“The Forest Where “It” Lives” Director Hideo Nakata challenges new work with “dynamic direction” to overcome the yoke of J-horror [Director's Interview Vol.244]

Director Hideo Nakata is one of the fathers of J-horror, and continues to be at the forefront of filming horror films. His new film ``The Forest Where It Lives'' is also an undeniable horror film, but it is definitely a very unique work in director Nakata's filmography. This is also the result of the director not resting on his laurels, but rather reading the times and taking on difficult subjects and new direction. Spoilers are strictly prohibited regarding ``that,'' so you'll have to watch the movie to find out more about it, but I guarantee you'll be surprised. We asked Director Nakata about the behind-the-scenes production process, saying that it was a challenge himself.

Index

• When I heard the plan, I thought, "Eh! Really?"
• The challenge of updating J-horror
• A challenge to “dynamic” horror
• The secret of horror production

When I heard the plan, I thought, "Eh! Really?"

Q: I felt that ``The Forest Where It Lives'' was quite unique among director Nakata's works. What was the origin of this work?

Nakata: Since my previous work `` Accident Property Scary Floor Plan '' (20) was a hit, producer Shuhei Akita offered me the next work. I thought it would be part 2 of `` Accident Property ,'' but when I heard the details of the project from Mr. Akita, my reaction was ``Huh! Really?'' Expressing “that” will probably take time and money, but you’re going to do it with all your heart, right? ” I couldn’t help but check.

I was impressed that despite the pressure of being expected to become a hit after `` Accident Property: Scary Floor Plans '', they were able to compete by doing something different from their previous work.

“The Forest Where “It” Lives” ©2022 “The Forest Where “It” Lives” Production Committee

To be honest, I was confused by the topic, but I saw serious articles about it on TV programs and in newspapers, so I decided to give it a try. However, I think it would be different to do it with a documentary touch in this day and age. From there, as I worked on the story, I started to come up with ideas, such as what the object's purpose was in the forest and how it would interact with humans.

There is a family whose relationship has broken down, and the son (Kenshin Uehara) runs away from his mother's (Noriko Eguchi) house to live with his father (Masaki Aiba). Aiba and Uehara have a disagreement after their friend goes missing. Furthermore, an elementary school teacher (Hoka Matsumoto) protects the children. I also participated in creating the structure of such a large story. It was fun to work on original stories, which are difficult to do in recent Japanese films.

The challenge of updating J-horror