Hiroshi Takahashi

The J-Horror Virus

How did a single ‘Big in Japan’ videotape change the course of global horror history? Find out in this insightful documentary charting the origins, evolution and diffusion across the world of a distinctive brand of Japanese supernatural chillers featuring vengeful ghosts manifesting themselves through contemporary technology against a backdrop of urban alienation and social decay. From Psychic Vision: Jaganrei (1988) and straight-to-video scary true stories to such key titles as Ring (1998), Pulse (2001) and The Grudge (2002), critics and filmmakers reflect on how the bleak Dystopian visions and unsettling atmospheres infiltrated their way into the world’s shocker consciousness.

Living in the Sky

In the time after Naomi’s parents suddenly die, she happens to meet and bond with the popular actor Morinori Tokito who lives in the same apartment building.

The Band From Nowhere

Construction worker Kumada (Kiryu) used to be a member of the popular band Uma no Hone 30 years ago. In a sudden turn of events, he moves into a low rent shared apartment. His roommate Yuka is an idol, but begins being friendly with when he says his job is related to music.

Haruneko

Those who want to die seek refuge in a mysterious café in this feverishly strange Japanese debut.

Spine-Chilling Short Stories Kowabana

Psychic experiences, bizarre phenomena, and the darkness that eats away at people's hearts... With the keyword "scary" in mind, this film recreates horror stories collected from all over Japan, focusing on the inner lives of the people who experienced them!

Look of Love

A young man is unable to have relations with the girls he likes. A pimp meets him after having a strange experience and they are althogether on a bizarre ride through a gloomy and disconnected Tokyo.

Premonition

While stopped at a roadside phone booth for transmitting his work through the Internet to the university, Professor Hideki Satomi finds a scrap of newspaper with the picture of his five-year-old daughter Nana in the obituary section.

3 on 3

At some time in the 21st century, Japan's economy is in shambles. Riots and terrorism are the norm. The government buys up television stations in a last-ditch effort to promote nationalism and order to the nation. But this is the dawn of a new dark state. A new form of 3 on 3 basketball is developed in which anything goes, and the winner of the game is the team with the last man left standing.

Yorokobi

A young woman trying to break out of her monotonous routine.