Onibaba

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Black-and-white still: a young woman carrying a wooden bucket steps out of a narrow gap in tall, wind-bent reeds toward a river’s edge, where a bundle of armour and cloth lies half-submerged in the water.

If there is ever a theme for this month’s run, it’s that the classics are classics for a reason and maybe you should just watch ’em. This film, after waiting a day to write the review, really reminded me of No Exit a bit: 3 strangers, stuck in their own small world along with some boundaries, bemoaning their own individual situations. However, in this case, we have a mother living with her daughter-in-law, and her son’s friend comes back from war claiming her son is dead. The mother is terrified her daughter-in-law is going to leave her because this guy just showed up, is a real piece of shit, and they’re super warm-blooded to say the least.

For real - it’s almost comedic how this lady has to find new ways to try and keep this guy from boning her daughter-in-law. I get it, there aren’t many other pastimes to offer but damn! However, the mother makes a valid point… she’s getting older and can’t get on without her daughter-in-law’s help so if he takes her, that’ll be it. It’s a grand overlap of where your wants and desires become something you inflict on another person and it truly is terrifying. There isn’t even really a supernatural element until the last act of the film and hoo boy it’s a doozy.

I can’t recommend it enough. I’d already seen Kuroneko and had a hard time believing it would be topped, I’m going to have to brush up on Shindo’s non-horror work after this month.

Score: A