Onibaba is a chilling nightmare of a film. Beautifully shot in contrasty monochrome, night or day, it’s foreboding grasslands make for an apocalyptic setting. Set in war-torn 14th-century Japan, an older woman and her daughter-in-law are murdering scavengers who survive by killing lost soldiers and stripping the bodies of valuables. The corpses are tossed down a secret pit, the bottom of which is a grotesque grave. When a disgraced soldier arrives, an explosive mixture of erotic tension and jealousy arise in this tale of morality. This is a fantastic film from Kaneto Shindo…one of Japan’s foremost auteurs and there have been essays written about its symbolism and leitmotifs. That said, Onibaba is a stylized experience any genre fans should view if they enjoy modern Asian horror.
