The Mouths – Movie Review | Fantasia (3/5)

THE MOUTHS, directed by J-horror legend Takashi Shimizu, delivers classic J-horror with an eerie supernatural atmosphere. Screened at Fantasia 2026. Read our full The Mouths movie review here!

THE MOUTHS is a Japanese supernatural horror film (org. title: Kuchi Ni Kansuru Enquete) that had its North American premiere at Fantasia 2026.

Directed by J-horror legend Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On), the film favors unsettling supernatural imagery and creeping dread over an endless barrage of jump scares. Fans of atmospheric Japanese horror, especially Shimizu’s earlier work, should find plenty to enjoy here.

Continue reading our The Mouths movie review below.

Four friends and one haunted cemetery

The story follows four university friends who venture into a supposedly haunted cemetery to visit a legendary cursed tree. What begins as a late-night thrill quickly turns into something far more sinister when one of them begins acting strangely before disappearing altogether.

As terrifying visions of a ghostly woman begin haunting the remaining friends, they realize their reckless curiosity has awakened something that refuses to let them go.

A familiar setup with some genuinely creepy moments

Rumors of a cursed tree hidden deep within a forest cemetery lure Shota and his three university friends into tempting fate. The unsettling location immediately establishes an oppressive atmosphere, helped along by the unnaturally loud chorus of cicadas echoing through the darkness.

When Ann suddenly begins speaking incoherently and behaving irrationally, the group barely manages to get her home. By the following day, she has vanished, leaving her friends to experience increasingly disturbing supernatural encounters that transform one bad decision into a living nightmare.

Familiar trademarks of J-horror

The Mouths certainly embraces many of the familiar trademarks of J-horror. Long black hair, pale ghostly women, and wide-eyed victims all make their expected appearances, and those elements may feel a little too familiar for viewers who have seen plenty of Japanese horror over the years.

Fortunately, the film also delivers several genuinely unsettling moments that rise above these conventions. In particular, the recurring images of hanging corpses appearing silently in the background create an eerie atmosphere that recalls the creeping dread of films like The Conjuring.

Those scenes linger in your mind long after they’ve passed and become the movie’s strongest horror moments.

Takashi Shimizu still knows how to create unease

With The Mouths, Takashi Shimizu continues to demonstrate why he remains one of the defining names in modern J-horror. Rather than relying on loud scares, he builds tension through atmosphere, disturbing imagery, and the constant feeling that something is watching from just outside the frame.

The screenplay by Masahiro Yamaura adapts Sesuji’s novella A Questionnaire About the Mouth, whose work also inspired KINKI from Koji Shiraishi (Noroi), giving the film a strong supernatural foundation.

The Mouths earns 3 out of 5 stars. While some of its familiar J-horror tropes don’t always land, its strongest supernatural sequences more than make up for them.

If you’re looking for creepy visuals, effective atmosphere, and the unmistakable style of Takashi Shimizu, this is a solid addition to the modern J-horror catalog.

THE MOUTHS was screened at Fantasia 2026.

Details

Director: Takashi Shimizu
Writer: Masahiro Yamaura
Cast: Rihito Itagaki, MOMONA, Shido Nakamura, Keito Tsuna, Ai Yoshikawa