Onibaba (1964)

Two women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.

Director:

Kaneto Shindô

Writer:

Kaneto Shindô

Stars:

Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nobuko Otowa	...	Kichi's Mother
Jitsuko Yoshimura	...	Kichi's Wife
Kei Satô	...	Hachi
Jûkichi Uno	...	Samurai General
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Ushi
Someshô Matsumoto	...	Runaway Warrior A
Kentarô Kaji	...	Runaway Warrior B
Hosui Araya	...	Ushi's Follower
Fudeko Tanaka	...	Old Woman
Michinori Yoshida	...	Samurai with Blood
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi	...	Horse Riding Samurai A
Hiroshi Tanaka	...	Horse Riding Samurai B
Kanzô Uni	...	Horse Riding Samurai C
Nobuko Shimakage	...	Child

Storyline

In the Fourteenth Century, during a civil war in Japan, a middle-aged woman and her daughter-in-law survive in a hut in a field of reed killing warriors and soldiers to trade their possessions for food. When their neighbor Hachi 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

mask | cemetery | grass | yard | samurai | 

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Taglines:

The most daring film import ever...from Japan!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

4 February 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Onibaba

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kindai Eiga Kyokai, Tokyo Eiga Co Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The demon mask used in the movie inspired William Friedkin to use a similar design for the makeup in subliminal shots of a white-faced demon in The Exorcist (1973).

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Quotes

Woman: I'm not a demon! I'm a human being!

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Connections

Featured in Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema: Horror (2018)

User Reviews

solid rural horror fantasy

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.