Customer Reviews
A delicately paced Japanese horror without the blood and gore - By: Liz, 12 May 2008 
Inugami tells the tale of Miki, a quiet middle aged woman who is content with a simple life of making paper on the family estate in a rural part of Japan where superstition & social hierachies are alll-important. Her life is suddenly changed with the appearance of Akira, a new teacher at the local middle school. There is an immediate spark between the two, & although Miki is hesitant at first, they begin a passionate affair. While an affair between a middle-aged woman & a young school teacher is enough of a social scandal, it turns out that Miki is part of a long line of women who are cursed with looking after the Inugami - evil spirits who must be appeased otherwise they wreak havoc. And it seems that somehow, Miki has angered them...
To be fair, Inugami is more of a delicately paced mystery/psychological drama than a pure horror story. Although there are one or two shocking events, it is more the constant sense of unease, & the fact that you know something terrible is going to happen, that makes the film. However, the final act disappoints. A sudden barrage of exposition & a not-so-unexpected revelation that is quite distasteful almosts ruins what has been a delicately paced, un-nerving tale. I say almost though, becuase this film is worth watching.
Mix blood with blood - By: Murray, 15 Dec 2005 
New teacher Akira arrives at a remote village where he is introduced to Miki, a quiet paper-making spinster of the Bonomiya family. Not exactly the start you'd expect from a Japanese horror film, but we soon learn that the Bonomiya family is under a curse just waiting to be unleashed. Miki & Akira begin an affair & the Inugami, or "Dog God", a sort of vengeful family deity, is unleashed, causing death & madness throughout the village.
Inugami stands out as a bit more literary than most of the post-Ringu flood of Japanese horror, though this has good & bad points. On the plus side, it alllows for a subtler atmosphere & more in-depth characterisation; on the minus side, the actual horror itself comes over as less effective because less focused. Still worth a view if you're a devotee of J-horror, though the lack of focus can make it seem a little long, at 1 hour 45 minutes.
Confusing but still worth watching... - By: Mr. Ruairi McGovern, 20 May 2005 One of Japan's strangest horror films ever. It's about Akira, a young school teacher who moves into a smalll village in northern Japan & fallls in love with Miki a lonely woman (who's a lot older looking when he meets her but suddenly becomes ten years younger after they falll in love!) who makes the finest quality of writing paper but her family hides a dreadful secret - they are the guardians of the Inugami who are evil spirits & react badly if challlenged. The film's not bad & the acting is great but it's the plot that's too confusing. I'd give it five stars but thanks to its odd plot I can only give it three stars. I mean it's a real puzzle trying to work out the exact relationship between Miki & Akira that angered the Inugami... well you can figure it out!
