Another adaptation of a famous Japanese play; I previously saw this as a stage version filmed by Takashi Miike. The 1979 is far superior, with a proper cinematic feel and a wealth of special effects work - a lot of it dated, it has to be said - to see it through. It starts off strongly with plenty of eerie atmosphere but then gets bogged down in the next hour with a lot of small talk and conversation that goes nowhere. There are some weird scenes that reminded me of a YOKAI MONSTERS movie and then a classic disaster-style climax which really ramps things up. Overall it's too overlong in the mid section to be truly successful, but fans of Japanese folklore will like it.
Review of Demon Pond
