Set in the 14th Century during the Nanboku-chō period, an old woman and her daughter-in-law kill samurai, discard their inventory and sell ’em in order to stay alive. The former meets a man wearing a mask. Meanwhile, the latter sneaks out at night visiting a neighbor. All heck breaks lose. Released in 1964, (same year Daredevil made his comic book debut) “Onibaba” earned huge praise in Japan. In later years, The Criterion Collection digitally restored it as spine number 226.
First time I heard about Onibaba, was a video of Willem Dafoe grabbing some Blu-Rays in the Criterion Closet. He mentioned Onibaba as one his all-time favorites films. Besides Mr. Dafoe, Hideo Kojima praised it. Anyway, it’s Halloween Month. Meaning, I’ll be watching and reviewing Horror films throughout October. You know, get into the Halloween spirit.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are present. It’s not a great film.
Lifted & Curse Aspects
Lifted: The Minimal Cast all did a terrific job for their respective performances.
Cinematography’s shot in stable condition.
Onibaba means “Demon Hag.”
Cursed: Kaneto Shinto didn’t do a solid job writing and directing. Didn’t bother writing a second draft improving story elements.
Scare Factor lacks tension and legit terror. I wasn’t petrified. I was miserably bored.
I didn’t care about the old woman and her daughter-in-law. Which is the film’s greatest sin. Not caring for lead characters makes it pointless.
This film lacks a cohesive Three Act Structure. Translation, Beginning, Middle and End.
Pacing’s a slow burn. It was boring as heck. I’d rather rewatch Nicolas Cage’s “Ghost Rider” and its sequel, “Spirit of Vengeance.” Not purely faithful to the source material, but at least it’s a little entertaining.
Who the heck sleeps topless next to either a mother-in-law or daughter-in-law? It’s weird. Nobody does that in real life. UGH! The more I watch this film, the more I lose a portion of my brain cells.
This film never goes on the Horror route until an hour and four minutes. A huge waste of an hour. When I first saw a trailer for Onibaba, I expected to be a full-on Horror flick. I’ve been bamboozled. To quote Public Enemy, “Don’t Believe the Hype.” You know what’s scarier than Onibaba? Cardi B farting in an elevator. If I were with her, I would suffocate along with a group of people. She has no manners.
The old woman jumping across a deep hole abruptly ends. It ain’t proper conclusion. As if the writer/director ran outta ideas and just said, “Screw it, I’m done.” “Now, where’s my paycheck?”
The Final Verdict: f, FOR FAKER!
Onibaba isn’t as good as film buffs claim. As a film buff myself, I didn’t like it. I went with an open mind giving it a chance. Upon first viewing, it was a letdown. I’m surprised Willem Dafoe & Hideo Kojima praised it. I have nothing against them, but it’s puzzling. Do not waste your spare time on Oniaba. If you wanna watch a legit Horror film, check out “Splice.” An underrated Sci-Horror.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 