Middle-aged paper maker Miki (Yuki Amami) has lived her entire life in an isolated village, her family line, the Bonimiya's, has been entrusted to keep the village safe from the inugami (dog spirits). However, when a new schoolteacher comes to the village, Akira Nutahara (Atsuro Watabe), the two fall for each other. After the two make love, Miki begins to regain her youth and strange misfortunes begin to occur for the townspeople. Confusion, rumor, and bad blood begins to fester and the Bonimiya families past seems to be the link.

Inagumi is a bit all over the place, blending elements of the erotic, the supernatural, some shocks, but it flows at such a subdued pace that it doesn't really commit to or push any scares, therefore it is hard to classify as a horror film. It is much more concerned with an organic mysticism- organic in terms of the simple villagers lives and their relationship with nature and their past. So, despite elements of the horrific, the films tone never strays into overt frightfest territory. It is much more about the line between human ritual and love.

Director Masato Harada (Rowing Through, Gunhead, Spellbound) skillfully lets the film play out with some surreal dream sequences and flashbacks that gradually reveal more and more about the towns curse. Akira's initial skepticism, the townspeoples festering rumors, and Miki's conflict between her love and destiny are very carefully woven. Harada is much more compassionate with the material and characters and clearly sidesteps the normal visceral horror scares, instead opting to focus on the unpleasantness and fears bred by superstition.

The DVD: Adness

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. The transfer shows generally good print detail, though maybe just a bit muted. Contrast and grain levels are fair, though a bit on the heavier side. Colors appear good with even flesh tones. Overall the print doesn't having any glaring film artefacts. Transfer shows some low level noise in the darker scenes. Thankfully, I didn't notice any aliasing, which was present on the Japanese DVD.

Sound: Japanese language Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS channels with optional English subtitles. The audio presentation is quite good, getting some decent range and mixing out of the ambient fx and score. Dialogue is clear and free from any hiss or distortions.

Extras: Trailers for Inagumi, Shadow of the Wraith, Isola and Shikoku.

Conclusion: The films overall tone and laid back nature makes it hard to recommend for the average horror viewer. You're going to get more scenes of delicate paper making than gore thrills. I can see how many viewers will find it a yawner. That was certianly the case with my first viewing. But, with a second look, it is a decent tale of the supernatural, the enviorment, and prejudices as deep as a bloodline.