A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse

This isn't the kind of film I'd usually check out, but the title was eye-catching and the listed genres made it sound too intriguing to pass up. A comedy/horror/crime/drama/romance movie? Sign me up!

I don't really know how a couple of those genres played into this, to be honest. It kind of works as a unique and sometimes very out-there film, but I don't know if I found it particularly good; just unique. I guess that's on me for giving a sleazy exploitation movie a shot when I know I don't usually like this brand of exploitation movie, but sometimes being adventurous pays off.

I think I can recognise some positive qualities here, and it could've been worse in some ways. But at the end of it all, I can't really call myself a fan either.

I recently watched the Japanese film 🇯🇵 A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse (1975) on a random site. The storyline follows a gangster whose wife works at a brothel that's been converted into a Turkish bathhouse. When he sends her there to work-both to secure a loan and cheat on her-he catches the attention of a vengeful spirit with ill intentions...

This picture is directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess) and stars Akira Ôizumi (The Bad News Bears Go to Japan), Tomoko Mayama (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance), and Yumiko Tateno (Sigh).

The film blends Japanese erotica, Yakuza, and horror-three genres that dominated the era and often overlapped, much like the Pinky Violence collection. They absolutely nailed it here. The bathhouse setting is perfect for this mashup. As expected, there are plenty of gorgeous women, nudity, sex scenes, and some excellent strip teases. There's even some unexpected comedy-there's a condom sequence that cracked me up.

About halfway through, the film does a complete 180 as a witch emerges and the movie takes off like a rocket. The witch costume and makeup are fantastic, making her an ideal villain. Her popping up in the middle of an orgy to kick off her killing spree is both wild and hilarious. The practical effects shine, especially the cat kill sequence and some solid torture scenes. There's also a trippy bubble sequence and an elite decapitation that belongs in the horror hall of fame. There's a lot going on here, but it all works.

In conclusion, A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse is classic grindhouse-an unapologetic blend of horror, action, and sex. What more could you ask for? I'd score it an 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

While this movie may start out as a yakuza and prostitutes skin flick it evolves into horror when the Ghost Cat Lady shows up. A brothel decides to convert to the titular Turkish Bath House in order to try and avoid a government prostitution crackdown. Physical abuse against the women is brutal and after one gets pregnant you see how bad the pimps and even other girls are. But don't worry revenge is on the way.

After some hilarious flying cat sequences the ghost cat lady appears and quickly becomes the coolest thing about this movie. I quite liked this movie, its a bit slow to get going but the last half hour is gold.

This film seemed to be hard to find in the past but now has a Blu Ray from Mondo Macabro. I actually think it deserves to rank quite high on the best Japanese Horror films of all times list, and hope it finds a new audience as a cult favorite.