Howling Village

Howling Village is a Japanese horror film centred on Kanae Morita, a young psychologist who has been troubled since childhood by her ability to sense things others cannot. When her brother Yuma and his girlfriend Akina venture into the abandoned Inunaki village, a place long associated with a curse and nicknamed the howling village, Akina returns changed and Yuma later disappears. Kanae's search for her brother draws her toward the same village, where she must confront the supernatural force tied to the area and piece together her own family's hidden past.

The film is directed by Takashi Shimizu, who wrote the screenplay with Daisuke Hosaka. It is the twelfth of the twenty features Shimizu has directed in chronological order, arriving after Flight 7500 and before Homunculus. Ayaka Miyoshi plays Kanae, with Ryota Bando as Yuma, Rinka Otani as Akina, Tsuyoshi Furukawa, Hina Miyano and Renji Ishibashi in supporting roles.

Released in February 2020, the film runs 108 minutes and was produced in Japan by Toei Company alongside dentsu, Asmik Ace and KDDI. It took about 12 million US dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5 out of 10 from roughly 1,700 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.8 out of 10 from around 110 votes; a critics' rating of 4.9 out of 10 from seven reviews places it slightly below the audience scores on both platforms.