I have to admit, I know nearly nothing about anime. While briefly obsessed with manga as a kid, it was pretty difficult (and expensive) to access anime at that time. With the internet bringing everything to our fingertips, I now feel too overwhelmed with where to start!

When I saw a positive review of this 90s OVA on Letterboxd, I thought I’d give it a try. What better place to start than just some random-ass spot? (And yes, I have only just learned what OVA is.)

The Curse of Kazuo Umezu (Umezu Kazuo no Noroi) contains two short supernatural horror stories. The first one “What Will the Video Camera Reveal” begins with the introduction of a new student, Rima, from Mexico to her class. She captures the attention of the entire class, mostly with her beauty. But one student, Masami, is filled with weird feelings and bad dreams.

In the morning, Masami finds a strange mark on her neck. The bad feelings fade the longer she’s away from Rima. But on her way home from school, she finds herself lured toward Rima’s home.

Her grandfather confirms her bad feelings when he says that something went through her window as she slept. It, of course, freaks her out, and Masami goes to her friend for help. He gives her a video camera and sets it up to film her (and the horrors of what happens to her) at night. One she gets the courage to watch the footage, it won’t be what she’s expecting.

The second story, “The Haunted Mansion”, is (unsurprisingly) about a haunted mansion. Two friends go to explore it, bored of their horror movie marathon. One of them curious to see ghosts and explore while the other is much more afraid and cautious.

After they arrive outside, they are met by two other friends who are lured to the mansion. The girls begin to explore, finding strange things and having horrible visions along the way. Much more terrifying than anything a horror video could show them. But their real life and the dreams of the mansion begin to bleed together, leaving none of the girls certain as to what is real.

There are some really twisted visuals as well as a solid, haunting score. The design in the first short story particularly got to me. Though some of the animation is a touch clunky with age. That’s easily forgiven.

It’s the atmosphere that cells these stories as the plotlines themselves aren’t very unique. But they are straight-forward, and sometimes simple is all you need to be effective.

I enjoyed The Curse of Kazuo Umezu quite a bit and would like to watch more horror animation. Please send recommendations my way!