SANA - Shimizu Gives Us 'Everyone's Song' (Japan, 2023)

You can't accuse Takashi Shimizu for trying something new - this time fusing horror, comedy, thriller and J-pop into one with a very interesting result.

Ever had one of those tunes stuck in your head that you just keep repeating all day and night?

That’s exactly what plagues the characters of this film, except for these guys, it could be deadly!

Takashi Shimizu must be the hardest working horror director in Japan right now. With a breathtaking back catalogue which includes almost the entire Ju-On movie series, he has constantly tried to create the next big thing in J-horror.

In between his three “Village of Terror” movies he released the awful Homunculus, but then followed it up with Immersion - a good movie based on the horrors of virtual reality.

Now he turns his attention to the music industry with a satirical look at the boy band phenomenon and their obsessive fan base - in this case we have a young girl called Sana who just wanted to make a song that everyone would enjoy. She calls it “Everybody’s Song” - which is the Japanese title for this film - and with its catchy tune, it’s designed to steal a person soul to add it to the song.

PLOT

A detective is contacted by the manager of a popular boy band to find their missing lead singer in three days. As the detective interviews the band members, he discovers there’s been some odd behaviour after a fan called into a radio show asking the lead singer if he had received her cassette tape with her original song.

His investigation into the origins of the tape leads him to a young girl called Sana, whose song features a very catchy tune that everyone hums before they disappear.

Alongside the band’s manager, they need to work out how to satisfy Sana and return the living back from her purgatory.

ABOUT THE FILM

If you are a fan of J-pop, then you would have noticed that incredibly good-looking male cast is actually the band Generations, with all the members playing themselves in this film. And unlike most J-horror films based on J-pop bands, this is a very decent movie.

It’s hard movie to pinpoint its exact genre. It’s definitely a horror film, but there are elements of comedy in the first third, and mystery in the second third and thriller in the final third.

Of those, it’s the middle point that’s the weakest as the movie connects all the dots for the audience to help them work out what’s going on.

It’s the final third that’s signature Shimizu. Elements of the Ju-On series come into play with Sana’s backstory, and a heartbreaking death scene will have you screaming at the TV for the character to stop what they’re doing.

The subtlety in the movie’s messaging will probably get overlooked though, with themes of being an outcast, bullying and obsession as well as a teacher’s guilt are all explored to some degree in this film, with a surprisingly strong and satisfying ending, including a post-credit sequence, so make sure you don’t tune out too early!

For those who love the J-pop band Generations, there are also a handful of music videos in the movie with actual music from the band, something very rare for J-horror movies with pop bands in the cast.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I actually really liked this, and I am enjoying these recent Shimizu movies where he is exploring something new and different with mixed results. This one is good though.

Using my patent pending GHOST rating, which stands for Great Horror Or Stupid Trash, this movie gets 3 ghosts.

A mix of genres might be off putting to some, especially with the all-male pop band, but there is a great horror thriller here that demands your attention and rewards a patient viewer.

But as always, what did you think of it?

Genre Horror Comedy Music
Director Takashi Shimizu
Starring Alan Shirahama, Ryota Katayose, Komori Hayato
Original Title ミンナのウタ
Alternative Title Everybody’s Song
Country of Origin Japan
Release Date 11 August 2023

japanese movie review horror movie review horror movies 2023 music jpop jhorror streaming