Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 had the international premiere of Japanese horror film, This Man. Tomojirô Amano (Chunks of Meat, The Happy Prisoner) wrote and directed this fascinating film that comes across as a blend of Hausu, a soap opera, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Japan is hit with a rash of bizarre murders and suicides, each victim having dreamed of a sinister mono-browed man before their death. The authorities are hunting down the mystery man, but it will take more mystical means to put his reign of terror to an end.

When most people think of Japanese horror films, they often think of the J-horror films popularized in the early 2000’s, filled with curses and creepy ghost girls. This Man instead takes inspiration from the more whacky, surreal Japanese horror films of the 1970’s. The basic premise is an intriguing one, creating a type of pandemic in which dreaming of the man’s face leads to death. Unfortunately, the end result is a bit of a mess. There is simply too much going on for the film to be cohesive and complete. First, there are far too many characters. While there is one character, Hana, who is the primary focus, there are many other characters introduced throughout the film without any real character development. This Man also has a lot of filler scenes. Multiple times throughout the film audiences are shown scenes where basically nothing happens, such as frolicking through a meadow or gym montages. These scenes are irrelevant to the plot and result in uneven pacing, giving the sense they’re only in the film to add to the runtime. Most importantly is the often convoluted story. The rules and lore are ever changing, often resulting in plot holes and unanswered questions. Between the filler scenes and the incomplete mythos, This Man likely would have worked far better as a short film rather than a feature. I appreciate that This Man was attempting to do something different, telling a bizarre horror story with social commentary, but it fails to deliver a polished film.

A majority of the performances in This Man are melodramatic, leaning into goofiness. Arisa Deguchi (A Man in Love, Black Crow 1) stars as Hana. Deguchi delivers the most earnest performance of the film, becoming the emotional anchor attempting to keep the film grounded. Hana is a woman whose happiness is torn to shred by the mono-browed man, leading to her emotional devastation as she tries to put a stop to the deaths. Minehiro Kinomoto (Alice in Borderland, Hedoroba) plays Hana’s husband, Yoshio. While Kinomoto isn’t given as much to work with in this role, he still makes Yoshio an endearing character. Even as the country falls into darkness, Yoshio has a loving optimism that adds comfort amidst the horrors. The rest of the performances vary greatly, most of the memorable ones standing out for being comical.

The visuals help in adding to the absurdity of This Man. There are plenty of practical effects for the deaths, which often look a bit cheesy but are still fun to look at. Most of the scenes have an overexposed brightness to them, which makes the dream sequences stand out. The dreams typically have more unique, vibrant lighting. The dreams also include the mystery mono-browed man. For his look, the filmmakers replied primarily on the big bushy eyebrow to make this character stand out. As he looms in the dreams, either staring creepily or maniacally laughing, most will likely find the mono-browed man more comical than frightening.

This Man presents interesting ideas about anxiety and collective consciousness, but the melodrama and surrealism leads to an incoherent story with gaping plot holes. Amano certainly created a memorable film, but it will leave many audiences wishing for something more. Much of what didn’t work could be attributed to cultural differences, so audiences from Japan, or those more familiar with Japanese culture, may feel differently about This Man. Between the visuals and performances, one can’t deny watching the film is quite a memorable experience.

OVERALL RATING: 4/10