Director: Noriaki Yuasa
Notable Cast: Yachie Matsui, Mayumi Takahashi, Sei
Hiraizumi, Yuko Hamada, Yoshiro Kitahara
With most of his career dedicated to shepherding the Gamera
franchise throughout its original run in the 1960s, 70s, and (unfortunately)
80s, it was a pleasant surprise that Arrow Video grabbed one of the few ‘other’
films that Noriaki Yuasa directed. Released the same year as Gamera Vs Viras
(see my review for that film HERE), The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired
Witch is one of his best efforts.
For a film that regularly feeds off of the same
child-focused themes that he embedded throughout the Gamera franchise,
he utilizes a fantastical horror story to sell thematic morals and he does so
with an admirably odd and offbeat manner. There’s a child-like whimsy to much
of its approach, but the balance of its silliness, creepiness, and heartfelt
moments make it a refreshing watch that feels far more impassioned than his
later Gamera entries.