MOVIE SUMMARY
The film begins with Miho and Ryuzo, two adulterous lovers, being
hunted down by Miho's husband. Ryuzo is killed while the pregnant
Miho is bludgeoned and left for dead. As she dies, she gives birth
to her daughter, Aki, who is thus considered to have been born in
hell.
20 years later, Aki – who is the very image of her
mother - has become a daredevil racing car driver. She feels that
strange forces are trying to kill her. To solve the mystery of her
past she returns to the remote village where her mother died and to
the dysfunctional family that refused to take care of Aki when she
was a baby. Aki’s arrival triggers a series of disastrous events as
she tries to take revenge for the murder of her mother.
Inspired by the famous 1960 film Jigoku, The Inferno shows the hell
of Aki’s life in this world but then takes us on an astonishing trip
into the beyond, where the film visualizes the hideous punishments
and bizarre monsters that await the unfortunate souls condemned for
eternity to The Inferno.
Director Tatsumi Kumashiro, formerly
one of the mainstays of Nikkatsu Studio’s sexually charged “roman
porno” series, here delivers one of the masterpieces of 1970s
Japanese cinema.
DISC FEATURES
-Brand new 2k transfer from film negative -Digitally restored -Interview with writer/film maker Hiroshi
Takahashi -Interview with film maker Koji Shiraishi -Original trailer -Optional subtitles -Brand new sleeve artwork by Justin Coffee
REVIEWS
"Possessed machinery, strange hellish visions, magical reflections
in mirrors, some erotica, and various fantastical odds and ends,
mixed with some nightmarish punishments in hell involving an abyss,
flames, a huge human meat grinder, giant demons, sharp impaling
floors, etc." The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre
"A brilliantly
realized and wonderfully crafted horror film. This deserves to be
seen by so many more people. J.K." Letterboxd
"Hell manifests
itself through the sins, shame and desires of an upper class rural
family and a mother's grief from beyond the grave." DVDCompare
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