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Greetings, and welcome to VIEWING THE CLASSICS. Here you'll find capsule reviews of vintage movies from the early days of cinema through the 1970s, with a special emphasis on sci-fi, horror, and mystery movies. Be sure to check out the Pages links, where you can find a Film Index of all my reviews, links to the reviews organized by cast members, directors, and other contributors, and links to my reviews of the films of talented young director Joshua Kennedy.

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Saturday, January 27, 2018

Genocide (1968)

Starring Keisuke Sonoi, Yusuke Kawazu, Emi Shindo, Reiko Hitomi, Eriko Sono
Directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Insect attacks on a hydrogen bomb carrier and its crew on a Japanese island reveal a plot to turn insects against humanity.

This Japanese horror film from the Shochiku studio is an eerie and disturbing one, with many unsettling images, and a threat that insects will not tolerate humanity's weapons of mass destruction.    All of this is presented in a well-scripted mystery storyline that eventually ties everything together succinctly, although it's a little too convenient that nearly every character on the island we're introduced to is involved in the eventual reveal.  While the special effects aren't of top quality, the photography and editing showcasing the massing insects is, as well as the makeup on their human victims, creating many highly suspenseful scenes.  This all leads to a bleak ending predicting a dire outcome for the human race, well-in keeping with the film's themes, but which nonetheless took me by surprise.

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