This is a very well-made film from a technical point of view and the acting is very solid. You really believe that the characters you see on screen could have lived in the era it depicts and their behavior feels very true to the circumstances they find themselves in.
There is a raw authenticity to the film combined with a sort of nightmarish/dreamlike quality that is further heightened by the beautiful black and white photography.
Whether or not this is indeed a horror film or not very much lies in what one finds scary on an individual level, as well as in how one chooses to interpret the film.
For me it is most definitely frightening in more than one way. It has unforgettable haunting imagery (The mask is forever engraved in my memory) and character moments that are psychologically and literally eerie. The final few moments of the film both elevate and manage to pay-off on everything before it in very effective ways.
So why not a 10/10? Well, even though Onibaba might be one of the more memorable horror films I have seen in recent years, and it has great artistic merit too, I just was missing a bit more character development for our core cast of characters, and in particular for the mysterious samurai that introduces the iconic mask to the film.
Some might argue (and they are well within their rights to do so) That the movie already does a good job of this and that the mystery further adds to the films overall impact. I respect these opinions (and agree to a certain extent) But I wanted just a bit more about these characters to make it a masterful horror film in my eyes.
Highly recommended! Now I am very curious about the film Kuroneko from the same director.
There is a raw authenticity to the film combined with a sort of nightmarish/dreamlike quality that is further heightened by the beautiful black and white photography.
Whether or not this is indeed a horror film or not very much lies in what one finds scary on an individual level, as well as in how one chooses to interpret the film.
For me it is most definitely frightening in more than one way. It has unforgettable haunting imagery (The mask is forever engraved in my memory) and character moments that are psychologically and literally eerie. The final few moments of the film both elevate and manage to pay-off on everything before it in very effective ways.
So why not a 10/10? Well, even though Onibaba might be one of the more memorable horror films I have seen in recent years, and it has great artistic merit too, I just was missing a bit more character development for our core cast of characters, and in particular for the mysterious samurai that introduces the iconic mask to the film.
Some might argue (and they are well within their rights to do so) That the movie already does a good job of this and that the mystery further adds to the films overall impact. I respect these opinions (and agree to a certain extent) But I wanted just a bit more about these characters to make it a masterful horror film in my eyes.
Highly recommended! Now I am very curious about the film Kuroneko from the same director.