In the 14th century, during the Japanese feudal war, two samurai are walking through a field or reeds. One samurai is injured and being aided by the other. In the reeds a spear flies through the air and kills the healthier one. Both men fall to the ground and die. Out of the grass comes and old woman (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura). They strip the men of their weapons and uniforms and throw their bodies into a deep pit that has formed in the middle of the sea of reeds. They take their spoils to the local black-market dealer, Ushi (Taiji Tonoyama) and trade them for food. The women do this because with her son off fighting in the war it is the only way to survive the harshness and famine of war.
One evening, the door to their hut flies open and a man walks in. He is Hachi (Kei Sato), a neighbor who has escaped from the war. The mother asks him about her son Kishi. He tells her that he and Kishi deserted but Kishi was killed stealing food. The mother blames him for her son’s death and tells him to leave.
Hachi begins hanging around lusting after Kishi’s widow. The mother wants to keep her daughter-in-law beside her since she can’t kill the samurai by herself. She tries to convince the young woman that Hachi was responsible for her husband’s death. At first is works but eventually the two young people become consumed in sexual tension and lust after each other. The daughter-in-law begins sneaking out in the middle of the night to be with Hachi. The mother knows what is going on but there is little she can do to keep the two apart.
One night, while the daughter-in-law is with Hachi, a masked samurai enters the hut. He has lost his way and orders the mother to lead him out of the reeds. The mother pretends to help him and tricks him into falling into the black pit. She goes down into the pit and steals his possessions. The mother decides that she can use the samurai’s uniform and mask to scare the daughter-in-law into believing that a demon is watching her sin. Her plans have some really bad consequences.
“Onibaba” or “Demon Hag” AKA “The Hole” was released in 1964 and was directed by Kaneto Shindo. It is a Japanese horror movie. The story stems from Japanese folklore. The movie was shot on location in the grass fields at Lake Inbanuma in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
I liked the chaos of the grass fields in the wind. Like a lot of really good Japanese films, it is full of impressionistic and minimalistic images. The film being in black and white adds additional dimension to the eeriness of the surroundings. It seems that fields of waving grass can be just as creepy as fog-laden cemeteries.
A lot of Japanese horror films are based on Japanese folklore and are staged around feudal Japan. Stories incorporating evil Samurai add intrigue to tales of demons and evil spirits. The story isn’t intricate, and some may find it slow, but I was captivated by the visuals.
The huts were built in the fields by the filmmakers. Everyone participating in the film stayed in the actual huts during filming.