It’s been almost 10 years since I recommended any movies for Halloween. I’ve no excuse for that and make no promises that it won’t be another 10 years before I do this again.
You see, I’m not a fan of most modern horror movies. I’ve no interest in watching the blood or spilled guts used to scare modern audiences now days. But I also didn’t want to recommend the same movies like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man or Rosemary’s Baby that I have recommended over the past 20 years. Then it dawned on me, there is a movie that I love and can recommend that has spirits, murder and consequences. It’s a story older than Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and based on a play that is supposedly cursed.
The story? Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The movie? The 1957 Throne of Blood by Akira Kurosawa. Yep, that’s right. I’m recommending you watch a Japanese samurai movie for Halloween, but not just any samurai movie. Throne of Blood is one of the most unforgettable films ever inspired by the Bard. Even if you’ve never read Macbeth, this movie grabs you from the opening scene and never lets go.
Toshiro Mifune is General Washizu, a loyal samurai who encounters a mysterious spirit 
deep in Spider Web Forest. The spirit tells Washizu that one day he will rule Spider Web Castle and like Macbeth, that single prophecy plants a dangerous seed. Isuzu Yamada plays Lady Washizu and she is as cold and calculating a wife as Lady Macbeth as she drives her husband to choose ambition over honor, and the results are as you’d expect. Yamada, in my opinion, is fantastic in the Lady Macbeth role and frankly you will not see a better performance than hers. Her controlled expressions and deliberate movements make her one of the most unsettling versions of Lady Macbeth ever put on film.
What makes Throne of Blood so remarkable is its atmosphere. Kurosawa fills the screen with thick fog, empty landscapes and silence…lots of eerie silence. The castle seems less like a home than a prison, and the forest feels alive with unseen forces. You always have the sense that fate is closing in on the characters, no matter how hard they try to escape it.
The performances are equally memorable. Mifune gives Washizu a restless energy that 
slowly unravels into fear and desperation. He was a master actor giving a master class on confidence degrading into fear.
Finally, the finale of Throne of Blood is legendary film-making at its best. The climax is famous for its use of real arrows fired by expert archers around Mifune. It created one of the most intense and believable scenes in cinema history. It’s a sequence that will still leave you on the edge of your seat nearly 70 years later.
Throne of Blood isn’t just one of the greatest Shakespeare adaptations ever made—it’s one of the greatest films, period. Kurosawa proved that a classic story could cross cultures without losing its emotional impact. Whether you’re a fan of samurai films, Shakespeare, or just great filmmaking, this is one classic that deserves a place on your must-watch list. It is perfect for Halloween.
Throne of Blood is on HBO Max. Below is the original movie trailer.
