KAÏRO connections

[Tom Mes]

Is a horror movie not a horror movie when it aims to do more than scare? Are 
Sam Peckinpah's films not action films because of their message? In other 
words: does a genre film cease to be just that when it brings more then the 
minimum requirements?

I feel Kairo's main intention is most definitely to scare. Kurosawa's love 
for horror is far too often brushed over because of the themes he 
incorporates. Some people are a bit too eager to elevate him above the level 
of a genre director, probably because they feel it's too lowly a description 
for him and don't want to see him associated with the genre that has also 
given us Friday the 13th or Zombie Flesh Eaters.

Yes, Kurosawa's films have a lot more going for them than just scares and I 
too feel he is in a class by himself as a filmmaker. But we shouldn't try to 
deny his roots. They make him what he is, after all. As a filmmaker, he is 
all the more interesting because of them.

Tom

Midnight Eye - japan_cult_cinema
http://www.midnighteye.com
tom at midnighteye.com
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