Nijiotoko(1949) is a Japanese movie that I recently watched on a random streaming site. The storyline follows a family with a long history of being haunted and misfortunes. When a woman is murdered in the forest a young lady is listed as a prime suspect. The young lady and her friends will try to prove the haunted forest around the haunted family is responsible and prove the girl's innocence.

This movie is directed by Kiyohiko Ushihara (Shingun) and stars Manabu Morita (The Tale of Zatoichi), Kenjirô Uemura (The Quiet Duel), Kumeko Urabe (House of Many Pleasures) and Keiju Kobayashi (Sanjuro).

This movie does a good job of being methodical and relying on its writing to carry the storyline. There's a constant mystery on if there's ghosts or not the entire film. The characters and circumstances are interesting, unique and unpredictable. The cinematography is beautiful, especially the train scenes, and there's solid creepy background music through the entire film. The are limited horror elements and this felt more like a murder/mystery to me; although, I will say I loved the conclusion.

Overall, this is a unique picture that's worth your time if you're looking for something different. I would score this a 6.5/10 and recommend seeing it once.

A newspaperwoman tries to prove her friend didn't kill her uncle at his home and cover it up by setting the place on fire. As the police investigate, they discover a family obsessed by rainbows, and the threat of a 'rainbow man' who makes weird things happen.

It's director Kiyohiko Ushihara's first movie after a 12-year layoff during the Second World War, and his last fiction film - he directed a documentary that was released in 1958. This one combines Old Dark House tropes, as well as the sort of scientific bafflegab that would become a standard of science fiction movies, as well as drug use. I found this film to be interesting in its handling and inventive in its camerawork, but there's something off about its pacing that I can't be sure is intended to complement its themes.