Popular reviews

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  Review by Karsten ★★★★★

  one of the most haunting tellings of grief and the indirect effects of war. captivating as hell

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  Review by Ethan Colburn ★★★★ 4

  A movie in which the grass, the hole, and the mask are as important as the characters themselves.

  This is a masterfully edited slow-burn directed by Kaneto Shindo. Particularly impressive are the movement in the frame and the modern twist on a traditional Japanese musical style.

  Currently on HBO Max and the Criterion Channel, it will suck you in if you give it the chance

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  Review by Timcop ★★★★½ 5

  The lesson here is to never, ever, under any circumstances, attempt to Scooby-Doo someone.

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  Review by Matt! ★★★½ 5

  A classic Japanese horror fairytale dealing with themes of lust, envy, repressed sexuality, female power, gray morality, and the fallout of war leading to societal breakdown. However, at its core, this is just a really really really fucking slow burn drama about a bitter old lady trying to cock block her horny, widowed daughter-in-law.

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  Review by Emily Housel ★★★½

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  the original It Follows.
  but LMAO this bitch still went out for some dick even after she was told she’d spend eternity in hell for it, I love her ygg

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  Review by CinemaVoid 🏴‍☠️ ★★★★½

  Patterns in the wind, fields of whipping reeds, from the pit I call upon you thee, Onibaba the cockblocker!

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  Review by Evan ★★★★★ 2

  Erotic fantasy masked in medieval tales of old, Onibaba is the kind of horror film Kurosawa might’ve made had he ever been possessed by a horny sex-demon. Kaneto Shindō’s film is a controversial study of the lust and sexual longing birthed by man’s insatiable thirst for war, seamless editing and chanting music all building momentum as sweaty bodies collide in the highly contrasted, dancing blades of black and white grass. A black abyss of truly nightmarish vision, never failing to keep ahold with its ghostly grip.

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 4

  83

  Wow. This has been on the watch-list for too long, and I'm happy to say it lived up to its reputation. Often similar to thinly-stretched conceptual narratives like The Twilight Zone or even Goosebumps, but immersed in cultural anguish and elemental fears, Onibaba is a gorgeous embodiment of temptation and survival. Its scares are rooted in desperate impressions, moments of cowardice and carnal desires. What might happen if you stray from the wrong path? While not particularly moralistic, it's searing in its depiction of a cursed world that flawed people are forced to grapple with. The photography is devoid of color as if to take any immersion from the viewer; like the setting of the tall grass, the depiction of it is enough to send a chill down the spine.

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★★

  "If we sin, do we go to purgatory?"

  shame can't be erased, only concealed.

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  Review by Criterion 2

  Deep in the windswept marshes of war-torn medieval Japan, an impoverished older woman and her daughter-in-law murder lost samurai and sell their belongings for the most meager of sustenance. When a bedraggled neighbor returns from battle, lust, jealousy, and rage threaten to destroy the trio’s tenuous existence, before an ominous, ill-gotten demon mask seals their horrifying fate. Driven by primal emotions, dark eroticism, a frenzied score by Hikaru Hayashi, and stunning images both lyrical and macabre, the chilling folktale Onibaba by Kaneto Shindo conjures a nightmarish vision of humankind’s deepest desires and impulses.

  This edition arrives on October 5, 2021. To learn more or pre-order, visit Criterion.com.

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  Review by Sally Jane Black 1

  An odd mix of drama, pulp, exploitation, and horror, this film reminded me of Grave of the Fireflies in a way. It shows how the effects of war ripple outward and cause pain and suffering even in those not directly involved in the fighting. Of course, it does not have the unending emotional anguish that film conveys, in part because it does not deliver its message with pure innocence at its heart.

  Instead, it shows the desperate measures taken by a pair of women who have connections to a soldier in the war--the son of one and husband of another. That they spend their days ambushing men to steal from them is a notable contrast to typical heroines of any…

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  Review by clare ★★★★★ 31

  Hoop-Tober #23

  I have always loved the sound of the wind. Sounding like an ocean to someone in the midwest. Like waves. A language of invisible presence. Onibaba world is a windworld like summer days I remember but a limbo and purgatory. I loved the final scene in Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata, its swordfights on a windy hill. So this is rapturous to me -- a movie made of that wind. I love how it lets us (un)rest in perfect mystery. The world may have ended. Its denizens may be the dead, may be demons. The hush of the rolling plains and susuki grass shakes as if full of souls. The women feasting on meat as ghoulish as the living dead.…