In Onibaba Shindo's camera is set amidst tall grasses, filling the screen with pure motion and direction. But look closely in the reeds to find a society of scavengers existing on the dregs of feudalism. Two women eke out a living by luring wounded samurai to their deaths and selling their victims' armor. Their animal-like existence is interrupted when the younger of the two begins sneaking off with a male neighbor. Her companion dons a terrifying battle mask in a desperate attempt to keep her young accomplice at home, but the mask has a will of its own: she can't remove it. Shindo examines what he calls "the primitive beneath the civilized veneer" of society, integrating elements of horror and the supernatural, a jazz score, and some jarring, you-are-there cinematography.

• Written by Shindo. Photographed by Kiyomi Kuroda. With Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Sato. (105 mins, In Japanese with English subtitles, B&W, 'Scope, 35mm, From Milestone)