Onibaba Review: Classic Japanese Horror Fable Remains a Timeless Story of Grief

   October 7, 2024
onibaba movie 1965
Onibaba (1965), directed by Kaneto Shindō

For a Japanese horror movie from 1964, it is remarkable how modern and ahead of its time Onibaba feels in terms of content and structure. A movie that serves as a pillar for close-quartered, tense powder kegs is among the best old school horror movies ever made, as well as a worthy introduction to Japanese horror movies.

Which makes it a worthy watch for those looking for horror movies off the beaten path this Halloween season because Onibaba is just one of the many Japanese horror movies streaming on The Criterion Channel. From the ones I’ve seen thus far, it’s easy to see how Onibaba is considered a classic by modern standards. It’s eerie and tense, compounded by a thrilling story set to the backdrop of war-torn Japan in the mid-14th century.

Onibaba tells the story of an unnamed woman (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) living on the fringes of society as war has forced many of the men in the region into battle. The two women survive by killing samurai that wander into their swamp and selling their possessions. A nearby neighbor, Hachi (Kei Satō), returns from war and breaks the news that the woman’s son (and daughter-in law’s husband), Kichi, has died from wounds suffered while serving.

Hachi strikes up an affair with the daughter-in-law – an affair that the older woman eventually figures out and vehemently disapproves of. The lengths that she goes to to show her disapproval are hectic and vile, and include one twisted mask she finds on a fallen samurai one evening.

Simple in terms of story, but executed with great precision and a few startling shots, Onibaba serves up the right amount of intrigue and tension. Director Kaneto Shindō was a master of the genre, bringing two of the greatest horror movies ever to life (this and Kuroneko). Because while Onibaba could be taken on face-value as a startling fable, it also has deep themes of grief, as well as the lengths we go to to avoid being alone.

Onibaba is among the great folk horror movies ever made. It’s a tentpole release for a genre that has grown and grown in the last few decades, and it’s worth doing your due diligence to seek out the classics like Onibaba because they manage to be a relic of their time period, as well as stories that last for years after.

Score: 7/10

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