Teacher Gaukuen Yamazaki (Tsutomu Yamazaki) travels to a remote village that is suffering from a long drought; there, he is reacquainted with old friend Akira Hagiwara (Gô Katô), who has settled down with local 'beauty' Yuri (Bando Tamasaburo). Yamazaki is intrigued by the legend of the Demon Pond, which is supposedly inhabited by a Dragon Princess; it is said that unless a bell is rung three times a day, the princess will flood the village...
I actively seek out weird Japanese movies and Demon Pond is certainly very strange: early on, there's a scene where a woman tries to wash dirt out of Yamazaki's eye using her breast milk! Later, we get a cavalcade of bizarre Yokai-style creatures that includes a crab man (with huge pincers for arms), a catfish man (who has long barbels hanging from his top lip), and a variety of other human/animal hybrids.
Even more unusual, Yuri and the Dragon Princess are played by the same actor, Kabuki female impersonator Bando Tamasaburo; this might not be so strange to a Japanese audience, but it certainly seemed odd to me. Unfortunately, as quirky and offbeat as all of this is, I found the film to be quite a boring experience: at two hours plus, it outstayed its welcome, with long periods of dull, conversation-heavy drama that severely tested my patience.
Visually, the film is occasionally remarkable, with great cinematography and a very impressive special effects laden final act, in which the village is devastated by a tidal wave, but the film as a whole is a bit of a snooze-fest.
