Will Readings And Murder: Reviewing Radiance’s ‘The Inugami Family’
by Rachel Bellwoar
Nothing like a will reading to bring out the best in a family. Kon Ichikawa‘s The Inugami Family isn’t the first film to capitalize on the inherent drama that comes from putting money on the line and finding out how well you’ve gauged your family’s ability to weather greed. Closer families than the Inugamis have toppled as a result of inheritance decisions. The fallout of this particular will reading being murder is par-for-the-course with these kinds of movies, which have remained popular (see Knives Out for another variation on the theme) and run the gamut in terms of genre, with some being straight comedies, others horror, others both (see Georg Fenady‘s Arnold), and still others going the Agatha Christie murder mystery route.
The latter probably best describes The Inugami Family, which opens with the death of Sahei Inugami (Rentarō Mikuni) from old age (or at least there’s nothing to suggest otherwise). Whether motivated by affection or curiosity, a bunch of his family are in attendance to see him off. But it’s not enough as Sahei quickly makes it clear he’s not going to make it easy for anyone to come out of his death richer. His executor announces the first of many conditions to his will: in order for it to be read, certain individuals have to be present and since there are a few people missing, this creates the first delay in the proceedings. It doesn’t get easier from there. If anything, it gets more dangerous as the degree to which Sahei was a control freak is exposed and creates scenarios where certain family members can see paths forward if they’re willing to kill and can get away with murder.
Unfortunately a few are willing to rise to the challenge (it wouldn’t be a movie otherwise) and soon there are heads appearing separate from bodies, war vets getting their identities thrown into question, and unrelated young women being pulled into the fray and encouraged to marry for money. Because there are a lot of Inugamis to keep track of, it might be a good idea to keep a running list of their names. But the set pieces are great, the performances unhinged, and The Inugami Family stands as a fresh example of a tried-and-true formula.
Based on a book by Seishi Yokomizo, in a new interview for Radiance’s Blu-ray, film scholar Aaron Gerow explains how Kadokawa publishing got into the film business as a way to crosspromote their books with film adaptations. Whether this particular film elevates him to Hercules Poirot or Sam Spade status, Gerow also explains that Kôsuke Kindaichi (the investigator in this film played by Kôji Ishizaka) was a major literary detective in Japan who appeared in other movies as well. There’s also a long interview with the director filmed in 1991 by his biographer, Yuuki Mori. Covering Ichikawa’s entire impressive career and his experimental choices, the interview sets an exciting course by starting with his title designs — a component that’s often overlooked when it’s not Saul Bass being discussed which, as it so happens, Ichikawa has an anecdote about him. A 30-minute documentary on the film created for the Japanese Blu-ray release in 2023 includes talking heads with Ishizaka and the film’s editor, Chizuko Osada, while a booklet contains two essays. The first by Midori Suiren focuses on the character of Tamayo played by Yoko Shimida. Another by Akihiko Ito gets into the meaning of the film’s title and techniques Ichikawa employed to ensure viewers could keep up with the plot.
The Inugami Family is available on Blu-ray now from Radiance.
