In feudal Japan the capital is under threat from a mix of bandits and some demons/wizards, who are being led by Shuten-doji – so the warriors of the Genji clan are tasked with getting rid of the threat.

DEMON OF MOUNT OE is a Japanese period horror movie that was directed by Tokuzō (ZATOICHI’S VENGEANCE) Tanaka, produced by Daiei Film and based on a novel by Matsutarō Kawaguchi.

This colourful movie, based on Japanese folklore, features a sympathetic villain and some cool supernatural characters. One demon woman loses her clawed hand and then comes back to reclaim it, another ‘wizard’ can turn into a kind of horned, pantomime demon bull and another transforms into a giant spider.

The spider-monster confrontation is my favourite scene: a bunch of samurai battling a fine-looking, full-scale puppet arachnid. Coooooooool!