Onibaba (1964)

After enjoying Kuroneko last year, this seemed like a good follow-up: another Japanese horror in which a rural young woman and her mother-in-law, in the absence of their husband/son in wartime, kill numerous samurai. Judging from the Netflix jacket, the key differences were that (1) the women in Onibaba aren't ghosts and (2) they kill not for revenge but for provisions from selling the samurai equipment. (They make it look easy, thanks largely to their high-grassed home turf.)

It turns out that this summary tells us nothing we couldn't get from the first couple scenes. The plot really begins when neighbor Hachi (not that one) returns AWOL, reporting that he barely escaped from a battle that claimed their husband/son's life. Hachi courts the nameless young woman, against the express wishes of the elder. I had correctly surmised that the title translates to "Demonic Old Woman"....

If you look up this movie, you'll probably be struck first by the poster, which shows a woman in a demon mask. This mask doesn't show up until the third act, when a samurai wears it. You may be able to guess how the older woman gets it and what she does with it. Unfortunately, for all the bold presentation, it's so obviously fake -- bordering on cartoonish -- that you probably won't find it as scary as the characters do.

Honestly, I wouldn't call it a horror. Despite their superstition, we get no compelling evidence of any supernatural elements. We're not supposed to care much about the handful of samurai who die on screen. The focus, as thoroughly covered in a director interview on the DVD, is on the triangle of the main trio, particularly with regard to sex. Expect plenty of toplessness from both women, half the time apparently to beat the heat. (I think the director was a bit of a jerk toward the actresses.)

The older woman has several reasons not to want her daughter-in-law to succumb to Hachi. One, he's rather wild and base, driven by little more than lust and gluttony. Two, he barely shows any sorrow over her son, leading her to suspect that Hachi didn't really try to save him. Three, she worries about getting left alone, unable to fend for herself, if the young duo should marry. (Lady, he did offer to join your hunting party on a regular basis.) Four...well, sometimes she seems to want that hunk for herself, but he likes 'em younger.

The young woman comes to fear for her soul due to her trysts with Hachi. You'd almost think she subscribed to Christianity, but some of the dialog indicates Buddhism; perhaps the translation took some liberties for western audiences. Anyway, funny how it never enters her mind that mass murder is a far worse sin than fornication. Maybe she thinks that her dire straits justify the former, but only unbridled passion accounts for the latter.

Possibly the best aspect of the film, as well as the creepiest, is the audio. We don't hear music much of the time, but when we do, it's highly effective at conveying intensity, not least for the drumming. It also, especially at the beginning, manages to capture both feudal Japan and the '60s at once. And whenever someone runs through the grass at night, the wildlife noises (dominated by pigeons, I later learned) may evoke judgmental demons.

The pacing is pretty slow overall. At the same time, I felt surprised at how quickly the time passed. I guess that's a point in Onibaba's favor.

By rights, the ending should be the crowning achievement. Instead, I found it rather awkward on multiple levels. My thoughts included the following: "How random. Was that a deus ex machina?" "What's wrong with her now?" "What lesson exactly are the filmmakers trying to impart? If it is what I think, I disagree."

So the next Kuroneko it wasn't. Nor do I personally put it on the same tier. But neither do I deem it an unworthy use of my time.