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.
A surreal and unsettling dive into social conformity that uses bizarre physical rituals to explore the loss of individuality in modern society.
- Twists the body horror subgenre into bizarre human pyramids and gymnastic formations as metaphors for societal pressure.
- Anchored by Ai and Yuu’s quiet rebellion, capturing the alienation of high school life under a suffocating collective mindset.
- Director Yûta Shimotsu crafts an eerie atmosphere where everyday authority figures turn menacing through their embrace of conformity.
- Fans of Japanese social horror and films like *Tag* or *The World of Kanako* will appreciate the blend of absurdity and cultural critique.
Director
2 horror films in catalog
Cast
Horror DNA
Content Warnings
Pairs Well With
Production History
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.
Trailers
New Group (2025) | Trailer
Production Intel
- Status
- Released
- Filming Locations
- Japan