New Religion – Frightfest Movie Review
Director: Keishi Kondo
Writer: Keishi Kondo (Screenplay)
Cast
- Kaho Seto
- Daiki Nunami
- Satoshi Oka
- Saionji Ryuseigun
Plot: Miyabi lost her only daughter in an accident. After her daughter’s death, she got a divorce. She now works as a call girl and is living with her new boyfriend. One day, she meets a weird customer who asks her to let him take a picture of her spine. She does as the man says and lets him take her picture, but he then asks for a picture of her feet. Since then, the man has been taking pictures of Miyabi every time.
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: New Religion starts as Miyabi (Seto) sees her life shattered when her daughter dies in an accident. Left with nothing Miyabi takes a role as a call girl. Miyabi’s first big client Oka (Oka) is stranger than she expected, only asking to take photos of certain parts of her body, starting with her spine.
As the interactions between the two increase, Miyabi starts believing she is getting closer to her deceased daughter again. Miyabi continues to dive deeper into what Oka wants, with hopes it will bring her daughter back for good.
Verdict on New Religion
Characters
Miyabi is a grief-stricken woman who has seen her life shattered after her daughter’s accident. She has turned to being a call girl to make money, getting obsessed with a client who only takes not erotic photos of her. Miyabi sees a connection with her daughter coming back with more photos, which inspires her to keep returning.
Oka is a client that likes taking odd photos of body parts. His robotic voice drives his strange connection, but he never looks to hurt Miyabi or barely even touch her.
Performances
Kaho Seto is wonderful in the leading role, as we see everything her character has been through. She shows the hope of a future, one day with her daughter, leading her down this path. The supporting cast a strong, but it is all about Kaho Seto’s performance in the film, carrying the story along.
Story
The story follows a mother living with the grief of losing her daughter. She finds herself in a world where she starts reconnecting with her daughter thanks to a client taking photos of her, connecting them once again.
This is an odd movie that tackles grief in a very real way, showing how people would do anything to see their loved ones once more and to escape the regret they live in. It dives into a strange way to get reconnected, which helps understand how people could believe anything, even for a price.
Themes
New Religion is a horror movie that dives into exploring how people deal with grief. It shows how people could believe anything and get caught up in the bigger picture of things. There is plenty of disturbing factors unfolding around the connection between the changes and reality.
Final Thoughts – New Religion is an unsettling and disturbing horror movie.
