Curse of the God Dog – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1977
Director: Shun'ya Itô
Writer: Shun'ya Itô
Cast: Shin'ya Ôwada, Emiko Yamauchi, Masami Hasegawa, Jun Izumi, Noboru Mitani, Shinya Ono, Jun'ya Katô, Kyôko Kishida, Akiko Koyama, Masanori Machida, Hideo Murota, Yuki Nohira, Mizuho Suzuki

Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Approximate running time: 103 Minutes 8 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"A trio of young scientists from the city head out into the countryside to investigate a source of uranium at the base of a sacred mountain. On their way, they carelessly destroy a roadside shrine and run over and kill a dog belonging to a local boy. The boy puts a curse on them and tries to disrupt the wedding when a local girl, Reiko, marries one of the trio.

Back in the city, the newlyweds are subjected to a string of increasingly disturbing and inexplicable happenings and Reiko slowly goes insane, convinced that her husband has been cursed and that she has been possessed by the spirit of the Dog God. An attempt to exorcise her ends in tragedy when she dies during the ceremony. One of the trio of scientists throws himself off a skyscraper and a second member of the group is fatally attacked by a pack of feral dogs. But these terrible events are only the start of the Curse of the Dog God...." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4k transfer from film negative, digitally restored."

Curse of the God Dog comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.8 GB

Feature: 27.8 GB

This transfer's source is in excellent shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option: a DTS-HD mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Koji Shiraishi titled Curse to Curse (19 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Shunya Ito titled Dogs and Demons(26 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow. 

Summary:

Directed by Shun'ya Itô, whose other notable films are Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, and Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable.

The narrative revolves around three men looking for a uranium mine near a rural village who accidentally run over a shrine and hit a dog, which unleashes a curse upon them.

Content-wise, Curse of the God Dog is best described as a supernatural revenge film. And though an accident sets in motion the events that unfold, What follows is a vicious cycle where one death leads to another death, and so on. Also, there is collateral damage that happens along the way to a family that the locales blame for what is happening.

The Exorcist could be a possible influence; it came four years before Curse of the Dog God, and both films deal with demonic possession. Also, there are other elements of Curse of the Dog God that are reminiscent of moments from The Exorcist; both films share similar scenes at the doctor's office; and both films have exorcism scenes.

When it comes to the performances, the cast is all very good. The standout performance is Jun Izumi (Angel Guts: Red Porno) in the role of Reiko, the wife of one of the cursed men. After her character becomes possessed, she dominates every scene she’s in. Hideo Murota (Yakuza Graveyard) in the role of the father of the boy, whose anger over his dog’s death sets the curse in motion, is another performance of note.

From a production standpoint, Curse of the God Dog is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. The premise is well executed, the narrative does a good job building momentum, and there is a crazy carnage-filled finale where bodies pile up. Another strength are the visuals and how their framing heightens the mood. That said, a dog's decapitation is easily the most disturbing moment. Fortunately, when the head comes off, it is clear that a puppet was used for the moment. Ultimately, Curse of the God Dog is overflowing with eerie moments and carnage, making it a must-see if you're a fan of Japanese horror cinema.

Curse of the God Dog gets an excellent release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer