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Tag - j-horror

 
 

J HORROR

Teenage girls (from left: Anji Ikehata and the single-named Miro) at a boarding school are drawn closer together after the death of a popular student (Nico Aoto) in ¡°White Flowers and Fruits.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Dec 25, 2025
¡®White Flowers and Fruits¡¯: Inside the fragile, haunting world of female adolescence
Strong performances from newcomer actors anchor Yukari Sakamoto¡¯s J-horror centered on tight-knit teenagers at a Protestant all-girls boarding school.
A call girl (Kaho Seto) traumatized by the death of her young daughter becomes entangled with a strange client in ¡°New Religion.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jul 17, 2025
¡®New Religion¡¯: Chic debut is low on shivers
Keishi Kondo¡¯s horror film dives deep into dream logic and dread, but its emotional detachment leaves a chill that¡¯s more cold than scary.
Strange things are afoot in Ryota Kondo¡¯s ¡°Missing Child Videotape¡± as Keita (Rairu Sugita) investigates the 13-year-old disappearance of his younger brother.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2025
¡®Missing Child Videotape¡¯: Subtle chiller may leave J-horror fans underwhelmed
Ryota Kondo¡¯s eerie ghost story debut goes for ambient dread rather than jump scares.
Japanese film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa gestures as he poses for photos during a press conference at the 29th Busan International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2024
Japan¡¯s ¡®master of horror¡¯ Kiyoshi Kurosawa highlights ¡®B-movie¡¯ appeal
The director, who received the Busan International Film Festival¡¯s Filmmaker of the Year Award on Wednesday, said he¡¯d like to see more artists explore genre cinema.
A grandmother fights back when the angry ghost of a social recluse starts killing off family members in ¡°House of Sayuri.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2024
¡®House of Sayuri¡¯: J-horror fights ghosts with pitch-black humor
Koji Shiraishi¡¯s horror comedy matches the darkness of the deeds on display with a fiery grandma who takes on a wicked spirit with her tai chi skills.
A substitute teacher (Nagisa Shibuya, center front) at a junior high school finds herself caught up in strange goings-on with violent outcomes in ¡°Who¡¯s That Girl?¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024
¡®Who¡¯s That Girl?¡¯: Junior high school antics just got scarier
J-horror master Takashi Shimizu¡¯s latest offers familiar genre elements with a practiced hand and fresh twists.
Horror artist Junji Ito adds just a dash of comedy to his work, though he aims for it to be understated. ¡°If it¡¯s truly a horror story, the humor must be restrained and more veiled,¡± he says.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 29, 2024
Fear still matters to Junji Ito
Currently on view at Tokyo¡¯s Setagaya Literary Museum is an extensive collection of the horror master¡¯s work, the first large-scale exhibition of it¡¯s kind in Japan.
A bloody demonic outbreak strikes Japan in ¡°Visitors: Complete Edition.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Feb 22, 2024
¡®Visitors¡¯ revels in all its gory glory with deadpan humor
Kenichi Ugana¡¯s extended version of his brilliant splatter short is endearingly shaggy ¡ª and messy.
Two lovers on the run (Misa Wada, left, and Takahiro Fukuya) wrestle with poverty and a monstrous mutant appendage in Taichiro Natsume¡¯s ¡°The Beast Hand.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2024
¡®The Beast Hand¡¯: Splatter movie has more soul than guts
Misa Wada proves a standout in Taichiro Natsume¡¯s surprisingly soulful low-budget horror flick.
A nursing student (Kotone Furukawa, right) is terrified by the bizarre goings-on in her hometown in ¡°Best Wishes to All.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2024
¡®Best Wishes to All¡¯: Home is where the horror is
Yuta Shimotsu¡¯s first feature about a small town gone mad delivers shocking frights but its message fails to surprise.
After losing her eyesight in a car accident, a woman goes to the home of an eye doctor and his son to receive a miracle device to restore her sight in ¡°My Mother¡¯s Eyes.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2023
¡®My Mother¡¯s Eyes¡¯: Psychodrama pushes to mad extremes
Takeshi Kushida¡¯s atmospheric horror film about toxic parent-child relationships unfolds in a fantasy world that strains credulity.
Meiji University professor and cinema expert Lindsay Nelson writes about 
J-horror (Japanese horror) in her book, ¡°Circulating Fear.¡±
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 28, 2023
¡®Horror has always been a vehicle to talk about social problems¡¯
A J-horror expert gives her take on the essence of the genre and the cultural roots of its creative choices.
The classic Japanese ghost story often features a vengeful female ghost.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 12, 2023
[Rebroadcast] Japan¡¯s got ghosts
This week we discuss a few horror movies before ¡°Uncanny Japan¡± podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic Japanese ghost story.
A TV director (Kanna Hashimoto, left) is haunted by the dead wife of an old office crush (Daiki Shigeoka) in ¡°The Forbidden Play.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023
¡®The Forbidden Play¡¯: J-horror mishmash offers satisfying scares
Horror legend Hideo Nakata¡¯s latest flick is a halfway return to form, in part due to actor First Summer Uika¡¯s chilling turn as a vengeful wraith.
A couple with a young daughter move into their dream house but soon realize there is something sinister afoot in ¡°Home Sweet Home.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2023
¡®Home Sweet Home¡¯: Horror house is light on frights
While the main cast delivers strong performances, Takumi Saitoh¡¯s film about a dream home with spooky secrets offers chills rather than true terror.
A deceased schoolgirl lures members of pop group Generations into her world with a killer earworm in ¡°Sana.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2023
¡®Sana¡¯: Boy band horror flick is largely fan service
Takashi Shimizu¡¯s film about a deadly ditty infecting members of J-pop group Generations offers generic scares with real-life concert footage.

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon

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