Movie Review: The Living Skeleton (1968) directed by Hiroki Matsuno (Japanese title: Kyûketsu dokuro-sen (“Blood-sucking Skull Ship”)
Three years ago, the freighter Dragon King was lost at sea, with no survivors. Among those who apparently perished were ship’s doctor Nishizato (Ko Nishimura) and his recent bride Yoriko (Kikko Matsuoka). Yoriko’s twin sister Saeko (Kikko Matsuoka) still mourns them, though she sometimes gets the feeling that Yoriko is still alive as they could feel each other’s emotions and sometimes she gets a faint twinge. Overall, Saeko is feeling much better these days. She’s been taken in as a housekeeper for the Catholic priest (Masumi Okada) of a seashore village, and is being wooed by earnest restaurant/bar worker Mochizuki (Yasunori Irikawa). Saeko is seriously considering his offer of marriage.
But when Mochizuki and Saeko go scuba diving for fun, they discover what appear to be chained skeletons on the ocean floor. Spooky! That night, during a rainstorm Saeko spots a ship offshore that looks like the Dragon King and goes to investigate. The ship is seemingly derelict, and Saeko is able to find the ship’s log, which confirms it to be the Dragon King. She reads it and learns what the audience already knows, that some of the crew turned pirate to steal gold bullion that was part of the freight, and murdered the remaining crew and passengers. Saeko also spots what appears to be her sister’s ghost…
She returns to shore the next morning, exhausted and traumatized. Mochizuka and the priest tend to her, but get little information on what happened. The next day, Saeko vanishes, sending a postcard later saying she’s heading to Chiba.
We now catch up with some of the pirates, who split the loot from the robbery and have different life circumstances. One became the successful owner of a night club, another blew all his money on booze and gambling and begs for handouts, a couple hold down respectable day jobs and have their investments earning interest, etc. One by one they see what appears to be Yoriko’s ghost (or is it the living Saeko?) and meet horrible fates.
After various twists and turns, the surviving cast reunites aboard the Dragon King to reveal more secrets, and have the final confrontation.
This was another in the short-lived horror series made by Shochiku studios in the late 1960s. It’s a slightly lower-budget movie shot in black and white, and with a few instances of dubious special effects. Also neither of the titles quite describe the movie; none of the skeletons are living, and no skulls suck blood.
But it’s nicely atmospheric and often effectively creepy. It also isn’t afraid to leave some things completely unexplained. If it’s non-supernatural Saeko killing the pirates, how is she just appearing where they happen to be and pulling off the murders? (There’s a particularly baffling one where the pirate dies in a private shower.) And what’s up with those bats? And the fog? And how does the ship evade detection by anyone but plot-relevant people while it’s within easy sight of the shoreline?
There’s some decent music too.
Content note: Several violent deaths, some gory or body horror. A dog dies. Possible suicide. It’s mentioned but not shown that Yoriko was raped. Implied cannibalism. One character is cheating on his wife and also his mistress. Partial female nudity and skimpy costumes on exotic dancers. Male shower scene from behind. Dubious portrayal of Catholicism. Junior high students and up should be okay, younger or more sensitive viewers should have adult guidance.
I’d rate this movie as a decent watch for horror fans who like their films more spooky than visceral. Oh, and a special recommendation to fans of John Carpenter’s The Fog, which this movie has some similarities to.
