Onibaba
Tags: dark, mystery, murder, atmospheric, psychedelic, revenge

Plot synopsis:
The film is set somewhere in Japan, in the mid-fourteenth century during a period of civil war. Two wounded soldiers flee from pursuers on horse in thick reeds which are taller than a man. Suddenly the soldiers are killed with spears by unseen assailants. Two women appear, take the armour and weapons, and drop the bodies in a hole. The women return to a small hut. The next day they take the armor and weapons to a merchant named Ushi (Taiji Tonoyama) and trade them for food. The merchant tells them news of a war. Ushi tries to seduce the older woman in vain. A neighbor named Hachi (Kei Satō), who has been at war, returns. The older woman (Nobuko Otowa) asks Hachi about her son, who was forced to be a soldier along with Hachi. The son is the husband of the younger woman (Jitsuko Yoshimura). Hachi tells about his experience in two fights, where general Takauji Ashikaga attacked his division. He says that he and the younger woman's husband deserted. Later her husband was killed while they were stealing food from farmers and he barely escaped. The older woman warns the younger woman to stay away from Hachi, whom she blames for her son's death.
One beautiful day the three, who are out at the lake talking and minding their own business, see two samurai chasing one another and fighting on horseback. They jump in the lake and keep fighting, swimming closer to the three as they go. As one samurai comes close to them, asking for help, Hachi stabs him with his spear. He then orders the women to get the other man, whom they drown in the lake. The two then take their armour as before, sell it to Ushi, and have a good meal. Despite the warning to stay away from Hachi, he seduces the young woman and she sneaks out of her hut every night to have sex with him. The older woman learns of the relationship and is angered by this. She tries to sleep with Hachi, then pleads with him to not take the young woman away since she cannot kill without her help.
One night, while Hachi and the young woman are together, a lost samurai in a demon --Hannya- mask (Jūkichi Uno) forces the older woman to guide him out of the swamp. She tricks him into plunging to his death in the pit where the women dispose of their victims. She climbs down and steals the samurai's possessions and, with great difficulty, his mask. Under the mask he is disfigured. As she leaves, the older woman then gets an idea to keep her daughter-in-law away from Hachi.
At night, the older woman dons the mask and frightens the young woman away from Hachi. During a storm, the older woman terrifies the young woman with the mask, but Hachi finds the daughter-in-law and again has sex with her in the grasses as the old woman watches from afar. Hachi returns to his hut. He finds a man in his hut. The man kills Hachi.
The older woman discovers that, after getting wet in the rain, the mask is impossible to remove. She reveals her scheming to the young woman and pleads with her to help take off the mask. The young woman agrees to remove the mask after the older woman promises not to interfere with her relationship with Hachi. The young woman breaks off the mask with a hammer. Under the mask, the older woman's face is covered with sores. The young woman thinks the older woman has turned into a demon, and runs from her; the older woman runs after her, crying out that she is a human being, not a demon. The young woman leaps over the pit, and as the older woman leaps after her the film ends.

Review: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wow,I saw this movie on Cable recently.Both of the women in this story are just trying their best to get by and survive in a bad situation.I could tell it was on a limited budget but very well written.It was erotic with frontal nudity and even filmed in the 60's.It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.I was trying to figure out where they were going with the whole thing.I kept trying to decide if I sympathized with the old woman more than the young one.Then at the end I felt sorry for both of them.What a great story.This one needs to be on Cable more often.This one is a must see even for people who only like contemporary films.I would recommend it to anyone..
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.
Survival in the War. 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.
"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.
But the film is minor gem in the world of Japanese cinema.A woman and her daughter in law sell body armor in feudal Japan in order to survive in their small shack in the middle of a wheat field.
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.
In fact, the only thing it has in common with modern horror fare is that it seems to contain a strong subtext trying to keep young women's more frisky urges in line and discouraging them from having any fun.Caught in the middle of political turmoil in feudal Japan, a girl and her mother-in-law try to survive by killing soldiers who stray into the nearby cornfields and scavenging their weapons and armour to sell to the local arms dealer.
The whole idea of the nearby pit the two women use to dispose of the bodies being a source of ancient evil is left completely unused and, despite the demon mask being very scary, it's not at all effective because we know exactly who is behind it.However, just as I was beginning to get seriously bored of the whole 'horny lass running through corn sees demon and runs home screaming' affair, two deliciously unpleasant fates befell two of the unsavoury lead characters.
Living in feudal Japan, a woman and her mother-in-law who make a living killing lost wandering samurai and selling their belongings take in the husbands' friend who begins to stir feelings in them that leads them to believe they're being stalked by demonic forces.For the most part, this here was quite the enjoyable if overall troubling effort.
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 concept is a good one, but all exploration of the human condition and any tension and suspense fades as the movie sinks into slow moving porn.The situation is a tense, suspenseful one: two lonely women resigned to a horrible way of obtaining food to survive -- killing compelled warriors for anything of value they happen to possess.
This was an interesting film to say the least and one that leans heavily toward drama with undertones of horror until the stunning conclusion.Onibaba is a story about a younger woman and her mother in law, waiting the return of the younger woman's husband ; in a time of uncertainty where civil war rages, they eke out a living by killing soldiers that stray into their territory, stealing what they wear, dumping the bodies in a pit and selling the items in exchange for food.
All those subtle moments are heightened and as a result this film looks and feels beautiful.For me what served Onibaba well is similar to what I liked about Kwaidan and that is the overall simplicity of the story- a timely tale of lust, greed, what we want and oftentimes can't have as well as the morals the story raises.Tonally there is a thin layer of dread that permeates the film and certainly thickens on its finale.
To say anything about the ending would do it a disservice but it's a stunning outcome that still lingers uneasily in my mind now.I do think Onibaba is a cinematic piece of poetry; the demonic mask is truly creepy and does add to its horror element.Fairly be warned however Onibaba is a quiet thoughtful film that will not appeal to a lot of people, if you need a good kick of pace this likely won't appeal to you and I get why this doesn't appeal to some as is.Me?
After watch it twice l'd reach it in a final conclusion, it's a near masterpiece by a valuable japanese filmaker, he makes it in handcraft quality, he itself explains how he makes it putting all casting on a cottages near where the movie was shooting, there were to stay there until to finish the whole project, otherwise could be out, this magnificent piece of art movie wasn't a propper genre to fit, l trying for find a mark to find something to fit together in this large puzzle without success, this is unique, all rushes waves leting us thinking in many potentials dimensions, the sexual forces without vulgarity is another high point to study for news filmakers and cinephiles, all scenes has a particular meaning, the black hole, the devil's mask everything, photographed in black & white gave a strained atmosphere that Kaneto Shindô impose wiselydeliberately, it problably would not be the same result in color!!!
(I personally find black and white horror movies a little more scary because of the dark colors and darker and more silent atmosphere that makes it more uneasy to watch (in a good way)).
The wife and the mother of a soldier make their meager living by preying upon hapless samurai who come their way, killing them and selling their armor for food.This film allegedly inspired William Friedkin for his design on the demon in "The Exorcist".
Though in many scenes it builds a tremendous amount of suspense and throughout there is a sense of mystery about the film, labeling it a horror film would not do it justice as it suits the mold of drama/tragedy more appropriately.The story takes place during the feudal era of Japan in a quiet village by the river concealed by a lush growth of reeds where an old woman and her daughter-in-law has chosen a peculiar way of life.
Then comes the fateful night when the demon samurai arrives and the rest is for the audiences' eyes only.Onibaba is a film that boasts stunning cinematography and one cannot help but admire the many different ways the field of reeds is shot; in natural light, artificial light, during daytime and night, with pan and zoom shots, with wind blowing creating a ripple effect, with rain pouring and in stagnant weather as well, you name it.
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.
Based on an old Buddhist fable and set during a time of war in Japan's Middle Ages, "Onibaba" (or "Demon Woman") yet tells a simple story, really.
When Hachi, a fellow soldier friend of the young woman's deceased husband, returns home from the wars, a lustful triangle is formed between the three; a triangle that grows quite macabre when a demon-masked samurai enters the picture....
Onibaba ('Demon Hag') is based on a Buddhist fable and tells the story of an old woman and her young daughter-in-law during 14th century feudal Japan (or 16th, or 17th depending on who's website you use to check these things) who live in a seemingly endless swamp of high reeds and survive by murdering lost or renegade Samurai warriors.
I would just like to point out that Hachi (the male lead) was not a "deserter" but an escaped conscript, and he definitely did not "escape" from the "kill samurai, take armour" plan that the women were running.Also, the women always killed the samurai and then threw their bodies into the hole.This was not a horror film for 3/4 of the movie, but simply the story of two women living in war, with a cheap love plot.The mask, which comes in at the end, is clearly demonic, but it does not make the film into a "horror" movie, it really just leaves the viewer with a feeling of where did the demonic angle come from".
The film opens with a shot of the deep, dark hole in the ground of some tall grasslands, which serve as the dumping ground of an old woman (Nobuko Otawa) and her daughter-in- law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) when they kill off straggling soldiers who venture into their territory.
The first half of the film sets up the premise, and in some ways is kind of repetitive, and comical even, to see the lass run miles and miles as fast as she could, just to get laid, perchance seeing the probability of a new life with someone who had deserted from the war.The second half came across with a touch of comedy, especially when the old lady, now exasperated and very nearly resigning to her fate, chances upon a scary Samurai general who hides his identity behind a sinister looking mask.
The wife to a friend who was killed in the mentioned war and her stepmother.Tapping into our primal and sexual nature of our beings, extracting all the goods from a dark fairytale, Onibaba is a disturbing and wonderful film.Another thing i really liked was the harsh music at the beginning that seemed to mix Japanese folk and jazz.
Onibaba (1964) *** (out of 4) Japanese folk/horror film from director Kaneto Shindo is one I've been meaning to watch ever since I heard it influenced the demon in The Exorcist.
An old woman and her daughter-in-law kill soldiers to sell their outfits so that they can survive but when a man returns home from the war and starts an affair with the daughter, the old woman tells her a story of demons.
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.
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.
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.
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.
While nowhere near as scary as "The Exorcist", this film still managed to make me feel unnerved in that subtle sort of way that Japanese horror films seem to excel at.LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD:The movie follows a middle aged woman and her daughter-in-law living in feudal Japan.
The lake shore where some of the action takes place gives this violent film a semblance of idleness.A mother in law-daughter in law duo makes a living by killing soldiers during war time and selling their belongings.
Set in 1300's Japan, when civil war had torn the country apart, the film focuses on an old woman and her daughter-in-law.
It's not the countless murders of random samurai that makes the old woman into the onibaba, the witch ogre of Japanese legend, but rather her denying the young woman her natural right to sexual satisfaction.That probably doesn't sound like a horror movie.
Exceptional Japanese historical drama with horror elements follows lives of two women, in cruel times of war, struggling to survive by killing soldiers in a vast field of susuki grass.