Kaidan Review

Four traditional ghost stories, based on a collection by turn-of-the-century Western tale collector Lafcadio Hearn. A stylised, colourful and strange picture, Kwaidan is sometimes a touch slow for non-Japanese audiences and the tiny plots strain under the weight of the amazing images. However, these are amazing: a frost-haired snow demon who strikes a bargain with an unwary traveller; a stately sea battle in the fog; courtesans committing suicide in blood-frothed water after their master has been killed; a man trying to foil demons by having prayers painted over his entire body but suffering when the painter misses his ears; a samurai who sees someone else's reflection in his bowl of tea and unwittingly drinks the other man's soul.