Visually striking tale of desperation of many varieties. The film still feels fresh and modern due to its honest depiction of sexuality and human savagery.

A fair enough period piece/love triangle/morality play/fairy tale, that has dated horribly in sound design, acting and overall pacing. Also, it calls itself a horror movie, which it is certainly not. Also, it raises questions: Why does the lust of young women sound like horny pigeons? How the hell do these people find their way around the WORLD of rushes (of which there are waaay too many shots) and finally: Why do the Japanese yell so much all the fucking time? Calm down. Please. Calm. Down.

Impressive feature, chronicling the darkness within the human soul. Shindo's sound design is especially important in this regard, often bringing out the mumbles, groans, chewing, and other sounds associated with physical acts like eating and having sex. In the face of a tragic war, these people are reduced to existing for their appetites. The film wisely sidesteps the question of blame for this scenario, and the ending delivers one of the great ironic final lines in cinematic history.

A dark, dark fairy-tale with a sort of folksy, primitive moral to it. Beautifully shot... Chilling, haunting atmosphere... My only complaint is that some sections of the plot are a tad too repetitive or overstretched.

Sooooooooo slow

An extraordinary visual achievement - low-key illuminations have never been more frightening.

An awful story about desperate women who kill soldiers to sell their equipment for food. A local man escapes the fighting and returns to the area. He seduces the young girl but the union is doomed by the vengeful mother in law. Painful music. Great depiction of lust, and some nice frontal nudity, but hard to enjoy the plot with so much ignorance and superstition. The final insult to the viewer comes when a warriors mask gets stuck to the woman's face and a bad ending which is no ending at all.

One of the most weirdly erotic works I've ever seen. It's a bizarre hodge-podge of blatant sexual motifs coalesced with veiled, esoteric ones. The setting amongst the swaying reeds, as well as the way in which it's shot, is inexplicably perfect. The sound design/music additionally lends to the overall what-the-fuckery to the point where you stop caring about cohesion so much because what you're witnessing is so uniquely strange.

I never thought that a shot of reeds blowing in the wind could be so haunting. A chilling examination of the desperate lengths people will go to survive during a period of war or hardship.

A singular, forceful film combining elements of erotica and horror into a japanese period drama. A sinister, torrid beast of a movie with spellbinding imagery, rich in oppresive, humid atmosphere. It's awesome, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

Misery writ large on the silver screen, the admonishing tone of this film is overly dire, and its irony far too stagey. However, the motivations are simple and intriguing, resulting in some interesting characters who just don't have enough room to flourish in the tightly wound narrative.

The style sometimes overtakes the substance, but on the whole it's very atmospheric and comes together strongly in the end.

Go PSI! You've discovered what might be my favorite Japanese film ever.

84.875

dem grass shots.

The way Shindo escalates both the foreboding tension & the eroticism as the film goes on is incredibly powerful, and the three leads are brilliant, evoking both repulsion & pity. Pithy tagline: "Makes Woman in the Dunes look like The Wedding Planner!"

I can't stop thinking about this film.

Creepy and haunting, and beautifully filmed. A bit over-stylized at times, but not too bad.

I think for the most part I just mustn't get this film. I didnt find any party of it scary. There was undoubtedly some great moments from a cinematography perspective, but - I dont know.

For sheer unrelieved eeriness, this is tough to beat. Shindo's erotic terror tale is greatly abetted by an atmospheric setting -- endless undulating reed fields -- stunning B&W cinematography, a subtle kodo drum score, and an overwhelming aura of human depravity.

Strange film but quite interesting.