The Exorcist
1973USA★ 7.74.5 pt match
Both films sit with grief, guilt, and loss of innocence. The world both films live in revolves around men and women navigating expectations. Same energy: bleak, haunting, and slow burn.
Onibaba
鬼婆
1964JapanLanguage: jaDirected by Kaneto Shindō★ 7.7
Available in English: subtitled
While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.
Themes and style
Tone
bleakhauntingmelancholicdark comedycold and detached
Pacing
slow burnmethodicaldreamlike
Story
survivalunraveling
Emotion
griefguiltlongingloyalty under pressureloss of innocencerage
Themes
men and women navigating expectationspovertyfamily wounds passed downfamily duty
Feel
quietly hauntingcerebraldiscussion starterexhausting
Violence
moderateWhere to watch
Hollywood films like Onibaba
If Onibaba hit you the right way, here are Hollywood films that share its DNA. Same emotional weight, same kind of stories, same kind of payoff.
The Shining
1980USA★ 8.24 pt match
Like Onibaba, this one is rooted in loss of innocence, grief, and rage. The world both films live in revolves around family duty and family wounds passed down. The feel is the same: haunting, bleak, slow burn, and dreamlike.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
1984USA★ 7.34 pt match
What ties these together is loss of innocence and rage. Both circle the same ground: family wounds passed down and family duty. The feel is the same: haunting, bleak, and slow burn.
The Blair Witch Project
1999USA★ 6.44 pt match
What ties these together is grief and loss of innocence. The feel is the same: bleak, haunting, and slow burn.
Hereditary
2018USA★ 7.33 pt match
Both films sit with grief, guilt, and loss of innocence. Both circle the same ground: family wounds passed down and family duty. Same energy: bleak, haunting, and slow burn.
The Witch
2015USA★ 73 pt match
Both films sit with guilt, loss of innocence, and loyalty under pressure. Both circle the same ground: family wounds passed down, men and women navigating expectations, and family duty. Same energy: bleak, haunting, slow burn, and methodical.
The Lighthouse
2019USA★ 7.53 pt match
Both films sit with rage, guilt, and longing. The world both films live in revolves around family wounds passed down. Same energy: bleak, haunting, and slow burn.
It Follows
2014USA★ 6.63 pt match
Both films sit with loss of innocence. The world both films live in revolves around men and women navigating expectations and family wounds passed down. Same energy: haunting, bleak, slow burn, and dreamlike.