New Group
NEW GROUP
Ai is a high school girl who feels suffocated by social pressure, but finds it hard to fight going with the flow. One day, the people in her school inexplicably start to form a human pyramid. The principal and other teachers start to act weird and encourage taking part in it, and the various gymnastic formations start to spread and take over the whole town. Eventually only Ai and Yuu, a transfer student who finds it hard to fit in, are left to rebel against the conformity madness.
Intelligence Brief
New Group (2026) turns high school conformity into a creeping, corporeal nightmare through surreal human pyramids.
- Why it matters: This film taps into the zeitgeist of social pressure and groupthink, visualizing conformity as a body horror contagion—an evolution of the folk horror tradition in an urban setting.
- What we know: Ai, a suffocated student, witnesses her school and town succumbing to bizarre gymnastic rituals that morph into an oppressive, physical manifestation of social control; only she and a transfer student resist.
- Who's involved: Directed by Yûta Shimotsu, known for blending psychological dread with surreal imagery; stars Anna Yamada and Yuzu Aoki with Pierre Taki adding gravitas as the unsettling principal.
- The buzz: Early festival screenings praise its unsettling practical effects and chilling social commentary, marking it as a standout in Japanese body horror and a fresh take on conformity fears.
Production Intel
- Status
- Released
- Filming Locations
- Japan
Director
Cast
Trailers
New Group (2025) | Trailer
Horror DNA
Gore
0
Slow Burn
33
Psychological
86
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
33
Fun Factor
0
Cerebral
71
Survival
0