense of presenting that exact story on the screen.

It is remarkably emotionally intense, especially in a film for children. Yes, like Umezu’s manga, Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch is intended for children and it would probably have messed me up had I saw it when I was nine–at the same time that I would probably have loved how well it captured the terrors of childhood. It’s in a different, more intense vein than director Yuasu’s other children’s films—Gamera (1965); Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967); and, Gamera vs. Viras (1968). Gamera is famously a friend to children, but he is most often friend to a little boy while the boy’s sister is left to hang around with, say, the local comic relief policeman instead of going on space adventures. In Snake Girl And The Silver-Haired Witch, not only does Yuasa move into horror and mystery, his protagonist is a little girl, though neither the snake girl nor the silver-haired witch are friends to her. As I noted last month, I have watched quite a few films with snake ladies, but this is the first one where I didn’t sympathize with the snake. In fact, I liked heroine Sayuri’s moxie and her rad pixie haircut. And this is the first snake lady movie I’ve watched that reminds me of Italian thrillers and specifically giallo films, the giallo with supernatural elements. Like so much giallo, Umezu and Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch give us: murder, dreams and surrealism, orphanages, secrets, nuns, dolls, eyes, hypno spirals, masks, witches, hospitals, head injuries, reptiles, spiders and malice.*

Dream images

The film starts with the murder of a maid in a herpetological laboratory. A caped figure with a scaled hand takes a snake from a terrarium and throws it at the maid. The snake wraps around the poor woman’s neck. Is she strangled? Is she bitten? Does she have a heart attack from fright? We only know she’s dead. Then we cut directly to a Catholic orphanage. Sayuri’s father, Goro Nanjo (Yoshirō Kitahara) has come to take her home to her biological family. The nun in charge of the orphanage, Sister Yamakawa (Kuniko Miyake) assures Sayuri (Yachie Matsui) that this is indeed her father. Matsui has a natural charm and I’m sad that she didn’t go on to work in film. As far as I can tell, she starred in only one other film, Aitsu to Watashi (1967). But she did go on to become a champion bowler and that is, frankly, amazing. There are actors all over the place, but so few bowling champions in the world. Sayuri is nine, old enough to take care of herself, but still a kid. Her best friend is her older “brother” at the orphanage, Tatsuya (Sei Hiraizumi). Tatsuya is straight up what anyone could want in an older brother: brave, smart, loyal, listens to and believes Sayuri. And at somewhere between eighteen and twenty-five, Tatsuya is old enough for adults to take seriously.

Moxie!

Sayuri is ecstatic to have a family. Her parents seem swell, though her father has a herpetolotical (and scorpion and dinosaur skull) laboratory in the basement and her mother (Yuko Hamada) is recovering from a car accident that has left her detached and confused. The Nanjo family just has time for a reunion dinner before Dr. Nanjo must skedaddle to Africa on a research mission concerning a rare snake. He plans to be gone for three weeks and in that time we discover what I assume are all the Nanjo family secrets**. Because Sayuri’s mother’s mental health is delicate, Shige (Sachiko Meguro), the Nanjo’s surviving servant runs interference between Sayuri and her mother. Sayuri has strange, phantasmagoric dreams in her new home. Dreams with hypnospiral backgrounds and staring eyes. Dreams where her doll comes alive. Her first night in her new home, we see an eye staring down at Sayuri through a hole in the ceiling. Later a snake drops onto Sayuri in her bed. Sayuri calls for her mother, but awakens Shige, who, seeing no snake, decides Sayuri is lying. Thus, begins the gaslighting of Sayuri. But Sayuri is so filled with moxie and has had many years of healthy support from Sister Yamakawa and Tatsuya that she trusts her instincts and decides to watch what she tells Shige and her mother.

Praying with her mother one day, Sayuri sees eyes looking back at her from behind the altar. And she tells her mother of seeing a girl in her room. Her mother admits that Sayuri has an older sister, Tamami (Mayumi Takahashi), who lives in the attic and peers at them through the walls and ceiling. Tamami is ill and difficult, according to her mother, and so does not go to school. Tamami says she was lurking in Sayuri’s bedroom because she wanted to meet her sister. Thinking a life spent peeking through holes is no way to live, Sayuri agrees to share the bedroom and bed with Tamami. Their mother is overjoyed that her daughters want to be friends. She makes them promise not to tell Dr. Nanjo, who apparently is the only one who does not know Tamami is living in the attic and creeping around the house’s crawlspaces dropping snakes on people. As they shake hands, Sayuri notices how cold her older sister’s hand is. And Tamami thinks, “What a kind grip. Tasty indeed.”

Their mother joins Tamami and Sayuri’s hands.

Tamami

Yumiko and her mother in “Scared of Mama”

After another nightmare, Sayuri awakens the next morning to find Tamami staring at pictures of frogs in her biology textbook. Tamami can’t go to school, but Tamami sure likes to look at pictures of frogs. Sayuri also discovers that Tamami had torn the head off Sayuri’s doll, who had appeared as a protective figure in her dream. Did I mention that the dream sequences are amazing?

Tamami is fascinated by the image of a frog

Snake woman with the picture of a frog she has torn from Yumiko’s biology textbook.

Sayuri continues to go to school, but at home Tamami only becomes more hostile and malicious. In a terrifying display, Tamami locks Sayuri in their father’s laboratory and dissolves a living snake in a tank of acidic venom right in front of her. Sayuri becomes more and more convinced her sister is a snake girl, regardless of Shige’s assertions that she is a liar. She sees scales on Tamami’s back and finds one in their room.

Snake woman’s back.

Tamami’s back

Scale Sayuri found.

Her biology teacher determines that it is a snake scale. When she brings home a frog from class, Tamami is fascinated by it. That night, Tamami tricks Sayuri into thinking she has slipped out of the house to hunt for frogs. When Shige and their mother go out to find Tamami, Sayuri is again locked in with Tamami. In a trick straight out of “Scared of Mama,” Tamami has fooled everyone into leaving her alone with Sayuri. She tears a bullfrog in half and throws it at Sayuri. She tells Sayuri that she is a snake. Leading to another amazing dream sequence and awakens on the floor in time to hear Tamami tell her mother and Shige that Sayuri is lying about her and saying she’s a snake. This is enough to get Sayuri banished to the attic, which is filled with masks from all over the world lit in the creepiest way possible. Tamami is in charge now, and locks the door on Sayuri, as the door had been locked on her. Now Sayuri watches Tamami in her old room through the hole in the attack floor.

Another Umezu theme, eyes peering in. This time it’s Sayuri.

Sayuri is still plagued by eerie dreams, but now they have a new element—a silver-haired Witch who watches her through the attic skylight and then tries to strangle her. When she wakes up, she sees the silver-haired witch and climbs out her window making her way down several stories to the street. Because Sayuri’s got moxie. Sayuri catches a cab and goes to the orphanage where she tells Tatsuya and Sister Yamakawa all about it. The nun has some news of her own about Tamami. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by mentioning the word, “sanatorium.” Sister Yamakawa begins to write a letter to Sayuri’s father clearing up the whole matter, but in media letter, the witch stabs her.

Still clutching her pen

Meanwhile, Sayuri and Tatsuya hurry to the Nanjo house on Tatsuya’s rad scooter. They’ve received a call summoning Sayuri home; Mrs. Nanjo has had another accident. But they run afoul of the silver-haired witch. Will they escape? Will Mr. Nanjo ever come home? The story continues with more mystery, danger and derring-do. And the ending is remarkably intense. Again, especially intense for a children’s movie, though perhaps not as much for manga and young adult fiction in general.

Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch has an interesting serial feel that doesn’t come from Umezu’s source material, beyond, perhaps, his own pacing in the two short stories used. The film has a little bit of a drawing room mystery feel to it—or maybe more an old time serial feel in its non-stop pacing, its perils and in its plot. There is even cliff-hanging—or, really, building hanging—and a thrilling conclusion. And there are the villains with elaborate schemes, but set in every day life. And there are the snake girl and the witch who might or might not be supernatural. There was no silver-haired witch in the stories collected in Reptilia, but Umezu’s snake woman stories are supernatural and the snake monster is real. In Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, it is much less clear until the end. There’s what we think we see, what we suspect and what’s really happening once everything is explained. It could be that Sayuri is only dreaming; that Tamami really is a snake; or that something else is going on. But like Umezu’s snake women, Tamami and the witch are relentlessly malicious people trying to get rid of a meddling kid.

In Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, screenwriters Hasegawa and Koze certainly captured the feeling of the manga, but came up with something new using elements from the two short stories and adding the witch. There are many elements from “Scared of Mama” and “Reptilia” in the film: frogs, frog-eating, snake scales, eyes peering through holes, attempted gaslighting, nightmares, head injuries, uncertainty about parents, and a sequence in which a child locks herself in the house after sending her caretakers to go find the snake, who has pretended to leave to go eat frogs, but has hidden at home to torment the girl. In fact, Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch is like another story in the series.

Mom with head inury.

Yumiko’s mother with head injury. One of several women with a single-eye in Reptilia as well.

As in so much Japanese horror, what happens is almost always an unfortunate confluence of beings and events. The victim gets someone or something’s attention. In Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, there was a mistake nine years ago and now Sayuri and Tamami are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The “paranormal illness” Tamami suffers is a little different than that of the snake woman in “Afraid of Mommy.” Snake Girl does not become a snake because she believes one. At least not to the extant of growing a tail. As Tatsuya tells Tamami, when pleading for his and Sayuri’s life, Tamami is ugly not because of her scales, but because she has grown ugly inside. And as in so much Japanese horror, whether or not Tamami was born a snake girl, she has become demonic through her bitterness, resentment, jealousy and envy. Ugly emotions, unchecked, can turn anyone into a demon.

*It’s also easy to watch as an adaptation of Jane Eyre with a snake girl in the attic instead of Bertha Antoinette Mason, but that’s a whole ‘nother article. Matt Lynch also notes how much like a giallo the movie seems at Letterboxd.

**Of course, who knows what else lurked in the Nanjo home. I mean, Dr. Nanjo has a dinosaur skull. Time travel? Cloning? Dino ladies?

~~~

When shaking hands, Carol Borden often remarks how soft and delicious her new acquaintance’s hand seems.

  The Snake Within: Adapting Kazuo Umezu’s Reptilia Have you ever had terrifying dreams of a snakes flying at you and eyes watching you through a knot of wood?