Pitfall (1962) | Region-Free (Blu-Ray) | Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara

Full 1080p Source, English Subtitles.

Title: Pitfall (1962)

Alternate Title: Otoshiana

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Fantasy

Plot Synopsis:
An unemployed miner wanders with his young son in search of work. They arrive in a seemingly deserted town, where the miner encounters a mysterious man in a white suit. After a series of unsettling events, the miner becomes entangled in a web of intrigue and the supernatural, confronting themes of exploitation and existential despair.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
• Writer: Kōbō Abe
• Cast:
  • Hisashi Igawa as the Miner
  • Sumie Sasaki as the Shopkeeper
  • Sen Yano as Toyama
  • Hideo Kanze as the Policeman
  • Kunie Tanaka as the Man in White

YouTube Trailer:
Pitfall | Trailer

IMDb Link:
Pitfall (1962)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Florin Scanlon – ★★★★★
   “An aggressively bleak and harrowing film, with its barely contained energy and almost gleeful obliteration of hope and reason, Pitfall brings people’s venom, greed, uncertainty and despair to light in an uncompromising way. It is so relentless in its depiction of a decaying society that it seems to take pleasure in terrorizing and breaking its characters. All major characters die and that’s not all; some of them are brought back from the dead as ghosts to further their anguish and to make them witness the apparent pointlessness of it all. Near the end, the child discovers the body of his dead father as the camera intently focuses on a pack of dogs on the hill. The last shot sees the child walking away, alone, as the camera pans to the sky. A truly haunting and powerful film.”
2. Mike N – ★★★★☆
   “Hiroshi Teshigahara’s debut feature, Pitfall, is a complex and surreal film, incorporating many of the things I loved about Woman in the Dunes – a thematically strong story, striking visuals and an intense instrumental soundtrack. The fact that he jumped into something as deep as this for his first feature shows he had complete confidence in what he was doing, and it’s certainly deserving of a place among the finest directorial debuts. Upon first viewing I’m not quite sure what to make of everything that went on. An unemployed miner roams the barren mountainside looking for work with his son when he finds himself stalked and subsequently murdered by a mysterious man in white. From here, the film takes a turn into the supernatural as the miner’s ghost observes the aftermath of his own death, leading to a meditation on the human condition and societal structures. A fascinating and thought-provoking film that warrants multiple viewings.”
3. Sally Jane Black – ★★★★☆
   “The film is a desolate feature. It’s a stark, grey landscape that looks like the land of the dead even before our protagonist rises as a ghost. It stands out beyond a mere black-and-white palette–the towns and mines seem to be barren. It sets a haunting tone immediately, before the idea of ghosts even enters the picture. When finally the transition is made, the ghost village seems more alive than the living one, a commentary on the emptiness of the characters’ lives and the desolation of their environment. Teshigahara’s direction is masterful, creating a world that is both surreal and grounded, making the viewer question the nature of reality and the afterlife.”

Meta Description:
“Pitfall” (1962), directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, is a Japanese crime-mystery that follows an unemployed miner’s eerie journey into a deserted town, where he confronts both human and supernatural adversaries, exploring themes of exploitation and existential despair.