Vampire Doll, The (1970)

[bunniefuu]

[thunder rumbling]

[wind howling]

[thunder rumbling]

Sir. Are you sure there's a house?

Mister?

Oh...

Sorry that we took a wrong turn,

but I'm sure of it now.

The guy at the gas station
said there's only one road.

I'll pay you now. You can keep the change.

Pay me once we get there.

Never mind.

[chuckles] Thank you, sir.

Mister.

Is there a beautiful girl waiting for you?

I'm a bit worried.

I sent her a telegram
to pick me up at the station.

[thunder rumbling]

-[driver] Oh!
-[tires screeching]

Mister.

THE VAMPIRE DOLL

[solemn instrumental music playing]

[thunder rumbling]

Good evening. I'm Sagawa.

Is Yuko at home?

I'm Sagawa.

I sent her a telegram
saying I'd visit her today.

And you are...

[gasps]

What are you doing?

[woman] Stop it, Genzo.

[thunder rumbling]

[exclaims wheezily]

[solemn instrumental music playing]

I am very sorry about that.

He has difficulty hearing and speaking.

Please accept my apologies.

Sure.

-You are Mr. Sagawa, right?
-Yes.

-I'm Yuko's mother.
-Hello.

I'm Kazuhiko Sagawa.
Yuko and I met in Tokyo.

[Mrs. Nonomura] She told me about you.

Thank you for coming all the way.

I'm so sorry to disturb you this late.

I've been abroad on business
for about six months.

I missed Yuko very badly...

-Mr. Sagawa.
-Yes.

You're too late.

What do you mean?

Yuko has passed away.

What?

She was k*lled in a car accident
two weeks ago.

That can't be right...

Please...

[solemn instrumental music playing]

She called out your name
until her very last breath.

How did it happen?

She was on her way home.

There was a heavy rainstorm,
just like tonight.

There was a landslide.

It struck her car.

It can't be true.

[breathing heavily] I can't believe it!

She was perfectly fine
when I left for America.

[melancholic music playing]

[thunder crashing]

[distant sobbing]

[sobbing continues]

[sobbing continues]

[sobbing stops]

[solemn instrumental music playing]

Who's there?

Why are you hiding?

[suspenseful music playing]

[gasps]

What happened?

I heard a sound.
When I came in, you were on the floor.

-Madam. I saw her. Yuko.
-What?

I heard her voice clearly, too.

Mr. Sagawa.

Yuko is no longer with us.

No, I saw her in this room.

Inside this closet.

[gasps softly]

No way.

It can't be. I'm sure I did.

You must have had a dream.

A dream?

Yuko was lucky to be loved so deeply.

Madam. But I surely did.

Now, relax and have a good sleep.

I'll take you to her grave tomorrow.

[solemn instrumental music playing]

-[bird screeching]
-[wings fluttering]

[suspenseful music playing]

Yuko...

[panting]

[distant sobbing]

THE NONOMURA FAMILY

YUKO NONOMURA

[gasps]

[sinister instrumental music playing]

[gasps]

Yuko!

It's you.

I knew you were alive.

It's cold.

You're icy cold.

What's going on?
You're not dead. It's a lie!

I don't understand.

Please, tell me why you're doing this.

[Yuko] Please... Please k*ll me.

What?

What are you saying?

Please.

Please k*ll me.

Yuko...

You're not well, are you?

That's why your mother
won't let me see you.

Okay.

You don't need to cry anymore.

I'll make you well again.

[suspenseful music playing]

[gasps]

[panting]

[indistinct playful chatter]

[telephone ringing]

Hello. This is Sagawa.

[chuckles] Hiroshi?

What's wrong?

I know it's Sunday,
but you don't have to sound so sleepy!

Now, let's go out.

Wait.

I don't think I can go today.

Eh? What's the matter?

It's my brother. He hasn't come home yet.

And I had an awful dream.

A dream?

[laughs] Don't worry about it.

He's seeing his girlfriend
after six months.

He took his vacation days, right?

Yes. That's why I was not worried.

He hates me making a fuss.

But he hasn't called me in eight days.
That's never happened before.

Do you know where he went?

Yes. The mountain in Tateshina.

Did you call there?

Yes, I did, but there was no answer.

Maybe the lines went down in the storm.

That's not good.

But even so...

I'm going to Yuko's home.

What?

That's a shame.

It's a fine day for a drive.

I'm sorry about spoiling your Sunday.

No problem. At least we're driving.

[amusing instrumental surf music playing]

[horn honks]

[gas tank cover opens]

[car door opens]

There's only one road ahead.

Kazuhiko also asked for directions here.

I see.

Hey, mister.

The guy who asked you the way
is my brother.

Did you see him coming back this way?

No, I didn't notice.

Are you going
to the Nonomura family's house?

-Yes.
-Yes.

Do you know their daughter?

I don't know her very well.

They don't socialize with other people.

[sighs] But that poor girl...

-What about her?
-[man] Hmm?

You didn't hear?

She died.

Died?

Yes.

It's been two weeks
since a landslide struck her car.

[Keiko] No way...

We didn't know that.

No one told us.

Surely my bother didn't know it either.

I see. He didn't know either.

What shall we do now?

Let's go there anyway.

Here you go. Thanks.

[sighs]

[car door opens]

[engine starts]

Genzo!

Did you come down for shopping?

You've just missed getting a lift.

They're visiting your place.

[dramatic music playing]

-He's left?
-Yes.

He came here four days ago
and left here the next morning.

Four days ago?

Did you notice anything strange about him?

He was heart-broken over Yuko's death.

It's no wonder.

Where on Earth has he gone?

He might be visiting somewhere.

-But he would have called me.
-There's no point telling her.

Well, we'd better go now.

Would you mind us visiting her grave?

No.

It's just near here.

Yuko will be very pleased.

[somber instrumental music playing]

Well? Shall we head home?

Otherwise we won't be back
before midnight.

Hiroshi.

Hmm?

You may laugh,

but I feel like
Yuko's mother knows something.

Knows? About your brother?

[chuckles] She has no reason to hide that.

You're right.

But I'm worried.

She doesn't like people much.

I bet that's all.

Now, stop worrying and...

What's wrong?

Well...

-[birds screeching]
-[both gasp]

Is there a bird's nest around here?

[surreal instrumental music playing]

That's too bad.

Who would do such a cruel thing?

Keiko.

Remember this cufflink?

It's my brother's.

How come it's here?

He must have visited her grave.

But if this stain is blood...

[dramatic music playing]

[Keiko] I'm sorry we bothered you.

Not at all.

[Hiroshi] Goodbye.

[ignition cranking]

Strange. I wonder what's up.

Is something wrong?

Looks like the fan belt's burned out.

It happens sometimes.

I should've checked it.

Can you fix it?

No. We need a mechanic.

But is there one around here?

Even if we phone now,
it won't be fixed today.

Hmm.

Madam.

Can you put us up for the night?

Of course. Please stay.

I'm afraid I can't do much for you.

So sorry for trouble.

Genzo. Prepare some dinner, please.

And their rooms, too.

[wheezes]

[solemn instrumental music playing]

This is a superb Western-style house.

My husband's father was a diplomat
in the West for many years.

But it's become so old now.

Are you full already?
You're a light eater.

Yes. I've had quite enough.

Thank you.

I'll help you.

No. Please don't worry.

I'll bring some tea.

[door opens]

[door closes]

I feel a bit breathless.

Do you think we are intruding?

What? Have you changed your mind?

I think she knows
you tampered with the car on purpose.

-But she let us stay...
-Shh.

[distant sobbing]

Can you hear that?

-It's the wind, isn't it?
-No.

Someone's weeping.

Somewhere in this house.

Hiroshi.

I'll be right back. Stay here.

[distant sobbing]

[sobbing continues]

[lock creaks]

[door creaking]

[sobbing grows closer]

[Mrs. Nonomura] What are you doing there?

Nothing. I just heard a voice.

Everyone says
it sounds like a woman weeping.

[Hiroshi] Eh?

It's the wind
passing through the skylight window.

Oh, it's the wind.

The walls are crumbling.

Do not go in there.

It's such an old house.

Okay.

Excuse me.

[lock clicks]

[solemn instrumental music playing]

[object clatters]

[sighs]

[distant sobbing]

[sobbing stops]

[insects trilling]

[birds screeching]

[both panting]

[wheezing]

[gasps]

Genzo, what are you doing?

[panting]

Are you hurt?

[Hiroshi] No.

I'm sorry.

I couldn't sleep, so I was taking a walk.

No, I should apologize to you.

You should go to bed now.

[wheezing]

[surreal instrumental music playing]

[gasps]

Keiko!

Hiroshi!

[sobbing]

What's the matter?

Yuko...

-What?
-Yuko came in here.

Don't be silly. You must've dreamt it.

I saw her clearly. She was by that door!

[gasps] Madam.

We're sorry to disturb you again.

She had a nightmare.

Good night.

[solemn instrumental music playing]

Go to sleep now.

You don't believe me, do you?

Keiko.

Yuko was k*lled in a car accident.

You heard what the man
at the gas station said.

But I really saw Yuko.

Her hand was covered in blood...

as if she'd just got injured.

You imagined it. You must have.

Moreover, everything is so old here.

It jars on our nerves.

Let's not think of such stupid things.

We'll go to bed now
and leave here early tomorrow morning.

[engine starts]

It seems to be working fine.

We are leaving now.

Please have a safe journey.

Good. We'll reach Tokyo before dark.

I don't feel like going home yet.

Keiko, are you still...

Forget about that house now.

I bet your brother's in Tokyo
and worrying about you.

No.

He must be somewhere in that house.

[chuckles] Did the ghost tell you that?

That's the doll
my brother bought for Yuko.

-Where did you find it?
-In the bedroom.

Something must have happened
between him and Yuko.

I can't help feeling so.

I understand.

It doesn't make sense, but I understand.

Let's check again.

TOWN HALL

Yuko Nonomura?

Here it is.

Yuko Nonomura.

She was born on November 4, 1949.

She died on June 13, 1970 at 1:30 a.m.

Poor girl.

She must have been cursed
by the God of Death.

The God of Death?

Cursed, I guess.

That family's prone to tragedy.

More than 20 years ago,

a burglar got in
and k*lled almost everyone.

They were shot with a p*stol.
It was a terrible sight.

With a p*stol?

Gen was away at the time.

Strangely, only Mrs. Nonomura survived.

But she tried to commit suicide.

Hence that scar on her neck?

The child she bore
nine months later was Yuko.

That means Yuko is...

Then her father...

I mean, the suspect...

The shock of it all
made her forget everything that happened.

And they couldn't find the suspect.

The mother and daughter
didn't have any friends in town.

Mrs. Nonomura and Gen raised the girl
by selling land and such.

[clears throat]

Excuse me.

DEATH CERTIFICATES

YUKO NONOMURA

DOCTOR IN ATTENDANCE:
DR. YAMAGUCHI

Ouch!

That's painful!

Come again tomorrow. It's only a cold.

Thank you.

Sorry to bother you.

Bother?

Funny words for a patient.

I came to ask about Yuko Nonomura.

Yuko Nonomura?

[Hiroshi] You knew her?

Of course I do. I was there when she died.

Doctor...

is Yuko surely dead?

[doctor] What?

Keiko, that's a bit rude...

Sorry.

But I saw Yuko last night.

What did you say?

She died of contusion
and internal injuries.

No external wounds. She looked beautiful.

She'd broken some of her bones.
Her shoulder was crushed.

[gasps]

Doctor.

When I saw her, her hand was all bloody.

I see.

You don't believe me, do you?

Yes, I do believe you.

Science can't explain occult powers.

I'm not an expert,
but I've been researching.

I saw a ghost myself.

Frankly, I'm not too sure about it.

It was during the w*r in the jungle.

"The ocean.

Until I see the ocean that goes home,
I won't die."

They were the words
of a badly wounded soldier.

[suspenseful music playing]

One day, he finally died.

A few days later, we reached the sea.

Looking back, I saw him standing there.

Not only me, everyone saw him.

We saw him slowly vanish into the sea.

Even now,

I don't believe it was a ghost,
but the man himself.

The man himself?

Physically, he had died,

but his obsession to return home lived on.

He'd followed us through the jungle.

A doctor shouldn't say such things.
I'm a man of science.

[laughs loftily]

What do you think?

I saw what I saw.

I didn't imagine it.

Keiko.

We came here to find your brother.

She was his sweetheart.

They may be together.

So what will you do?
How will you expose the ghost?

I'll go back and ask her.

That's a waste of time.

You should stay here and find out.

That's wasting more time!

My brother's in that house.

-I know it.
-Don't go!

You'll get spooked again.

You had such a scare last night.

Ghosts don't appear in the daytime.

I'll go alone.

Do what you want.
I'll investigate my own way.

You don't mind me going on my own?

Go if you want to.

Hey, wait!

[villager] Hey, brother.

What is it?

Want to hear something special
about the Nonomura girl?

[Hiroshi] Hmm?

[whispering inaudibly]

-She was buried underground?
-Shh!

Between you and me,
I'm the one who buried her.

She wasn't cremated? Why?

The mother loved her so much,
she couldn't do it.

But you do hear stories

about people who begin breathing again.

That reminds me. The soil was very soft.

I can dig her up for you.

If you pay me.

[thrilling instrumental music playing]

Mrs. Nonomura?

It's Keiko Sagawa!

I'd like to ask you something.

Did you forget something?

But you've come to the wrong room.

No.

I'm sorry I came in without permission.

But there's something I must know.

I saw Yuko last night.

So I don't believe
that my brother went home.

Please tell me.

Where are my brother and Yuko?

You want to see her?

So, Yuko is still alive...

Please.

Please.

[dramatic music playing]

What are you doing? Open the door!

Open it!

[gasps]

[footsteps approaching]

[footsteps stop]

[lock clicking]

[sighs in relief]

Doctor...

What's the matter?

Did you see a ghost again?

No.

But Mrs. Nonomura locked me in.

I heard.

You were highly agitated,

so she locked you in,
not knowing what you'd do.

No. I was just...

Doctor, you have to help me.

Whatever she said, I'm not sick.

They're the ones who are crazy!

Now, calm down.

She's quite sensitive, too.

That's why I bring her medicine,
to help her sleep.

You're just as nervous as she is.

No, I'm not.

Now, lie down for a while.

What are you doing to me? [gasps]

Doctor, this man's always watching me
from outside the window!

[doctor] Is he?

[gasping]

I know it was wrong
to enter without permission, but...

Doctor!

Don't get excited.

It's just a sedative.

It'll make you feel better.

All right?

Doctor... [shuddering]

[suspenseful music playing]

Stop. Please stop it.

[gasps]

[villager panting]

Hey, brother.
I know you've paid me and all,

but there's not a chance in a million
that she'd come out alive.

She was covered in so much blood.

Traffic accidents are terrible.

Huh?

[digging]

What's wrong? Open it.

Are you sure about that?

Well, don't blame me if you feel faint.

[coffin lid creaks]

[straining]

[villager yelps]

[whimpering]

It's a doll. I knew it.

[panting]

[gasps]

[whimpering]

[villager screams]

[panting]

[gasps]

[sinister instrumental music playing]

[gasps]

[both panting]

Go away.

[both breathing heavily]

[Hiroshi groans]

[groaning]

[gasps]

[thuds]

[stones clattering]

[sighs]

[grunts]

[panting]

Keiko.

[dramatic music playing]

Where is Keiko?

Our car's hidden in the woods.

She must be somewhere in this house.

And so is her brother!

Madam!

[panting]

You... You are...

Stop pretending.

Mrs. Nonomura...

I know what you've done!

Yuko came back to life in the coffin
and went insane.

To hide it,
you k*lled everyone who had seen her.

No. You're wrong.

I just saw her with my own eyes!

She's become a vampire.

She k*lled a man tonight, too.

Gen and me...

Genzo tried to push me from a cliff.

And he fell down instead.

Is he dead?

From that height, he must've died.

Genzo is dead?

Now, tell me.

Where is Keiko?

No. Yuko didn't...

-Yuko is dead.
-Madam.

I saw her grave with my own eyes!

Yuko is dead.

Only her soul is alive.

No.

The hate that smoldered
in her subconscious for 20 years.

She was innocent.

But she hated those
who called her a k*ller's daughter.

It's not Yuko that you saw.

It's the rage inside her
that still lives on.

I don't believe you.

A spirit k*lling people?

You've made up the whole thing!

You may not believe it, but it happened.

On that day.

-On that day?
-Yes.

The night she was about to die,

on her bed...

[panting]

Mother...

Mother...

Yuko.

I don't want to die.

Just when...

Just when I was about to find
happiness in my life.

No. No! I don't want to die.

Yuko. You won't die.

You will never die!

Where's Mr. Sagawa?

Let me see him!

[Mrs. Nonomura] Yuko was my entire life.

I would have done anything
to save her life.

Then the devil began to whisper to me.

I sold a soul to the devil.

Yuko's soul.

Yuko was about to take her last breath...

when I had her hypnotized.

[suspenseful music playing]

Yuko came back to life...

as a vampire
seeking blood in the darkness.

[squawking]

Why? Why did you do it?

Mrs. Nonomura...

Perhaps she marks her victims' necks
because of your...

I'm not sure.

But she liked to touch it
ever since she was a child.

To me and to her, my scar...

was a symbol of our tragic life.

[distant sobbing]

[sobbing continues]

Sometimes, she returns to her former self.

Then she weeps and asks us to k*ll her.

Demented! Not just Yuko, it's you too!

If it's hypnotism,
why not have her released?

If you could do that...

I can't do it.

The person who hypnotized her must do it.

Who hypnotized her?

[doctor] I did.

Doctor.

I'll tell you the rest of the story.

You, doctor? You hypnotized her?

Correct.

Have a seat.

Yuko was born under an unlucky star.

The accident happened
when she was finally about to be happy.

When I knew I couldn't save her
as a doctor, I used hypnotism.

It was the only way to save this family.

But she became an evil k*ller,
one that I couldn't control.

The only two people she doesn't attack

are the mother she loves
above all people and Gen.

Why is that?

The m*ssacre in this house 20 years ago.

Do you know about that?

I'm the one who k*lled them.

[suspenseful music playing]

She was my fiancée.

But the w*r ruined everything.

I lost all my family,

and I found she'd married
someone else, so I...

That's right.

I'm the k*ller.

But I couldn't sh**t her.

She even tried to
commit suicide afterwards,

but I learned she kept my secret
and bore my child.

Then I decided to live in this town
and watch over them.

You understand?

Yuko is my daughter.

How about that?

Do you believe my story?

[floorboard creaks]

[yelps]

-[screaming]
-[mouse squeaking]

[gasps]

[breathing heavily]

[door creaking]

Yuko.

Brother!

[screaming]

[suspenseful music playing]

[inhales sharply]

Let me out! Help me!

[banging door]

-Keiko...
-Help!

[doorknob rattling]

[Hiroshi grunts]

Damn it!

[panting]

[banging on door]

-Keiko!
-Hiroshi!

I'll open it. Stand back!

-Hiroshi!
-Are you okay?

Yuko is here.

Run!

Damn it!

[g*n fires]

It's you.

[chuckles derisively]

You can't get away.

I've never thought I'd use it again,

but there are still some b*ll*ts left.

Give up.

At this distance, I can't miss.

Or shall I put you to sleep again?

Keiko.

Don't look into his eyes.

[sinister instrumental music playing]

Yuko...

I'm... I'm your...

[groans]

[gripping instrumental music playing]

Her hand!

She's dying.

She's been released from the spell.
She's finally dying.

[sobbing]

[solemn instrumental music playing]

[sobbing continues]

THE END