Japanese folklore shapes a lively tale of a ghost hunter at a haunted hotel

Moeka Hoshi plays Airi, a travelling ghostbuster who takes a job at a former hotel in rural Japan, where the spirit she is hired to remove proves more difficult than expected. Directed by Dave Boyle, the film draws on Japanese folklore and mixes horror with a playful tone, offering an inventive chiller whose scares are fairly predictable.

Airi can see the ghost of her sister in mirrors, and uses candles, offerings of her own hair and a phenakistoscope to communicate with spirits. At the hotel, she encounters a man with a smashed jaw while its new owner hears strange noises and receives unsettling calls; the owner’s son, played by producer Kento Kaku, is sceptical but becomes interested in Airi. The review praises the film’s practical effects and Hoshi’s lively performance, while noting that its characters lack depth. It arrives on digital platforms on 2 November.