Empire of Passion1978
“The haunting of a passionate love.”
Directed by Nagisa Ōshima
🏆 3 wins & 8 nominations total
The premise
In a small Japanese village at the end of the 19th century, a rickshaw driver's wife takes on a much younger lover and the two conspire to murder him.
Horror Vault's take
Set in the mist-laden countryside of Meiji-era Japan, this slow-burning erotic ghost story follows an adulterous wife and her younger lover as the weight of their crime begins to suffocate them from the inside out. What begins as a tale of forbidden passion gradually curdles into something far darker, as the past refuses to stay buried. Director Nagisa Oshima wraps the horror in lush, painterly imagery — snowfall, bare trees, a silent well — turning rural Japan into a landscape of guilt and dread. Fans of literary, atmospheric horror will find a film that lingers long after the credits roll.
Content: Sexual Content, Depictions Of Murder And Violence, Themes Of Infidelity, Disturbing Imagery Involving A Corpse
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