From the mastermind of director Hideo Nakata (The Ring), one of Japan’s most influential and prestigious directors once again lends his talents to the horror movie genre after an absence of 6-years, Kaiden is pure treat that is a horror movie set in Feudal Japan.

With that said, the Japanese have a knack for creating realistically frightening horror movies as ghost stories are part of their culture and Kaiden truly immerses you into the culture and spirituality of Japan.

The story begins with Soetsu, a moneylender who has a fatal altercation with a Samurai and with his dying words, he utters a nefarious curse against the Samurai and his family. Fast forward 20 years later to Shinkichi, the son of the Samurai who was originally cursed by the moneylender and somehow falls in love with a beautiful woman called Toyoshiga and unbeknown to our hero, she is the daughter of Soetsu.

From there, the spark of the curse begins and Shinkichi is soon plagued by ghosts and other strange occurrences in this classic Japanese ghost story. The cinematography of Kaiden is brilliant and really draws you into the Feudal world of Japan, however the direction by Nakata and the performances by the actors in Kaiden is unparalleled that will keep you glued to the screen from start to finish and may even require you to sleep with the lights on.

With perfect video and audio quality, Kaiden has some interesting features that include the “Making of Kaiden”, the original theatrical trailers and a stills gallery that nicely rounds this DVD out. Scary from start to finish but not in a Hollywood slasher way!