The Inugami Family: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1976
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Writers: Norio Nagata, Shinya Hidaka, Kon Ichikawa
Cast: Kōji Ishizaka, Yoko Shimada, Teruhiko Aoi, Mieko Takamine, Mitsuko Kusabue, Ryoko Sakaguchi, Takeo Chii, Akiji Kobayashi, Kyōko Kishida, Hideji Ōtaki, Eitaro Ozawa, Takeshi Katō, Rentarō Mikuni

Release Date: September 14th, 2026 (UK), September 15th, 2026 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 146 Minutes 10 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.50:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"When the wealthy patriarch of the Inugami dynasty dies, he leaves his fortune to Tamayo (Yoko Shimada, Shogun), a young woman from outside the family. There is one condition: she must marry one of his grandsons. As the family gather in the stately mansion to discuss the situation, grisly murders occur. Detective Kosuke Kindaichi arrives to investigate the case and uncovers the secret history of the family’s bloodline." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The Inugami Family was digitally restored in 4K by the Kadokawa Corporation and provided to Radiance Films as a digital file."

The Inugami Family comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 35.4 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic appearance.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, an LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical teaser (53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), The Path of the 4K Digital Restoration—an archival documentary on the 4K restoration process (11 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Koji Ishizaka titled The Birth of Kosuke Kindaichi (15 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival making-of documentary titled Verification: How The Inugami Family Was Made, featuring interviews with director Kon Ichikawa, Koji Ishizaka, and editor Chizuko Osada (30 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), The Secrets of Kon Ichikawa's Visual Style—an archival interview with Kon Ichikawa, recently re-edited and produced by Yuuki Mori (44 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), Off Shots – The Day of Filming “The Secrets of Kon Ichikawa’s Visual Style"—outtakes from Kon Ichikawa's interview, produced by Yuuki Mori (8 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with Aaron Gerow, who discusses the film’s impact on the Japanese film industry (23 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and a 40-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Seeing Through Tamayo's Eyes written by Midori Suiren, an essay titled Haunted Houses and the Rediscovery of Japan written by Akihiko Ito, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Kon Ichikawa directed The Inugami Family. His notable films are The Burmese Harp, The Key, Ten Women in Black, Fires on the Palin, An Actor’s Revenge, The Devil’s Island, and The House of the Hanging.

A dispute over a family's inheritance leads to bloodshed.

The opening setup does an excellent job establishing the main characters. After the death of the patriarch of the family, all the relatives and a woman named Tamayo, an outsider who became close to the patriarch in his final years, are present. There is a stipulation: to inherit all of his wealth, she must marry one of the three grandsons. Before she’s able to make her choice, someone kills off the grandsons.

The narrative is driven by a detective character named Kosuke Kindaichi, an outsider who’s been hired by the family lawyer to conduct an investigation that runs parallel with the police’s investigation. While there are a handful of gory kills, calling The Inugami Family a horror film is misleading. That said, The Inugami Family is a crime drama that’s equal parts murder mystery and detective story.

At almost 2 ½ hours in length, the narrative is always engrossing. The well-crafted narrative does a phenomenal job concealing the killer's motivation and identity. Another strength of the narrative is how it effectively builds momentum with a series of tense moments that culminate with an exemplary finale that pulls everything into focus.

All around, the cast are all outstanding in their roles. The most memorable is Kōji Ishizaka’s portrayal of Kosuke Kindaichi. In all, Kōji Ishizaka would portray Kosuke Kindaichi in six films, all directed by Kon Ichikawa. Another performance of note is Yoko Shimada (Shōgun) in the role of Tamayo Nonomiya.

Kon Ichikawa’s instincts as a filmmaker take The Inugami Family to a place few filmmakers could have. He uses a multitude of stylistic choices visually, which greatly enhance the mood: flashbacks in black and white, still photographs, and a most unusual aspect ratio of 1.50:1. That said, there are a handful of visually striking moments, most of which feature carnage. When discussing The Inugami Family, one should not overlook its use of sound and Yuji Ohno’s (Proof of the Man) score. Ultimately, The Inugami Family tale of blackmail and deceit quickly draws you in and it holds up extremely well on repeated viewings.

The Inugami Family gets an exceptional release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer