Missing

“None of us are needed” —Yamauchi Terumi You can clearly see how Shinzo Katayama has been influenced by Bong Joon-Ho, having previously worked as his assistant director. For his commercial feature debut, he delivers a rather compelling drama-thriller, one that carries the familiar traits we often see in Japanese and South Korean cinema of this genre. With Jirō Satō and Hiroya Shimizu in the cast, I already knew the performances would be strong — and I wasn’t wrong. Both are excellent. But the real surprise is Aoi Itō, whom I hadn’t seen act in a leading role before. She gives an intensely powerful performance which anchors the film's emotional weight and provides so much substance to the story. Katayama was inspired by the infamous 2017 "Twitter Killer" case — which was committed by an individual executed earlier this year (2025). That alone should give you an idea of just how dark and emotionally charged this story is. What I love most is the way Katayama narrates the events through the characters’ perspectives, allowing the horror to creep in gradually, with devastating effect. And that ending… it broke me.