“There is no telling what demons, snakes, and monsters live here in this grass.” Demons, monsters, and snakes, oh my! Join this episode’s Grue-Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and listener guest host Nick Gadman - as they try to hide in the tall, thick, grass growing everywhere in Onibaba (1964).
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 86 – Onibaba (1964)
Two women kill samurais and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.
IMDb
Writer/Director: Kaneto Shindô Music: Hikaru Hayashi Cinematography: Kiyomi Kuroda Edited: Toshio Enoki Makeup Department Shigeo Kobayashi (makeup department head) Kaneyasu Masuda (makeup artist) Cast Nobuko Otowa as Older Woman Jitsuko Yoshimura as Younger Woman Kei Satō as Hachi Jūkichi Uno as The Masked Warrior
Kaneto Shindô’s Onibaba made a very big impression on your Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue-Crew. Nick picked this one and an excellent pick it is.He expounds on the two strong and well-developed, female characters that dominate the cast of Onibaba. Whitney echoes Nick’s fascination with the “Older Woman” and the “Younger Woman,” but focuses on their relationship, adding perspective from her cultural background. The quality and depth of Onibaba surprises and impresses Chad and he loves how a supernatural aspect enters the story. Jeff is impressed enough that he watched Kunerko (1968), another of Kaneto Shindô’s and loved that as well. Of course, they can’t forget the mask, the one most horror fans recognize even if they haven’t seen Onibaba.
It will be obvious that the Grue-Crew highly recommends Onibaba! In the U.S., as of this writing, the film is available to stream from HBOmax and The Criterion Channel or on DVD physical media from Criterion.
Chad, Whitney, and Jeff give a big Grue-Crew thank you to Nick Gadman for his extensive research and insightful contributions to this episode!
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. The next episode in their very flexible schedule, chosen by their next super-secret guest host, will be The Innocents (1961), based on The Turn of the Screw (1898), the celebrated novella by Henry James that also provided the foundation for the recent Netflix miniseries, The Haunting of Bly Manor.
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To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”
