Onibaba

1964 - Kaneto Shindo
Evan as Shindo shows some flesh and even horror, he does not really adopt a sensationalist style. Throughout, he never uses two shots when he could use one. These long takes that result, often from high angles above that wonderful grass, have a similar sense of landscpae as 'The Naked Island', as the grass blows, as it rains, there is a certain slowness. Even the moments of 'shock' aren't thrown at the audience, but come about in a validecotry manner, more of a haunting than a fright. That is why this film remains deeply beautiful.
There is one key difference from 'The Naked Island', and that is the much increased use of the close-up, pretty dynamically, being an extreme close-up.
The lighting throughout this feature also deserves a mention. Usually we have a pretty dark atmosphere, a touch of fill maybe, but then with a patch of hard light, perhaps only on one cheek. It often comes from below, sometimes high above, to give this film the haunted aesthetic it looks for. The sudden patch of light idea is further emphasised by the elderly woman's hair.
The story touches on a number of areas, though always firmly rooted around its own concrete circumstances. There is a mix of humanism in the generally degraded atmosphere, as the women, first unsympathetic for the murder thing, and then for specific actions, are shown to have reasons outside of their control; capital, and again capital, this time in the form of the demon.