April 30th is Walpurgisnacht – the portentous Witches Night of ancient folklore, when it is said that chthonic nightside currents surge with diabolical potential – and WYRD WAR summons the bold of heart to assemble for their Tenth Annual Walpurgisnacht Film Festival!
Celebrate the dark feminine in cinema with a rare 35mm presentation of Kaneto Shindo’s 1964 folk horror classic ONIBABA ("Demon Hag"). This taut reimagining of a Buddhist parable concerning a supernatural Hannya mask, and the very human emotions that invoke its terrible powers, is set in feudal war-torn Japan where a middle aged woman and her youthful daughter-in-law survive by ambushing samurai who enter the tall grass of a remote marshland. A hellish pit in the ground near their hut serves as both a crude burial ground and a stark symbol of the unsated appetites that slowly drive the women to the brink of madness and an absolutely unforgettable third act.
Powerful, possessed and persecuted, the cinematic representation of the predatory female is always a kaleidoscopic journey through the looking glass of gender politics and psychosexual fantasy, and Shindo’s ONIBABA remains one of the most beautiful, provocative and terrifying films of the post World War II Japanese New Wave. Japanese language with English subtitles.
Celebrate the dark feminine in cinema with a rare 35mm presentation of Kaneto Shindo’s 1964 folk horror classic ONIBABA ("Demon Hag"). This taut reimagining of a Buddhist parable concerning a supernatural Hannya mask, and the very human emotions that invoke its terrible powers, is set in feudal war-torn Japan where a middle aged woman and her youthful daughter-in-law survive by ambushing samurai who enter the tall grass of a remote marshland. A hellish pit in the ground near their hut serves as both a crude burial ground and a stark symbol of the unsated appetites that slowly drive the women to the brink of madness and an absolutely unforgettable third act.
Powerful, possessed and persecuted, the cinematic representation of the predatory female is always a kaleidoscopic journey through the looking glass of gender politics and psychosexual fantasy, and Shindo’s ONIBABA remains one of the most beautiful, provocative and terrifying films of the post World War II Japanese New Wave. Japanese language with English subtitles.
Director: Kaneto Shindo
Run time: 105 mins
Format: 35mm
In general, the Hollywood Theatre does not provide content advisories about the subject matter shown in our theatre. Films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of the Hollywood Theatre. Information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and DoesTheDogDie.com.