I watched The Beast To Die(1980)

Am glad I went into this without knowing about other adaptations and without knowing the lead actor at all.

Such delicate movement and pacing. Exquisite framing and camera movement that creates a great palpable atmosphere.

It instantly gave me the urge to see more from the director and Yūsaku Matsuda. It definitely did feel like it's an underappreciated film that wasn't seen much and was probably buried for a bit until the restorations.