Onibaba

(1964) ****

During war time an old woman and her daughter-in-law are killing Samurai and selling their goods in order to survive. A local man returns from the war and tells the old woman her husband and son are dead.

The daughter-in-law becomes interested in the man and seeks his comfort. The old woman fears that the young girl will leave with the man and she will not be able to survive on her own. The old woman makes a desperate attempt to lure the man away from the girl by offering herself to him but he's having no part of it. In desperation, she finds an evil mask worn by a Samurai and convinces the young woman that it is a demon come to take her to hell for laying with the man out of wedlock.

I loved this film, it's a great story of jealousy, betrayal and lies. It's filmed beautifully. The wind blowing through the grass, just classic. It's one of those old Japanese films where the people always sound angry when they're talking, I just love that. This may not suit everyone's taste but there is just something so captivating about this film. Even my 16 year old son ended up being drawn into it when he was passing through the room. He ended up staying for the whole movie. I love these old Japanese tales, great stuff.