Onibaba (1964)

Directed by: Kaneto Shindô | 103 minutes | drama, horror | Actors: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Jûkichi Uno, Taiji Tonoyama, Someshô Matsumoto, Kentarô Kaji, Hosui Araya, Fudeko Tanaka, Michinori Yoshida

An erotic story often entails jealousy if there are three main characters, but that it eventually ends in a horror scenario is somewhat remarkable. ‘Onibaba’ (1964) begins with two women, an elderly woman and her daughter-in-law, who live in a remote field full of reeds in fourteenth-century Japan. They kill lost samurai, sell their belongings to the local merchant and then throw the samurai into a deep pit in the middle of the reeds. It’s a lonely and insecure life, but as long as they can earn a living, they don’t think about leaving. Everything changes when their neighbor (Hachi) returns one day after escaping a battle between two clans. He’s not attractive or charismatic, but for the daughter-in-law, he’s good enough for some fun. Jealousy kicks in when the older woman finds out and she decides to take matters into her own hands.

‘Onibaba’ is based on an old Buddhist parable about a woman who tries to frighten her daughter-in-law because she leaves the house every day to go to her master. She fails and Buddha punishes her. Due to spoilers, this story is not covered in more detail, as there is a clear resemblance between the parable and ‘Onibaba’. What ‘Onibaba’ adds to this story is an element of eroticism. The film shows a surprising amount of nude and explicit scenes. Hollywood films from the 60s were already blown away when a toilet came into the picture, but the Japanese film industry was already a lot more progressive in that regard. The erotic scenes are an important part of the plot and are not used to keep the viewer awake. ‘Onibaba’ is not a horror film from the first minute. It’s a slow tale of jealousy that slowly but surely turns into a horror scenario. Although the horror element comes late, a certain tension is created by the ominous gaze of the mother-in-law and her secret pursuit of the two lovers.

The Buddhist parable is of course religious in nature, but ‘Onibaba’ is not. Yet the essence of the story has remained the same; acts of revenge are punished. The film gives an early indication that an ominous end is coming. Director Shindô does this in a very clever way by involving the set in the plot. During the scenes that take place at night, the field of reeds is blowing hard. The reed protrudes high above the characters and this creates a sinister atmosphere. There is already little to see through the reeds and at night the characters feel completely in the dark. And while the women look innocent, they’re still murderers in the end. The film even begins with the murder of two unsuspecting samurai who are stabbed by the women. No one is safe in the high reeds, not even the strong warriors of the Japanese clans.

‘Onibaba’ leaves a strong impression on the viewer. It’s a mysterious film that takes an unexpected turn as the story develops and makes the viewer think about how far you can go to survive. With all its consequences.