Onibaba (1964) User Reviews

An absolutely amazing piece of poetry

[The_Void · 9/10 · 3 February 2005]

To describe this film in one word, that word would have to 'wow', or something to that effect. In short, Onibaba is an absolutely spectacular cinematic spectacle, and one that has few equals in it's field. In fact, it's the perfect fusion between art-house cinema and atmospheric horror! Loosely based on a Buddhist fable, Onibaba tells a story of lust, envy, wrath and betrayal which is wrapped up by way of a hideous demon mask. Onibaba is a human drama before it's a horror movie - all the character actions are driven by their various needs and wants, and the all the comeuppance emancipates from there. The characters and their actions are constantly fascinating, and it's that which predominantly keeps the film alive. We follow a mother and her daughter-in-law; a couple that are forced to eke out an existence in war torn Japan by killing passing samurai's and selling their belongings for food. Their existence is upset one day, however, when the son's friend, Hachi, returns from the war to the place where the two women live.

The title of the film roughly translates into English as 'demon woman', and that is an apt title for this story. Although the film doesn't contain any actual demons or other mythical creatures, the real horror comes from the character actions and the film succeeds as a horror film in that way. The atmospheric location, which consists of a huge area covered in reeds, adds weight to film's claim to the horror genre also and the location provides a truly stunning set for this story to take place. The film also features a dark pit, which the women use to dump the bodies of the Samurai they kill, which adds to the fantasy and inventive element of the story. The film is cinematic poetry on many levels, from the bleak yet beautiful cinematography, to the elements of the location mentioned - all the way down to it's central piece of imagery - the mask itself. The mask is the film's centrepiece, and the part's where it features are the most memorable of the movie.

Prolific Japanese director Kaneto Shindô takes us on a tour-de-force of atmospheric direction. He spends a fair amount of time focusing on the reeds blowing in the wind and many of his angles focus on the sky, which will no doubt irritate the less adept viewers amongst us - but the rest of us know that this is a way for Shindô to aptly portray his setting, and every instance when he did that was a delight for yours truly. There are many great shots in this movie, and if you're a fan of technical prowess, Onibaba is your film; and even if you're not, this film is a must see.

Investigation Into Jealousy

[jmverville · 8/10 · 9 December 2004]

Onibaba is a very well done film, purposefully using black and white cinema to its' advantage in this stunning portrayal of murder, jealousy, and uncontrollable human instinct in a dark period of Japan's history.

A film that aims at portraying the baser side of human nature and investigating human psychology, it is chalk-full of symbolic scenes and sequences. From start to finish it draws you in with the odd imagery and scenery of Japan's rural areas, and even though in this film though there are very few characters and elements that are to it, both visually and literally, through its' minimalism it effectively tells its' story.

This film is both very artistic & symbolic as well as literal and upfront, juxtaposing very graphic, real images of the face of humanity that demand the viewer to infer much throughout the whole of the film. When going into this film, I would say that it is very important for the viewer to think of the film as being very symbolic for the instincts and base nature of mankind, and perhaps even a 'state of nature' portrayal of humanity. If you watch this film with that in mind, it will help with the inferences that one must make to get the most out of this film.

As it stands by itself, aside from the deeper meaning, it is an intriguing story that is a veritable 'slice of life' film in the darker sense, viewing the way that people had to live during a period of war and hard times in feudal Japan. It deals with the hardships that these people face, and their method of survival, in addition to a very human story of jealousy and portrayal with a very interesting culminating point that I did not expect at all. The climax of the film is very much worth the build-up, though at times it seemed to be rather slow.

Overall, a very important piece of film when it comes to the symbolism and techniques employed. Through its' minimalism and black-and-white cinematography we are really treated to a great film that is, of its' own right, an influential and great movie. The cinematography is exceptionally good, especially the use of the reeds and the light at night.

I would recommend this film to anybody with a serious interest in film, as well as anybody who likes a good film that investigates the darker side of human nature.

The Labyrinth of the Long Grass...

[Xstal · 9/10 · 30 December 2022]

Life's been tough, and you're surviving on the edge, trapping Samurai from flows in which you dredge, your often empty skillet, is sometimes, filled with millet, but at least your daughter in law helps you fetch. A neighbour returns home, with some bad news, your son, fallen in battle, no longer moves, it's not long before his wife, is causing stress, struggle and strife, behaving in a way you wholly disapprove. By fortune, you obtain a Hannya Mask, it comes in handy for a demonising task, a barrier of sorts, daughter in law's trips cut short, but there's no time to enjoy pleasures, or to bask.

Nobuko Otowa provides us with a truly outstanding performance as she grapples with her daughter in law's infidelity after the loss of her husband, leaving her isolated, alone and forgotten. The cinematography is sublime, the raw emotions unrefined, and the mask a cursed damnation that sticks and binds.

Highly recommended

[Atavisten · 10/10 · 8 April 2005]

In the 1400s raging wars between two emperors is being fought. This is not about the wars, but about the poor people struck by it. In a rural location camouflaged by a huge field of tall reeds are two huts. In one of them a young woman lives with her stepmother, her husband went to war. Having had failed crops three times that year they are stricken by poverty. The only way for them to survive is to steal, and the only things to steal are uniforms and swords from dead soldiers or heavily wounded soldiers and then sell them to the underworld. Which by the way is funny, I never thought of the underworld in rural medieval setting before.

This story is just as grim as the demon on the cover. The wind howling in the reeds make for very creepy atmosphere. The music consisting of drums and brassy wind instruments really intensifies the drama.

Just as in sand in Teshigaharas equally excellent 'Suna no Onna' serves as symbol, metaphor and is very important in creating atmosphere we have in 'Onibaba' the tall reeds.

The theme in this, the basic needs and emotions of people, will never be dated. The psychology is thick and real. They are victims of their leaders actions. With all the wars being fought today this is still happening today, please remember that.

Dogs In Heat

[razula · 27 January 2000]

This particular flick caught my attention with the box description of "an old woman and her nubile young daughter lure unwary samurai into a wheatfield to rob and kill them." Well, there wasn't much luring...most of the samurais were just unlucky enough to wander into the old woman and nubile young daughter's home territory...but the movie was still a superb little find...in a suburban Blockbuster Video, of all places! This movie, which I found to be faster paced than most Japanese period pieces, is just DRIPPING with weird psychological overtones. The story involves an old woman and her daughter-in-law living off the spoils of wars. Various samurai from countless wars are always stumbling into these bandits' territory and to be summarily jacked for their armor and weapons. It's one big happy family until an old comrade of the daughter's husband returns home and reports that the daughter's husband is dead. We're never really sure if this man killed the husband or not...but that issue is soon is overshadowed by the sexual tension of two women who haven't been with a fella for some time. Eventually, the nubile young daughter helps herself to this new lover, much to the jealous rage of her mother-in-law. So the old woman hatches a scheme to separate these two lovers...but keeping them apart is as difficult as keeping apart two dogs in...well, you get the idea. The cinematography of this film is excellent. Each shot is meticulously and lovingly shot, building the tension and supplying the canine symbolism. The music is unusual too...it starts off with some hepcat bebop and then regresses into what I can only guess is theme music for an oni (Japanese ogre). I would highly recommend Onibaba for those evenings where everyone feels a need to be disturbed and entertained at the same time. It also doesn't hurt that Jotsuki Yoshimuru, who plays the daughter-in-law, happens to be drop dead gorgeous...in a punk rock sort of way. You'll see what I mean when you check out this flick. I doubt you'll find this flick at Blockbuster Video...unless you find one in the middle of a wheat field.....

Down in a hole.

[nikhil7179 · 10/10 · 27 February 2007]

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

• Nietzsche

The characters in Onibaba dwell in the bottom rung of Maslow's Pyramid.

Food, sex, shelter, survival - though not necessarily in that order.

Sexuality permeates every frame of this film. It is ever-present along with the oppressive heat and the marshland weeds.

The stark black and white cinematography perfectly captures the desolate mood.

The score – atonal free jazz backed by tribal rhythms - though completely anachronistic works surprisingly well.

One of the most fiercely primal depictions of the human condition on celluloid, Onibaba is a hauntingly erotic masterpiece.

Death comes from within the ocean of reeds

[Red-Barracuda · 8/10 · 23 November 2011]

Onibaba is a supernatural horror film based on a Buddhist fable. It's about a couple of women in feudal Japan surviving the hardships of war by murdering and robbing stray samurais who wander unwittingly into their path. Their domain is a huge field of tall reeds with an ominous deep hole at its centre where they dispose of the unfortunate men they kill. Things are complicated when a male neighbour returns from the war and unleashes sexual tensions within the women which ends in horror. And that is to say nothing of the demon mask...

Onibaba is an artistically strong piece of cinema. From the outset the film is aurally intense, with repetitive beating drums announcing the beginning of the tale. The widescreen frame is consistently used brilliantly, with beautifully lit black and white photography. From the constantly swaying reeds to the close-ups of the protagonist's faces, the visuals capture the mysterious yet ominous beauty of the natural world, while emphasising the intense emotions of the protagonists. The setting ensures that the atmosphere is one of claustrophobia. In fact one of the themes of Onibaba is the way that the natural landscape can shape the way we are. The field of reeds allows the women to get close enough to kill warriors; it is one of the things that shapes them into killers, as it allows them to murder at will undetected. Similarly, the film is an allegory on capitalism. The war has forced these starving women to find their own way to survive the hardships all around them. They take extreme measures to feed the capitalist machine, as they murder and sell on that which they steal to a local low-life. Capitalism has dehumanised them and the black hole in the centre swallows up the victims. But aside from this, it is an intense human drama intertwined with eerie supernatural horror. The scenes near the end of the film with the demon in the reeds are beautifully creepy. While the horrific curse of the mask results in some scary and disorientating final scenes. In addition, there is a powerful depiction of female sexuality. These women are no shrinking violets. They are aggressive, amoral and deadly.

Onibaba is a film that is sumptuous both visually and aurally; yet its characters and story are devoid of beauty. It's one of the best examples of a horror art film.

A warning for what human beings are capable of

[Kaneto · 9/10 · 9 May 2005]

Loosely based on a Buddhist fable warning against the evils of bitterness that is Onibaba. The Director Kaneto Shindo, has created a psychosexual tale of dubious morality and unrequited lust which is a fantastic cautionary fable with a dark and unique atmosphere all of its own, which in my mind puts it up with the greats of the horror genre.

The plot revolves around two women who live in feudal Japan who live in mysterious marshlands who keep themselves alive off the death of wandering soldiers by selling there armour and clothes. This allows them to survive while the younger woman (Nobuko Otowa)'s husband and the older woman (Jitsuko Yoshimura)'s son is away fighting in the wars. However, all of a sudden they find the very nature of their daily existence thrown into turmoil by anger, fear and jealousy, brought on by a man named Hachi (Kei Sato), their neighbour. He returns from the wars with the news that the younger woman's husband is dead, and although initially distrustful, the wife strikes up a passionate affair with him... much to the disgust of the older woman, whose anger is not so much derived from a sense of immorality but that the older woman is jealous of the younger woman as she to seeks a passionate night with a man also, but later she realises that her younger accomplice might leave with Hachi and have her fend for herself, which turns her jealously to fear. Then, one night, a chance encounter with a passing soldier who wears a terrifying demon mask gives a plan to the conniving old woman involving a demonic visage and the daughter-in-law's natural fear of hell. However not all goes to plan...

Stunningly beautifully photography by Kiyomi Kuroda which at times gravely still and voyeuristic, at others, frightfully haunting, the cinematography breathes as much life into this film as any of the characters it captures. Also set to Hikaru Hayashi's unique score, which combines a 60s jazzy aesthetic with a more traditional drum based sound, Onibaba is frightening not so much for genuine horror moments but for the fact that it serves as a warning for what human beings are capable of. Like the best parables, it transcends its location and time period and still resonates to this day with its darker aspects of lust and hate.

It didn't work for me

[refresh_daemon · 6/10 · 10 January 2007]

I really had no idea what I was getting into before watching this film. The story is pretty simple: a woman and her daughter-in-law eek out an existence during a warring medieval Japan by murdering lost or wounded samurai and selling their belongings. Then, a male neighbor escapes from his conscription and returns home, inciting lust, jealously and suspicion. Ooh.

I can't help but say that I was disappointed in the film. But it has a lot of merit to it. First of the all, the black and white photography is absolutely gorgeous and mesmerizing. The soundtrack is also really impressive--I liked it a lot, although it might just be my avante garde background speaking for me. But on top of this, I wasn't particularly impressed. I found myself yawning through the film, even though I fully understood what the film was about and why it was going about doing what it was doing.

I can't say it's because I prefer Hollywood-style film and stories. God knows that I've watched and loved my fair share of films from all over the world. This film, however, with its slow exploration of sexuality was rather uninteresting. Maybe because there was nothing surprising about it? Maybe because I saw nothing I didn't expect? (Outside of the aforementioned photography and soundtrack. I think I'd also have to admit that the editing was pretty neat at times.) I think the problem with the film, for me, is that it doesn't sufficiently build up its characters enough for me to care whether there's lust or not, and whether there's anything really at stake when it's started or stopped. I couldn't care less what happened to the characters. And so there really was nothing but an exercise in film-making set before my eyes. Yes, good craft, but the matter of the film reminds me of one too many film school shorts that I've seen.

Points for the artistry, but boo on the storytelling. I can see why people might like it, but it certainly didn't work for me. 6/10.

Sublime Beauty and absolute stark-Terror coalesce in Kaneto Shindo's Nightmarish fever-dream of harsh historical reality..........

[Ed-from-HI · 10/10 · 10 November 2019]

"Onibaba" (circa1964) is a uniquely haunting, darkly-spellbinding film from director Kaneto Shindo, set during the chaotically cruel & brutal timeframe of medieval-feudal Japan = specifically a period of civil war around the time of the Battle of Minatogawa sometime in the 1330's.... when anarchic senseless death/destruction was commonplace and the act of simple survival (i.e. scavenging for scraps food, shelter and a rare bit of warmth) required the utmost effort and tireless-persistence on a daily basis, with little room for the luxuries of sentimentality or compassion.

"Onibaba" could definitely be categorized as a 'horror' film in many ways........ but is actually so much more = deeply artistic & atmospheric with regards to director Kento Shindo's (and cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda) masterful application of starkly expressive B&W photography greatly enhanced by composer Hikaru Hayashi's eerily avant garde Music score (both primitively feral & sophisticatedly-evocative at the same time!)

Actors Nobuko Otowa, as the beleaguered older woman who later dons the otherworldly fearsome 'Onibaba' mask and Jitsuko Yoshimura as her youthfully vibrant comrade-in-arms (co-survivor, later fierce competitor), both desperate for 'companionship' with their sole neighbor 'Hachi' (Kei Sato). The emotions-passions presented in in this film are genuinely raw and fiercely intense, at times watching 'Onibaba' can be quite a visceral experience and this movie most definitely ranks in the upper echelons of 'psychological-thriller'.... but again, there is so much more! (i.e. perfectly capturing desperate individuals pushed far beyond the precipice of 'civilized' humanity).

Ultimately, Kaneto Shindo creates an intensely chilling/ unnerving (but also quite sensual) cinematic realm that seems to exist as both hallucinatory fever 'dream' and nightmarishly stark 'reality' and it oftentimes becomes difficult to discern which of the two realms is the more terrifying!

Survival in the War

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 23 March 2017]

Survival in the War In the Fourteenth Century, during a civil war in Japan, a middle-aged woman (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) survive in a hut in a field of reed killing warriors and soldiers to trade their possessions for food. When their neighbor Hachi (Kei Satô) defects from the war and returns home, they learn that their son and husband Kichi died while stealing supplies from farmers. Soon Hachi seduces the young widow and she sneaks out of her hut every night to have sex with him. When the older woman finds the affair of her daughter-in-law, she pleads with Hachi to leave the young woman with her since she would not be able to kill the warriors without her help. However, Hachi ignores her request and continues to meet the young woman. When a samurai wearing a demon mask stumbles upon the older woman at her hut asking her to guide him out of the field, she lures him and he falls in the pit where she drops the bodies of her victims. She climbs down the hole to take his possessions and his mask, and she finds he is a disfigured man. The she uses the demon mask to haunt her daughter-in-law to keep her away from Hachi. However, when she decides to remove the mask, she has a surprise.

"Onibaba" is a raw film by Kaneto Shindô disclosing how two women are capable to survive in the war in the Fourteenth Century in Japan in an environment of sexual tension and murders. This film is tagged horror genre, but indeed is a brutal and erotic drama. The black-and-white cinematography is magnificent and the camera work is exceptional. In accordance with information available in Internet, the mask was inspired in a Shin Buddhism parable. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Onibaba, A Mulher Demônio" ("Onibaba, The Demon Woman")

Sexual tension run amok in feudal Japan

[Prof-Hieronymos-Grost · 9/10 · 18 February 2005]

Set during a very dark time of war,where weapons and food are the items of barter due to their scarceness, which sees two different Emperors on the throne of Japan and Kyoto destroyed by fire….our story is that of a Mother and her Daughter–in-law who have been left on their own to fend for themselves while the son/husband of our main protagonists is away at war….The Mother and daughter duo take care of themselves by killing any stray Samurai/warrior that passes their way and stripping them of their armour and weapons which they then trade for millet from the unscrupulous Ushi. One night Hachi a neighbour who had been at war with the missing Husband/son arrives at their hut in a very bedraggled state and tells them of his untimely death.The women are distraught…..Hachi has made his intentions clear he wants the daughter-in-Law as his woman……The Mother afraid of being left alone warns the daughter off ……….The ensuing drama is a tale of their sexual tension in the high summer heat, which is exemplified by the swaying of the reeds/grass, the faster the reeds blow in the wind the higher the sexual tension .The mother plays on the fears of the daughter by telling her tales of Demons who prey on those who do wrong….the wrong being sex outside of marriage, but this is just a smokescreen as the mother throws herself at Hachi and asks him to sleep with her…Hachi refuses, this is the final straw for the mother.The mother meets a Samurai General who is lost in the reeds, she kills him and takes the very scary Demon mask which he wore and wears it herself each night to scare the daughter when the daughter sneaks out for her nightly fix of lust with Hachi. This a very technically proficient film, not really a horror film until arguably the films last quarter…..it has surprisingly a lot of nudity which is not intrusive but is put there by Shindo to show that nudity is not really an issue for someone who has to kill every day just to survive. Shindo also uses Black and White to stunning effect at a time when it was probably easier to film in colour……..this is not a horror masterpiece……This is a Cinematic Masterpiece!

Running scared

[petra_ste · 7/10 · 27 July 2014]

A woman stares at a sea of high grass blown by the wind at night, torn between the desire to reach her lover and fear of what might be lurking in there.

A tale of lust, greed, jealousy and deception, Onibaba has the elegant simplicity of legends. Feudal Japan: an old woman and her daughter-in-law murder and rob stray soldiers to survive, dropping their corpses in a gaping hole in the midst of a susuki grass field. When a comrade of the daughter-in-law's husband returns to a nearby hut, she starts an affair with him. The old woman plans revenge using a frightful demon mask found on a dead soldier.

Onibaba is a seminal psychological horror with a bare-bone plot, but a setting and an atmosphere which are as good as anything in the genre.

7/10

Accurate Portrayal of desperate times, but TOO SLOW

[handsomeboymodel-1 · 5/10 · 27 April 2008]

This is simply one of the most repetitive and boring movies I have seen. Classic Japanese cinema can be very interesting and exciting like the hidden fortress for example, but Onibaba turned out to be something so slow moving that you feel like you are watching noh drama on film. The action moves extremely slow, despite the random deaths in the film, which really should be exciting, but generally aren't. If you have a short attention span then realistically you will have no chance watching this.

On the other hand it certainly does do a good job of showing what life was like during the dark ages of Japanese history, but realistically if you are interested in that, read a book about it, because in this 104 minute film there is about 15 minutes where anything happens and about 90 minutes of running through a field. This movie could have easily been a short rather than full feature film. O

ONIBABA (1964) ***1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 10 October 2004]

ONIBABA had been, for as long as I can remember, one of a select group of art-house horror movies – namely Carl Theodor Dreyer's VAMPYR (1932), Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959) and Harry Kumel's DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) among others – which I seemed destined never to catch up with in my lifetime. Thankfully, however, albeit all fairly recently, I've succeeded in watching each and every one of them, the latest case being Kaneto Shindo's film just a couple of days ago by way of Criterion's remarkable presentation on DVD.

Seeing one particularly tantalizing still and reading about it in film-reference books since childhood had certainly raised my expectations sky-high. Well, having seen it now, I can safely say that it's an excellent movie: striking cinematography, both evocative and rich in imagery, is counterpointed by an unusual yet highly effective music score; direction and acting are equally superb, and the film easily ranks among the finest Japanese films (one of my favorite exponents in World Cinema) I have ever seen. The film's overpoweringly torrid, even carnal, atmosphere reminded me of Hiroshi Teshigahara's WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964), whereas its supernatural connotations recall Masaki Kobayashi's epic horror compendium KWAIDAN (1964) – but also look forward to Shindo's own KURONEKO (1968), an equally stylish (and perhaps even more fanciful) ghost story.

Still, ONIBABA's reputation as a 'horror' film is somewhat misleading: these elements only come into play during the film's last third (in fact, the very few characters and equally minimal dialogue and plot gives rise to a rather slow – but never tedious – pace), culminating in a truly horrifying final sequence…yet they are so classily presented that THIS is what most viewers remember about the film! Even so, I think that the film's frank depiction of both uninhibited sexuality - via the frequent daughter-in-law/neighbor sexual encounters and the striking image of the nude 'mistress' within the sleazy trader's lair - and repressed desire - the memorable scene of the externalization of the mother's frustration (at her daughter-in-law's continuing sexual activity and, with it, the realization of her own fading looks and subsequent rejection by the neighbor) upon a tree trunk – is an equally remarkable achievement.

In fact, I was somewhat surprised by the copious (if always tasteful and inoffensive) amount of nudity in the film, though this was certainly required not only by the themes discussed above but also by the film's setting in the sweltering heat of Japanese marshes. From the very first sequence – the elliptical and cold-blooded murder of the ravaged warriors, reminiscent of an early one in Akira Kurosawa's THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958) - the mother and daughter-in-law are seen returning to their huts, gobbling up their miserable lunch and expire of fatigue, practically naked, on their bunk-beds as any legitimate bread-winner would do after a hard day at work, indicating that this state of events has been their daily routine for some time now. For an equally impressive look at the reality of the hardships imposed upon those who stayed behind during the period in which the Japanese waged feudal war on each other, one needs only to refer back to Kenji Mizoguchi's sublime UGETSU (1953) - quite simply one of the most beautiful black-and-white films ever made which, coincidentally, just like ONIBABA, may also be regarded as an exquisite ghost story.

If I had to name one slight gripe I had with the film, it would be the exact same one eminent British film critic Leslie Halliwell had had with my favorite Luis Bunuel film, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972): '…makes all its points beautifully and then goes on twenty minutes too long.' I don't concur with his judgment on the Bunuel film but, in ONIBABA's case, the clandestine night-time journeys of the daughter-in-law towards the neighbor's hut do tend to get repetitious, although I must say that the recurring swishing sounds and entrancing images of the reeds being parted by the girl's breathless running is highly effective and, in the director's own view, full of erotic implications. One thing I particularly liked about ONIBABA is the film's ambiguous and slightly inconclusive ending: did the neighbor get killed when he visited the trader's lair?; did the mother fall to her death in the very same pit she used to 'store' her victims?; how would the daughter-in-law be able to survive now that both her accomplices have met their doom?

The DVD extras, especially Shindo's delightful interview, were both illuminating and entertaining. I do hope Criterion proposes such classic Japanese fare more frequently (only Kurosawa seems to be amply represented so far) as one really cannot get enough of them

solid rural horror fantasy

[fertilecelluloid · 8/10 · 24 December 2004]

Director Kaneto Shindo's ONIBABA is a fantastic, rich, atmospheric horror film set in an amazing rural location. Its influence on decades of rural-set genre pics is undeniable.

In a medieval, warring Japan, a wild, young woman and her mother-in-law rob and kill lost samurai in order to survive. Problems begin when the younger woman becomes involved with an intended victim.

Staged in a rural world of tall, swaying grass and swollen rivers, the film contains little dialogue and little exposition. It relies heavily on the non-verbal performances of the female leads and the superbly conveyed location.

It is erotic, creepy, sensual, savage and beautiful.

Cinematic poetry.

Some films stay with you forever.This is one of them.

[terraplane · 10/10 · 28 November 2001]

When I first saw this incredible movie many years ago I knew I had seen something unique.I can only re-iterate all the favourable comments which pre-ceed this note.If you have never experienced Onibaba then you are missing out on a movie which will disturb and move you.See it at once.

A masterpiece of horror

[MOscarbradley · 9/10 · 29 June 2017]

"Onibaba" is one of the cinema's masterpieces of horror, perhaps because the horrors it depicts are appallingly real and because the director, Kaneto Shindo, has succeeded in making a film that is truly a work of art. It is set in 14th century Japan where two women, a mother and her daughter-in-law, kill wounded samurai, steal their armour and bury them in a deep hole in the middle of a sea of grass.

It's a visually stunning film, shot in widescreen and in black and white by the great cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda and death permeates almost every scene, (either death or sex and here they are intrinsically linked). The women are monsters but only because war and the male-dominated society in which they are forced to survive has made them so. Shindo's extraordinary film is as much a critique of medieval Japan as it is an outright horror film. Praise, too, for Hikaru Hayashi's tremendous score, which like the best scores in the best horror films, adds considerably to the sense of dread.

very creepy flick

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 30 June 2005]

While not the greatest Japanese movie ever made, this proves that you don't need Akira Kurasawa to direct an excellent Japanese film.

"Onibaba" is Japanese for "grandma-monster" and this refers to a story the older woman tells the younger in order to get her to stay home and stop carrying on her affair with a ne'er-do-well. Unfortunately, when the older lady dresses up AS the monster in order to scare her, things change for the worse unexpectedly.

Despite this brief description, this isn't really a horror movie, but a tale about three basically greedy people. So what did I like about it? Well, the story has such interesting twists and turns that keep the viewer guessing and it is a good study of human nature in its worst form. Overall, very odd but captivating.

Haunting, mysterious, and erotic; the ending left a lot to be desired

[cgearheart · 6/10 · 12 December 2018]

A visually captivating film with breathtaking and haunting imagery (I can imagine Terrance Malick taking a lot of inspiration from the cinematography). The message is interesting, sending a sort of "you reap what you sew" type moral. The flaws of Onibaba is that the characters aren't very interesting (or even that likable) and the ending is incredibly anticlimactic, feeling quite secondary and forgettable to the imagery being displayed.

I'd go to purgatory with you!

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 1 March 2009]

Food and sex. Two things that are basic to human survival.

Amidst the tall reeds, both are sought and found in the eerie tale of war-torn Japan.

A mother (Nobuko Otowa) and daughter (Jitsuko Yoshimura) fight for survival by killing wandering samurai and throwing their bodies down a deep hole, selling their armor to a war profiteer (Taiji Tonoyama) for food.

Hachi (Kei Sato) returns from the war and has one thing on his mind - well, after he feeds his belly. Soon, the young woman is sneaking over to his hut. They are feeding their hunger everywhere, in the hut, in the reeds, even in a rainstorm, and the old woman is watching.

There is more nudity and sexual situations in this film than in any other Japanese film of the period that I have seen.

The old woman is desperate to split up Hachi and her daughter-in-law, and is aided by the sudden appearance of a samurai in a demon mask.

She dispatches the samurai in the usual manner and uses the demon mask to scare her daughter-in-law away from Hachi. Unfortunately for her, the plan backfires.

Great cinematography and exciting suspense.

Masterfully filmed, but a weak plot

[Andrew426 · 6/10 · 30 March 2023]

I decided to give this film a watch upon recommendation by Mark Kermode. Thought it most certainly wasn't as terrifying as he hyped it up to be, it was still masterfully directed and eerie for a 1964 film. Onibaba feels very contemporarily shot.

The inba swamp was an almost limbo-like setting and incredibly atmospheric. The camerawork at times almost gives off the impression that the swamp itself is alive, and natural sound and a lacking in any musical composition is highly weaponized.

However, I feel as if this film is quite the tough watch. Inspired by a story of a woman using a mask to scare her daughter from entering a Buddhist temple, the entire film is based around an old lady essentially trying to stop her daughter in law from having it on with her neighbour, and that point only comes about at the very END of the film.

It starts masterfully, with the two living a nomadic life and salvaging what they can by murdering deserters from a war, but the entire mid-section of the film is just the daughter sneaking off to go see Uchi, and then the Mother taking issue. It picks up after the masked man appears but the film still trudges. Taking the film from face value, it really has no need to be as long as it is.

If you want a unique and unusual watch, go for it. If you're a casual filmgoer, I'd suggest avoiding this film.

Blood-chilling

[MissSimonetta · 10/10 · 9 September 2022]

Inititally, ONIBABA does not seem like much of a horror movie at all. It's a slow-moving drama with three central characters set in wartorn, 14th century Japan. A middle-aged woman and her widowed daughter-in-law struggle to survive, stripping valuable armor and weapons off of dead samurai. An old comrade of the younger woman's husband drops by, hoping for some free food and sex. The widow goes all in, embarking on a wild sexual affair, much to the disapproval of her mother-in-law, who fears the man will take away the one person ensuring her own survival.

By the midpoint, we plunge into terror territory (terror-tory, if you will-- ha, ha). The mother-in-law and the man become bitter rivals, each wanting the widow for their own ends. Eventually, the mother-in-law tries using fear to get what she wants-- but I don't want to spoil it anymore.

The film slowly gets creepier and creepier, going from your usual Japanese costume drama to supernatural horror. It happens so gradually that it's easy to be lulled into thinking you'll never be scared, but the last twenty minutes are some of the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced in a horror movie. The stark black-and-white visuals and the jarring music score only amp up the uneasy atmosphere. The last scene gave me chills.

Thin soup

[Groverdox · 6/10 · 3 November 2022]

"Onibaba" looks good, but I didn't really get anything out of it. It also devotes more screentime to bare breasts than probably any '80s teen sex comedy, which is interesting for a black and white movie from the '60s.

The plot concerns two women, a mother and daughter-in-law, who kill and rob soldiers returning from the same war that their son and husband is away fighting in. There is a hole in the middle of the field they live by, and they coax the soldiers to their deaths at the bottom of the hole.

When a neighbour returns, he begins a relationship secretly with the younger murderess. The older one attempts to break them up. She meets a samurai wearing a demon mask, steals his mask, and then I kind of lost the plot.

The movie ends very abruptly, without really resolving anything. It's photographed well, and acted convincingly, and has transgressive themes that don't seem to take a moral stance on its horrible characters. There didn't seem to be enough story for its run-time, though, and when the movie tried to go all symbolic toward the end, I just couldn't be bothered.

Onibaba: Worst Toho movie?

[Platypuschow · 2/10 · 7 January 2019]

There have been some truly outstanding Toho movies over the years, and even when they aren't on point they still usually deliver something of value. Sadly that is not the case here, which begs the question whether Onibaba is the worst Toho film?

Merging their bleak, dark samurai epics with the horror genre should have yielded something quite special but alas not this time.

It tells the story of two women who live deep within a field of tall reeds. They make ends meet by killing samurais who wander from battle, looting their corpses and selling on what they find. One finds love in a neighbor while the other meddles with a mysterious masked samurai who has become lost.

Going in I really wanted to like this, not only did I want to like it but honestly I expected to. The premise looked solid, it's a Toho film and generally they handle horror really quite well, not to mention the extremely high IMDB rating.

So what went wrong? Sadly Onibaba is a boring, lifeless affair that comes across to me as being quite pointless. It doesn't really go anywhere, it plays out like reality television. Namely a camera is there but the people in front of it aren't exactly telling a story with a beginning a middle and an end.

Sorely disappointed, I expected so much more from this.

The Good:

Great setting

The Bad:

Ill fitting score

Very boring

Ultimately goes nowhere