Onibaba (1964)

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After enlisting as a volunteer in a war in 14th century Japan, his wife and mother remain living in a swamp... (imdb)

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Directed By: Kaneto Shindô

Written By: Kaneto Shindô

Starring: Kei Satô, Taiji Tonoyama, Nobuko Otowa, Jukichi Uno, Hiroshi Tanaka, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Fudeko Tanaka, Kentarô Kaji, Senshô Matsumoto, Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi, Kanzô Uni, Michinori Yoshida

Genres: Drama, Horror

AKA: The Hole

Country: Japan

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Onibaba belongs to 77 collections

1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 234 stars)

2. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 167 stars)

3. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)

4. Fuck my life (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 38 stars)

5. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)

6. Full Female Frontal Nudity (Yes, Bush!) (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 26 stars)

7. Best of criticker: Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 26 stars)

8. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)

9. Humanity and the Natural World (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 18 stars)

10. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)

11. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 17 stars)

12. Best film of top directors (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 15 stars)

13. Samurai (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 13 stars)

14. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)

15. Doubling The Canon (collaborative - 13 stars)

16. Criticker top 250 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 11 stars)

17. Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See (public: jimmyjazz - 11 stars)

18. Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive Art (collaborative: moderated by edsu - 8 stars)

19. Folk Horror (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 8 stars)

20. Asian Horror (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 6 stars)

21. Black and White Photography (collaborative: moderated by JooJoo - 6 stars)

22. Masters of Cinema (collaborative: moderated by hristos - 6 stars)

23. Best of criticker: Horror (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 6 stars)

24. Ekşi Sinema "Alternatif" Top 250 (collaborative - 6 stars)

25. Arthouse Horror (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 6 stars)

26. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)

27. Very Small Cast (collaborative: moderated by shalev - 5 stars)

28. Slant Magazine's 100 Greatest Horror Films of All Time (collaborative: moderated by edsu - 5 stars)

29. Great Japanese Films (collaborative: moderated by PerryStroika - 4 stars)

30. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 4 stars)

31. Average Percentile >70 (collaborative: moderated by peyrin - 4 stars)

32. Dark films (public: Hadleyreis - 4 stars)

33. Horror (public: fruititself - 4 stars)

34. Horror (public: horrorjames - 4 stars)

35. 501 Movie Directors (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)

36. Japanese director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 3 stars)

37. Guillermo del Toro's Top 10ish Criterion Collection Films (public: TychoCelchuu - 3 stars)

38. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)

39. Djross film as art (public: djross - 3 stars)

40. Best Opening Scenes (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 2 stars)

41. 14th century period film (collaborative: moderated by djross - 2 stars)

42. Top 50 Horror (collaborative: moderated by RedLantern91 - 2 stars)

43. High contrast black and white cinematography (collaborative: moderated by juandr - 2 stars)

44. Robert Eggers Favorite Horror Movies (collaborative: moderated by offlineoz - 2 stars)

45. weird (public: ptkw - 2 stars)

46. Horror Horror (public: Ozancan - 2 stars)

47. Sound Design (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 1 star)

48. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)

49. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror 1960s (collaborative: moderated by RoyalB - 1 star)

50. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)

51. aflickering searches for new capital F favorites (collaborative: moderated by AFlickering - 1 star)

52. gork movies to get (public: gork - 1 star)

53. Metacosmic and sexorganological cinema (public: djross - 1 star)

54. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)

55. Naked Female Running (collaborative)

56. Ultra-high contrast black and white (collaborative: moderated by juandr)

57. Subdued (collaborative: moderated by dardan)

58. Jidaigeki (collaborative: moderated by tirefeet)

59. Available on Divicast (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)

60. Foreign films on Divicast (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)

61. To see (public: nyg500)

62. October Horror Movie a Day (public: ABUNCHOFCATS)

63. Movies I want to see again (public: cute_axolotl)

64. us-tv McD 101 Horrors (public: timxyz)

65. zae's DVDs & Blurays (public: zae)

66. Owned (BD) (public: bizarre_eye)

67. aNobii Cineforum (public: earthlydel)

68. Horror/Suspense Movies I Own (public: Lord Moe)

69. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 35 (public: PeaceAnarchy)

70. Rewatch & Random (public: ForrestQ)

71. D:Movies (public: ptkw)

72. Djross Japanese feature films I've seen (public: djross)

73. time was (public: rnest)

74. Films Dunstan Owns (public: Dunstan-xxx)

75. C-1960 (public: cantahta)

76. A Spook-a-doodle October (public: Tarnop)

77. 1960s Mile High Club (public: Dunstan-xxx)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
13	BeeDub	95 _91st
If Kurosawa made a Tales from the Crypt episode, it would look a lot like this (though it's still not a traditional horror film). The small cast and impeccable cinematography make this feel extremely claustrophobic despite it taking place in open fields. Haunting stuff.
8	eveelun	85 _92nd
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.
7	Icarus	92 _93rd
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.
6	Spunkie	85 _97th
Onibaba, Baba Yaga. Do not be mistaken, this is purgatory. There isn't a single soul in this movie that's not rotten to the bone. I'll be adding it to my list of best chiaroscuro lighting in a movie. While there are many movies that looks more than pretty with lightning, few makes use of lighting to the full effect. 2nd half seems less effective to me, but my mind may have slipped, I'll schedule a rewatch soon.
5	Nathan S	3 _45th
Onibaba is slow to start, but builds into an exhausting folk tale of dog-eat-dog savagery and moral desperation. It's a beautiful film, ghostly shades set against an endless sea of flowing tall grass.
5	joseywales	88 _95th
Haunting. Reminds me a bit of Laughton's 'Night of the Hunter'
5	Mentaculus	96 _96th
As perfect as they come. Everything is unsettling: from the scenes of floating weeds, to the bizarre, ritualistic way the women kill the wayward samurai to the dream-like quality of the attainment of the mask. The grand reveal is not nearly as frightening as what it means to you three days after viewing the film - after it begins to weigh on you. The composition and lighting also blow the mind.
4	terrymac	92 _98th
Beautifully shot in stark black and white, oozing with atmosphere and full of things that will stay with you long after you've watched it. Creepy, unsettling and absorbing.
4	INDYATMN	69 _22nd
Has everyone lost their minds? Criticker thought I'd give this a 90? It's no surprise that this is on the Criterion Collection because it fulfills many arthouse requirements - "languid" pacing; long "meditative" shots of not much so that critics can pretend they're appraising a museum painting; aggressively opaque meaning; & Ambiguous conclusion. I only rate it as high as I do because the first half showcasing peasants doing whatever they need to do to survive during war was unique & interesting
4	JacoIII	45 _85th
What an interesting movie. I love that Shindo was making feminist cinema in 60s Japan. Hell, this movie is more open-minded about women than most films coming out today.
4	Lord Moe	88 _77th
A gorgeous black & white erotic horror movie from Japan. Featuring even a smaller cast than it's contemporary, "Kuroneko," "Onibaba" accomplishes so much with three main characters, two huts, and a swamp of reeds. It tells of the fight against loneliness amongst three people: a mother who desperately tries to keep her daughter-in-law by her side and two young people indulging in their torturous desires. Amidst all of that it manages to frighten. It contains some of the most memorable imagery.
3	MartinTeller	85 _84th
Creepy and haunting, and beautifully filmed. A bit over-stylized at times, but not too bad.
3	Actionberg	85 _84th
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.
3	Moribunny	83 _93rd
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.
3	TheDenizen	80 _84th
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.
3	Dean Franz	88 _87th
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.
3	Obdurate	80 _66th
It took a while to get going and while the movie is memorable for a variety of reasons, the relationships between these characters is not one of them. I love the final act because it got legitimately creepy. Shot in such a way that this swamp is oppressive (the grass seems lively and always on the verge of swallowing everything). Music is unique, themes are potent. As a whole the story could be told better, but it is a masterpiece of directing. Didn't love it like I thought I would.
3	Chacron	65 _32nd
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.
3	moviesinhell	100 _97th
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.
3	woodoo	90 _82nd
Lush and painterly with a soundtrack like a sick heartbeat. Horror mythology; very few outside of Hitchcock even touch it.
3	metz	90 _98th
Penetrating, primitive, universal, desperate. No need for hardcore gore, when you live in a rat trap.
3	snallygaster	87 _95th
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!"
3	TamCam	84 _96th
This movie perfectly portraits the poverty of war, the desperate measures to which people will go and that even despicable brutes can seem more or less attractive if they're the only young men around. Jokes aside, from a technical viewpoint this movie is amazing regarding the time it's been shot. It's all too easy to feel the surroundings you see thanks to the brilliant camera work. And there's some nudity involved as well...
3	karamazov.	82 _97th
Just about a perfect film, for me-- no fluff whatsoever; all atmosphere and dreamish substance.
2	djross	74 _83rd
Impressive photography, lighting, sound and music in this evocative tale of desperation that seems to have symbolic overtones. Certainly 1964 was a good year for Japanese quasi-horror/erotic/symbolic/hole-in-the-ground movies, with the even better WOMAN IN THE DUNES coming out the same year.
2	Vendetta	92 _88th
Powerful cinematic experience .. power of human psycologhy .. a must see çç
2	Suture Self	10 _96th
Primal and beautiful.
2	purgatos	95 _96th
This movie's going to stay with me for quite some time.
2	monclivie	77 _61st
People want to fuck and bad shit happens: the movie. Good movie, but horror? Well, the only horrendous thing was the face of this girl who couldn't run with her mouth closed.
2	DavidBlast	60 _54th
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.
2	Tjekhov	80 _86th
An extraordinary visual achievement - low-key illuminations have never been more frightening.
2	guy piranha	65 _53rd
Great cinematography, especially lighting. But everything beyond that just isn't my pair of shoes and i'm not gonna lose it over some b&w shots of grass in the wind.
2	SheWas	75 _80th
If the movie had color, just one color, it would be green, like the little monster we sometimes turn into.
2	KramYessev	73 _65th
Gorgeous, thoughtful & profound, but also meandering & repetitious. Latter half held my attention more, though first had more interesting ideas running through.
2	???	89 _92nd
The character of the mother has a quality of a black widow spider. In a sense it's a movie about parents willing their kids nightmares.
2	MacSwell	85 _86th
The photography and sound are spellbinding; each long take of susuki grass swaying in the wind is hypnotically gorgeous. The film’s human elements provide a stark contrast to this pastoral beauty, with characters driven only by their most base, selfish and violent instincts, allowing a gripping story to unfold with inevitably destructive results. Though the supernatural horror perhaps creeps into it a little late, Shindo nails the mood from the outset.
2	dardan	90 _94th
The antithesis of samurai film.
2	JonnyHalftab	85 _52nd
The shots of characters running through the reeds are so delightfully creepy. Unfortunately nothing really happens that matches the atmosphere created. I'm usually bad at guessing twists but the identity of the mask wearer towards the end was way too obvious. I think I'm mainly just disappointed because based off of the title's translation, "Demon Hag", I was expecting something more fantastical than a sticky mask
1	willofgaia	70 _22nd
Sooooooooo slow
1	TheDiceman	60 _62nd
Strange film but quite interesting.
1	Alex Watkins	4 _70th
Creepy and suspenseful, with some great photography and an interesting twist at the end.
1	PeaceAnarchy	83 _72nd
The style sometimes overtakes the substance, but on the whole it's very atmospheric and comes together strongly in the end.
1	Stain	80 _68th
Dark, weird movie about two nice Japanese women who kill people. In short, my kind of movie
1	Anomaly	87 _89th
Visually striking and intoxicating. Sinks you deep into a primal and savage world. Makes reeds blowing in the wind the most atmospheric thing ever.
1	Bene	83 _88th
Really messed up
1	adrian	90 _97th
Thanks Criticker! You've discovered what might be my favorite Japanese film ever.
1	panzerwolf	92 _97th
It is a chilling, strange movie that works very well in B&W. Beautiful and haunting. Sometimes the memories of those tall reeds still return to me randomly.
1	graveyardtan	85 _71st
Extremely unnerving tale of power, war, and sexual repression. This would make for an excellent double feature with Polanski's Repulsion.
1	Hadleyreis	98 _99th
I can't stop thinking about this film.
1	KAH	4 _93rd
A disturbing feast for the eye.
1	Nroo	86 _94th
Evocative horror about living in crushing poverty. The final images are like the moment right before waking from a nightmare.
1	FancyMike	4 _59th
Incredibly beautiful film. And so tightly constrained. There are the reeds, a couple huts, a few feet of river bank, three characters, and a hole. With just that it manages to tell a harrowing story about the cost of war, the loss of humanity and desperation that expands far from the battlefield. Magnificent
1	Darren	90 _91st
Felt like this kind of thing is made for me since I kinda hate those stoic samurai movies these days. The running in the weeds haunted me for a couple days after.
1	ratedargh	85 _75th
Bizarre and memorable folk tale that is full of atmosphere and tension. It's a little thin in the overall story but it works as a snapshot of the breakdown of several lives based on jealousy, sexual awakening and repression. No real emotional connection creates too much distance between the characters and the audience. The final sequences are genuinely horrifying, though, and provide a successful and dreadful conclusion.
1	Trooth	78 _77th
It sets up a grim atmosphere before there's even a hint of any looming threat or supernatural element. But there's plenty of tension throughout, and it kept me guessing who the protagonist or antagonist might be, or if there even were any. There's a lot of character development in that regard.
1	whatisitisee	85 _91st
grotesque and otherworldly in the best way
1	alcyon	97 _98th
Endless fields of reeds, two huts, a jetty, the wind, several unfortunate samurai, three desperate peasants, a mask and a pit.
1	ott	85 _86th
does the same for grass what woman in the dunes did for sand and almost quite as well. i thought that it was sexy, my friends didn't
1	backwardsuit	87 _94th
Brilliant horror film on every level.
1	yug	80 _72nd
This is more like an out and out erotic drama with few horror elements. Brilliant for the most part.
1	skap	75 _47th
Despite the powerful ending, I found the rest of the film quite tedious.
1	Byder	55 _30th
Beautifully shot but tedious to watch. The first half shows a bleak japan during times of war and the second half spends too much time on the characters without exploring them further. It's a shame that the never ending sea of reeds is wasted on this film.
1	peyrin	80 _81st
Black-and-white films like this make you wonder why we ever needed color. The suffocating, inescapable wheat fields are not unlike the transformation of sand into a prison in Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes. The folklore tale is a little hard to pin down thematically beyond anti-war ideas, but there's a bit of Ozu response in its exploration of generational senses of duty.
1	PianoSama	65 _45th
Highly regarded & often considered an all-time classic, I wish I could say it lived up to the hype for me- but sadly, it got less interesting the longer it dragged. There are lots of things to like about it, namely the dynamic between the three leads & the B&W cinematography. But, the pace gets more & more sluggish over time & the eventual payoff to the building narrative isn't really worth the wait. Overall, it is worth a watch, but personally I prefer the very similar Kuroneko, also by Shindo.

Average Percentile 74.01% from 1025 Ratings