Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.
Cinematography
Misty mountain village becomes a character—claustrophobic and sensual
Acting
Yuki Amami's Miki: seductive, terrifying, impossible to pin down
Direction
Harada turns folk horror into something uncomfortably erotic
Director
Masato Harada
Yuki Amami
Miki Bonomiya
Atsuro Watabe
Akira Nutahara
Shiho Fujimura
Tomie Bonomiya
Kazuhiro Yamaji
Takanao
Kanako Fukaura
Momoyo Bonomiya
Shion Machida
Sonoko Bonomiya
Kenichi Yajima
Michio Bonomiya
Masato Irie
Hirofumi Bonomiya
Makoto Togashi
Hide Ishiyama - the Nurse
Torahiko Hamada
Old Man in Black
Keiko Awaji
Katsuko Doi
Rie Ino'o
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Masato Harada filmed in an actual remote village where locals still practice traditional paper-making, blurring documentary and nightmare.
The inugami legend has roots in real Japanese folklore—spirit dogs created through ritual sacrifice, often used for revenge. The film treats this as inherited trauma made physical.
JP
