House of Terrors (Kaidan semushi otoko)

A recently widowed woman discovers that her former husband, who died in an insane asylum, owned a remote country mansion. She and a group of friends go to the villa and find a weird demonic statue in the hallway. They are joined by a hunchback caretaker who tells them of the numerous murders that have occurred there. Soon the guests begin to hear strange noises including disembodied laughter, and feel that they are being stalked by a disturbing presence that haunts the mansion.

A rare Japanese film that was heavily influenced by US and European Gothic cinema of the 1960s, such as Mario Bava's Mask of Satan and Robert Wise's The Haunting. Filmed in luminous black and white widescreen the film is a classic of Gothic horror with many genuinely scary scenes. Packed with bizarre characters and strange occurrences the film builds to a surprising and horrifying climax. Director Hajime Satô is best known for his 1968 film Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell.

Blu-ray Features:

• NEW 2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• ORIGINAL JAPANESE AUDIO TRACK, with optional English subtitles
• NEW introduction to the film by Patrick Macias, author of Tokyoscope
• NEW intro to Toei horror by Patrick Macias
• NEW audio commentary by critic Tom Mes
• Trailer
• 16-page booklet by Asian culture scholar Jonathan Clements