Ju-On Director Takashi Shimizu Returns With Village of Eight Gravestones

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Village of Eight Gravestones 2026

A village built on murder has a new victim.

Takashi Shimizu, the director of Ju-On: The Grudge, returns to Japanese horror with Village of Eight Gravestones, a new adaptation of Seishi Yokomizo's celebrated mystery novel, where the film combines a murder mystery with supernatural horror, a cursed-family story and slasher elements, following a young man who arrives in his mother's remote hometown just as a series of brutal killings begins.

A Family Secret Waits in the Village

Following the sudden death of his mother, Tatsuya travels to the rural village where she lived, where he soon discovers that his connection to the area is much deeper than he realized - Tatsuya is the last member of the Tajimi family, a lineage that local villagers regard with fear and hostility because of a massacre committed by his grandfather.

Before he can properly understand the family's history, murders begin occurring around the village, with the killings seemingly connected to an ancient traditional dance, but Tatsuya isn't investigating the mystery alone.

He encounters Kosuke Kindaichi, the private detective who was hired by the Tajimi clan to locate him, where the investigation gradually shifts from simply asking who is killing people to whether the violence is connected to the village's dark history and the curse surrounding the Tajimi family.

Takashi Shimizu Takes On a Famous Mystery

Shimizu directs and co-writes the new film alongside Shintaro Ogai, adapting Yokomizo's original story, this isn't the first time Yokomizo's novel has reached the screen.

The best-known previous adaptation is Yoshitaro Nomura's 1977 film, which itself became an important Japanese mystery movie, and the original novel also features Kindaichi, a character who has appeared across 77 books and stories, making him one of Japan's most enduring detective characters.

The cast is headed by Matsuya Onoe, with Tomoya Oku, Mayu Hotta, Reiko Takashima and Kenichi Takitoh, and was produced in Japan by Shochiku and Kadokawa, among others.

Fantasia Gave the Film Its World Premiere

The Village of Eight Gravestones had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2026, where Shimizu personally presented the film, and the film is scheduled to open theatrically in Japan on September 18, 2026.

Trailer