Onibaba - Erotically charged and steeped in the symbolism and superstition of its Buddhist and Shinto roots, ONIBABA is set during a brutal period in history, a Japan ravaged by civil war between rivaling warlords.
Weary from combat, samurai are drawn towards the wind-swept marshes and seven-foot high susuki grass fields to hide and rest themselves, whereupon they are ambushed and murdered by a ruthless mother and daughter-in-law team.The women throw the samurai bodies down a deep, dark hole, and barter their armour and weapons for food.
When Hachi, a neighbour returns from the battle, lust, jealousy, and rage threaten to destroy the trio’s tenuous existence, before an ominous, ill-gotten demon mask seals the trio’s horrifying fate. Driven by primal emotions, dark eroticism, a frenzied score by Hikaru Hayashi, and stunning images both lyrical and macabre, Kaneto Shindo’s chilling folktale ONIBABA is a singular cinematic experience.
STARRING: NOBUKO OTOWA, JITSUKO YOSHIMURA, KEI SATO
DIRECTOR: KANETO SHINDO
1964 - JAPANESE with Optional English Subtitles - B&W - 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN - 102 Minutes
