Very, very nice! Maybe not a "hidden gem", but a solid 7/10 from me, as while none of them is really great, each of the stories is eerie, funny and original enough to make me simply glad I watched them and to actually want to keep this.
From my even more limited knowledge of Japanese words (I would not dare claiming I actually know the language to any degree), "kowai" means "frightening", "scary" or something like "eerie" or "creepy", so the literal (and a pretty easy one, too) translation of the title should be "Scary Women", "Eerie Women" or something to that effect (one suggested by Vae would do pretty well too
). Instead we're stuck with "Unholy Women", which while quite close to the intended meaning, it still pretty different from it and since there are at least 4 easy enough words that could replace it, I'm left wondering why.
It's still pretty mild next to somebody translating "bakemono" within the second segment to plain "freak" (unfortunately it also ruins any suspense from that point on). Oh, and btw "kakashi" does literally mean "scarecrow" as in the manga and the movie.
#1 "Rattle Rattle" is (at first glance) your standard run-of-the-mill rattling yūrei (it's even called that), except very energetic and with a penchant for making faces. It does have a hilarious conclusion/explanation at the end though. It screams "Twilight Zone", but that's not a detriment here. Worth watching!
#2 "Nagane" ("Steel") is just plain hilarious and very reminiscent of old American cartoons... and Tetsuo. And Eraserhead. Also if you ever wondered how many different emotions could you express while wearing a bag over your entire body from waist up, here's your answer. btw you
probably won't recognize her, but the girl in the sack was also in The Grudge 2 (American, but I can't really call it a remake, since it was both written and Directed by Takashi Shimizu), but only as an extra. And if you want to know how she looks when not wrapped in a bag, look
HERE. I assure you, she's not one of those that SHOULD be wearing bags over their heads, much less half their bodies.
#3 "The Inheritance" is "supervised by Takashi Shimizu". From the get go, I was expecting to see Toshio, as that little cocksucker seems to pop up everywhere as in on cue whenever Shimizu's name is mentioned, but to my surprise I couldn't spot him anywhere. Instead we get a little bitching bitch Michio, who is at least more alive than Toshio (not hard to achieve) and his vocabulary is not limited to sounds made by undead cats. His mum is the
real monster though, as she (GASP!) divorced her husband and by doing that, BROKE UP THE FAMILY!!! Her mum doesn't miss any opportunity to remind her of that as well as to try and kick her out back to Tokyo (too bad that Ms. Monster doesn't have anywhere to live there anymore). Pretty soon the cast is complete when Michio gets a visit from his undead uncle in a transparent 7-year old form. Bet you didn't expect that with Shimizu's name on it, huh?! Anyway, Unca Masahiko was killed when he was 7 years old, yet his sister still mindlessly clings to the thought that he just went away and is still alive somewhere. Sure, sure, he parties with Santa Claus and the Eastern Bunny all the time and gets blow jobs from the Tooth Fairy. When Michio admits to seeing him, his mum casually calls him "baka" and tells him to go to sleep. Well, so much for 'living in the real world'. The machinations of the angry undead motherfucker Masahiko (who apparently wants to 'git back' for being killed) take some time, but mostly because unlike the first two segments, this one actually has a plot and follows it from the beginning (it has this too!) up till the end (debatable). The pale motherfucker has to actually and literally lead Michio to his earthly remains by the nose. Michio, being Michio, screams to his heart content at the sight of his uncle's skull and seems to be getting the picture, but then merrily follows his mum to the slaughter. Good riddance.
