The Inugami Family Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Inugami Family Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 4, 2026

Stop me if this sounds familiar: a self made tycoon dies, and his assembled (entitled) family members are stunned to find out the deceased has left his entire fortune to an outsider rather than a relative, with the family erupting into internecine conflict (and actual violence), all while an eccentric, seemingly bumbling and almost Columbo adjacent detective attempts to ferret out what's going on. Yes, The Inugami Family is in its own way remarkably similar to the much later Knives Out, at least in the broad outlines of its "who's doing it" plot substratum, though the films are materially different in tone. If Knives Out and its follow ups have been on the lighter side (despite accruing body counts), The Inugami Family is almost more of a horror outing at times, even if the gruesome imagery is kept to a minimum.

There is some fascinating historical context about the film given in a supplement by Aaron Gerow included on this disc where he gets into the travails of the Japanese film industry during this period, something of a recurring "special feature" focus on a number of recent Blu-ray releases, including a somewhat similar recounting by Clément Rauger in a supplement on Arrow's release of Shogun's Ninja. Gerow discusses the formation of Kadokawa Pictures, whose first film The Inugami Family was, mentioning how Kadokawa actually began as a publishing enterprise, and once its founder Genyoshi Kadokawa died, his son Haruki Kadokawa wanted to develop a "multimedia" strategy for the company whereby films would promote books and vice versa. The Inugami Family was evidently not the first choice for this new marketing approach, but it turned out to be a very smart one, and the film became a massive hit in Japan, reportedly also driving new sales for the book, which had actually come out decades earlier.

The plot machinations in the story will be at least passingly familiar to any lover of Agatha Christie, with an assembled multitude of suspects and a number of red herrings thrown into the mix. There are some decidedly spooky or at least odd components in this tale set briefly after World War II, including one character in a rubber mask which supposedly hides disfiguring battle injuries. The body count is actually relatively tame, at least by Christie standards, and the main tension is therefore really not dependent upon whom is going to get it next, but instead on the increasingly desperate moves between various branches of the family who want to claim the inheritance for themselves.

The Inugami Family Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Inugami Family is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in the somewhat unusual aspect ratio of 1.50:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains the following brief information about the transfer:

The Inugami Family was digitally restored in 4K by the Kadokawa Corporation and provided to Radiance Films as a digital file. It is presented in the original aspect ratio with original mono audio.

A prefatory text card before the main feature presentation also mentions that the digital restoration was completed in 2021. This is an appealing looking presentation with typically great detail levels on everything from costume fabrics to that weird rubbery mask. The one area where some videophiles may question things is a somewhat brownish looking color timing, something that can tend to make things look a bit drab at times. Detective Kosuke Kindaichi's kimono is a good example in that it skews a bit toward brownish gray rather than a more "pure" gray tone. There are some striking flashback interstitials that play with the imagery to almost hallucinogenic levels (see screenshot 4 for one example), and detail levels in those moments are understandably less visible. Grain resolves without any issues.

The Inugami Family Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Inugami Family features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Japanese. The film has a rather interesting sound design which can feature almost startle effect worthy ambient environmental and other effects that suddenly intrude into the increasingly manic family maneuvers, but probably the most immediately noticeable aspect to the soundtrack is its almost jarringly modern (for a film set in 1947, anyway) score by Yuji Ohno. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Inugami Family Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Aaron Gerow (HD; 23:12) discusses how Kadokawa Pictures and this film changed the Japanese film industry.


• The Secrets of Kon Ichikawa's Visual Style (HD; 44:08) is a really interesting archival interview with Ichikawa which includes an overview of various aspects of Ichikawa's filmography. Subtitled in English.


• Off Shots - The Day of Filming The Secrets of Kon Ichikawa's Visual Style (HD; 8:25) offers a combo platter of outtakes and making of elements. Subtitled in English.


• Verification: How The Inugami Family Was Made (HD; 30:04) was originally produced for the Japanese Blu-ray release. Subtitled in English.


• The Birth of Kosuke Kindaichi (HD; 15:48) features star Koji Ishizaka. Subtitled in English.


• The Path of the 4K Digital Restoration (HD; 11:31) is a fun if unintentionally funny overview of the restoration process. The humor comes in courtesy of some elaborate flowcharts which unfortunately are in Japanese and left untranslated. Otherwise, subtitled in English.


• Trailers

Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:12)




Teaser Trailer (HD; 00:53)

Radiance's insert booklet contains two interesting essays by Midori Suiren and Akihiko Ito, along with the usual cast and crew and transfer information. Radiance's typical assortment of packaging extras is included.

The Inugami Family Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stop me if this sounds familiar: a noted filmmaker decides to make a shot by shot remake of an iconic film. No, not Gus Van Sant and Psycho this time, but rather interestingly Kon Ichikawa himself and his own 2006 outing slightly renamed to Murder of the Inugami Clan . I haven't seen that version yet, but it looks like it was met with a polite if far from rapturous response at the time, and so it's probably best to stick with this original. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very appealing. Highly recommended.