Resurrected review. Originally posted 2 Jul 2017. Reposted 22 Apr 2023. In our day-to-day lives we often feel threatened because the society puts us in a vulnerable position. Our spirit often gets broken by the authorities, whether it's your boss or your teacher. And sometimes we think: "I wish somebody made you feel what I feel". Sometimes we question the very nature of that threat, cause after all it's only a human, and there must be something more terrifying than that. The Guard from the Underground brings that "something" into a typical office environment. Akiko Narushima is a talented woman, who likes her job, but doesn't feel very comfortable at it. She can't fit in, it's out of her nature to use dirty tactics to advance through the career ladder, she can't stand the sexism and objectification towards her, and the inhumane treatment of her colleagues by the authoritative figures feels unjust to her. Then the demon comes. A new guard, who makes his home in the basement, literally underground, starts killing people. First he targets those that do evil, but then it gets out of control. The violence in this film is very restricted, often hidden behind something or happens behind the camera, but the scenes of killings are long, as if Kurosawa wants us to see the consequences of embracing evil to fight evil. That is signified, imo, by the character of the old guard, who at first gives in and works together with the demon. Soon it turns to a bloodbath, as the world submerges into darkness and the demon goes on a killing spree, stopping only to look at a picture of Kronos eating his children. Like Kronos, he kills those that threatened him, even though they were harmless and apparently weaker than him. I think Kiyoshi Kurosawa is trying to tell us that we should keep our humanity in any situation, and not succumb to evil even at our lowest. The film is very atmospheric, with beautiful music, colours and framing, and it's suspensful enough to keep you hooked till the ending, which adds a flavour of tragedy into this already bleak story.