A creepy tale full of lingering regrets unfolds in Riisa Naka's clever horror short “KABURAGI.” Before this, Naka established an extensive career in acting and remains an active actress to this day. International audiences may remember her for voicing Makoto Konno in Mamoru Hosoda's anime film “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” based on the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Beyond this, she's very active on YouTube and even has her own fashion brand. Now, with “KABURAGI,” she showcases her talents as a director.
KABURAGI is screening at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia
Kaburaki is a photographer for a weekly magazine. While highly regarded by his peers, he's overwhelmed with guilt after exposing a scandal that drove an actress to suicide. Despite his depression, his colleagues and boss encourage him to continue his line of work. One day, he receives a message from an unknown source that tips him off about an idol he has been fixated on. Kaburaki snaps back into his paparazzi profession, yet he wonders who this anonymous individual could be.
Riisa Naka deliberately establishes things slowly before unleashing the horror aspect of “KABURAGI.” Viewers can see and understand why Kaburaki is deeply troubled. His actions contributed to a person's suicide, an event so harrowing that he doesn't even speak audibly anymore. It's a stark contrast to his coworkers, who have already moved on from the ordeal and are eager for him to get back into his habit, showing little to no care over a scandal resulting in someone's death. He snaps back into his paparazzi photography when he receives these anonymous messages.
Yet, when his curiosity peaks for who this unknown messenger is, his world comes crashing down in a truly terrifying manner as he begins to believe the vengeful spirit of the deceased performer is haunting him. Adding to a bit of irony, the horror elements of “KABURAGI” incorporate some of the lead's equipment in his spiraling descent into madness, such as the camera. What adds to this is how it blurs a fine line between purely psychological and supernatural elements. It all makes for a compelling classic ghost story within a modern setting while critiquing the often careless and insensitive nature of tabloid journalism.
A large part of what makes “KABURAGI” so effective is Ryuji Akiyama's performance as Kaburaki. Primarily active as a comedian, Akiyama is cast in an against-type role and does a very good job. He can convey so much through his facial expressions alone without uttering a single line of dialogue. It's believable that this character is both sad and terrified, a stark contrast to his cold coworker and boss, played by Kanichiro and Tetta Sugimoto.
Despite a small budget, the production values are quite impressive here. Visually, the short is shot very well, and there's a nice use of lighting, especially in the climax. The minimal special effects here are also surprisingly well done.
“KABURAGI” delivers good scares in its short story of a man's guilt leading to his eventual downfall. Riisa Naka blurs a nice line between supernatural and psychological in critically examining tabloid magazine operations. Hopefully, audiences can experience more directorial work from Naka in the near future.
