Movieo
Poster for Onibaba

Onibaba

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

1964 · 1h 45m · Not Rated Horror
Directed by Kaneto Shindo

Seen it?

Overview

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
90%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Although his artistic integrity remains untarnished, his driven rustic principals are exotic, sometimes grotesque figures out of medieval Japan, to whom a Westerner finds it hard to relate.

A.H. Weiler, New York Times
Fresh

A creepy, interesting, and visually striking 1963 feature by Kaneto Shindo.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Rotten

Too often, it turns out to be a pot-pourri of ravenous eating and blatant sex.

Variety
Fresh

No masterpiece by any means, it's at times overplayed, but it's striking visually, handling swift horizontal movement very well. It's also genuinely erotic.

Time Out

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films