It's a perfect movie. It's directed by Kaneto Shindo, the extraordinary mind behind Onibaba. Shindo was born in 1912 and is still alive (he is 98). Kuroneko (Black Cat) was completed in 1968 and is set in medieval Japan. The movie begins with the rape and murder of two village women (a mother and her daughter-in-law). A pack of hungry samurai commits the crime. The scene of the crime, a hut, is burned to the ground. After the smoke lifts and clears, a black cat appears and licks the burned bodies. The mother and daughter-and-law return to the world of the living as demons.

The demon daughter-in-law haunts Rajomon Gate. When a samurai approaches the gate at night, she walks out of the darkness and asks him to accompany her to her home. The samurai is charmed; he follows her through a bamboo grove. She seems to move without moving. She leaps over a pond. The sound of a cat is heard in the distance. Upon arriving at the house—a moon in the sky, bamboo leaves whispering—the samurai is invited in for a little sake. The invitation is accepted. The demon mother prepares the sake. The samurai drinks, gets drunk, and becomes lustful. He tries to fuck the demon daughter-in-law, but the demon bites his neck and eats his throat. Samurai after samurai are lured to this gory end. Then one day, a different samurai appears at Rajomon Gate. He recognizes the demons. They are his wife and mother. It's a perfect film. SIFF Cinema, Fri 7:30 pm, Sat–Sun 2:30 and 7:30 pm, Mon–Wed 7:30 pm.