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
Onibaba
The most daring film import ever...From Japan!
1964 · 1h 45m · Not Rated
Horror
Directed by
Kaneto Shindō
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Onibaba
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
- Kaneto Shindō Director
- Nobuko Otowa as Woman
- Jitsuko Yoshimura as Young Woman
- Kei Satō as Hachi
- Jūkichi Uno as The Samurai
- Taiji Tonoyama as Ushi
- Someshō Matsumoto as Runaway Warrior
- Kentarô Kaji as Runaway Warrior
- Fudeko Tanaka as Old Woman
- Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi as Horse Riding Samurai
- Hiroshi Tanaka as Horse Riding Samurai
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
90%
Tomatometer
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
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