Ao Oni (film)

Ao Oni
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDaisuke Nibayashi [ja]
Screenplay byNoriko Kozuru
Story bynoprops
Based onAo Oni
by noprops
Produced by
  • Tasuke Iizuka
  • Kit Matsumura
  • Yasuhiro Ebinauma
  • Abe Masaki
Starring
CinematographyAkihisa Minami
Edited byShinichi Suzuki
Music byShunsuke Kida
Production
company
Distributed byAMG Entertainment [ja]
Release date
  • 5 July 2014 (2014-07-05) (Japan)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Ao Oni (青鬼, lit.'Blue Demon') is a 2014 Japanese horror film based on the 2008 video game of the same name. The film was released on July 5, 2014, in Japan.[1][2]

Plot

A boy named Naoki is killed in a traffic accident. Anna, his sister, sees a boy named Shun being bullied by Takuro and his friends when she goes to place flowers at his grave.

Takuro, Shun, Mika, Takeshi, and Hiroshi decide to investigate an empty house. Takuro enters the house with his stuff, and the rest follow. Anna enters behind them. As they all enter, the door is locked and cannot be reopened.

The group receive frightening phone calls. Takeshi becomes paranoid and starts running around the house to hide. Shun and Anna try to find a way out. Frightening things happen to the group and they begin to panic. Takeshi seems fearful of Takuro. Hiroshi and Mika go together to check around the house. Meanwhile, Takeshi gets grabbed by a giant blue hand. The group hears Takeshi's scream and rush back to see him dragged backwards into the room. When the group enters, they find Takeshi's dismembered body. Mika tries to escape but is killed by the Ao Oni.

The others solve puzzles to try and escape as they are pursued by the Ao Oni. Anna tells the others how she believes her brother's death was not suicide but murder.

As they reach the basement, they find that Takuro has already opened it. As they go down, Takuro knocks Hiroshi, out. Anna confronts Takuro about killing her brother, which he denies doing. When Anna mentions Shun's name, he gets annoyed. Shun reaches for the box Takuro carried and opens it, revealing Shun's own lifeless body inside.

Shun then realizes that he has been dead the whole time and only Anna can see him. Takuro hit Shun in the head, killing him. Takuro went to the empty house to hide Shun's body. Shun is stunned by the truth and finally disappears as Anna apologizes to him.

Takuro plans on killing Anna since she knows too much, but is suddenly caught by the Ao Oni. Anna wakes Hiroshi up, and they both flee. The Ao Oni chases after them. Hiroshi asks Anna to leave him behind and he’s killed as she runs ahead. Anna hears Shun's voice and follows him through a lighted doorway. The movie ends with Shun and Anna at the riverbank.

Cast

Release

Marketing

The film's distributor, AMG Entertainment, revealed the film's poster and official images of its titular monster on 11 June 2014.[4][5]

Theatrical run

Ao Oni was released theatrically in Japan on 5 July 2014. During its run that month, a limited number of commemorative Ao Oni-themed greeting cards were given to cinemagoers.[6]

Sequel

In 2015, another live-action Ao Oni film, titled Ao Oni ver2.0, was released, although it was not a sequel. It starred the same six students characters, but played by different actors. As well as Ao Oni, this time the film also utilized the character "Blockman" (in the Japanese original, "Fuwatty") from the video game.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "AKB48 Idol Anna Iriyama Stars in Film of Ao Oni Horror Game". Anime News Network. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  2. ^ 青鬼 (2014). Allcinema (in Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b "入山杏奈の映画初主演作「青鬼」 CGで描かれた恐ろしい青鬼が迫りくる予告編解禁". Eiga.com (in Japanese). 13 June 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  4. ^ "これは怖い!実写版『青鬼』不気味なビジュアルが公開!". CinemaToday.jp (in Japanese). 11 June 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  5. ^ "実写映画版『青鬼』ポスタービジュアル&青鬼CGビジュアル解禁 7月5日に予定通り公開決定". Famitsu (in Japanese). 11 June 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  6. ^ "映画『青鬼』来場者プレゼントがこわすぎて変更に "アオオニ学習帳"→"喰中お見舞いカード"へ[ホラー通信]". Getnews.jp (in Japanese). 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Ao Oni Film Adapting Horror Game Gets Sequel". Anime News Network. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2015.