KYUKETSU-GA (1956)
aka The Vampire Moth, Bloodthirsty Moth
Article 3215 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-7-2010
Posting Date: 6-3-2010
Directed by Nobuo Nakagawa
Featuring Ryo Ikebe, Asami Kuji, Ichiro Arishima
Country: Japan
What it is: Japanese horror-mystery

Models are being killed by a werewolf-like creature. Detectives investigate.

Since my print of this is in unsubtitled Japanese, I’m not really sure what’s going on most of the time. I do know this; it’s part of a series of movies about Kosuke Kindaichi, a detective who investigates mysteries with supernatural elements which, in the end, prove to have non-supernatural explanations. Still, the horror elements are here; the killer wears a scary mask with jagged teeth, and some of the scenes have a definite eerie quality to them. There’s a number of striking scenes here; my favorites include the discovery of a corpse on a raised platform, and a dance scene in which all we see are six pairs of legs when there are only five dancers; the latter has to be seen to be believed. Apparently, part of the plot involves a blackmail scheme of some sort involving dress designs, as far as I can tell. Until I can see a version of this one with subtitles, I doubt I can say anything more about it.