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.
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Cast
15 people
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Known for
Reincarnation
Tom Mes
Also in
Taksu
Maniac Driver
Lindsay Nelson
Mari Asato
Also in
Gips
Sodom the Killer
Masayuki Ochiai
Takashi Shimizu
Known for
Tokyo Gore Police
Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl
Norio Tsuruta
Also in
School Ghost Story: Curse Special
Rie Ino'o
Known for
Ring
Shinya Tsukamoto
Known for
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Ichi the Killer
George Iida
Also in
Burst City
Hiroshi Takahashi
Known for
Premonition
Teruyoshi Ishii
Jasper Sharp Director · Sarah Appleton Director
United States release November 4, 2024 · Produced in Japan, United Kingdom · Languages English, Japanese
Production
Caprisar Productions
Production
Japan · United Kingdom
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · Japanese
Release dates
United Kingdom · August 27, 2023
Limited theatrical · FrightFest London
United States · November 4, 2024
Digital · Shudder
Colombia
October 17, 2023 · Limited theatrical · Fantasmagoría - Festival de Cine Fantástico y de Terror de Medellín
Singapore
October 6, 2023 · Limited theatrical · Japanese Film Festival
United Kingdom
October 11, 2023 · Digital
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