A group of friends find themselves the unwitting targets of a curse in this creative horror touching on fears surrounding the global Coronavirus pandemic. Unable to meet her friends in-person for their annual reunion due to the virus, Nana (Rena Takeda) signs in to a group chat with Fumi (Sakurako Konishi), Rin (Moe Tsurumi), Yuuki (Karasu Hayashi) and Ryo (Shogo Hama). Another friend Ayumi is not present. They are shocked when Ayumi’s boyfriend signs in and blames them for her death. Yuuki explains that he, Ayumi and Rin had been to investigate the site of an urban legend and may have awoken a curse that dooms those that hear of it. The friends, isolated in their own homes struggle to come up with a solution, finally contacting Nana’s brother and asking for his help to pacify the spirits they have awakened.
“The Samejima Incident”, written and directed by Jiro Nagae, excels at minimalist horror with the majority of the action taking place in confined apartment rooms Nana can see through her computer. The familiarity of video calls makes the horror relatable, with the characters forced to communicate in isolation, and the curse itself acting as a metaphor for the fears around the spread of viruses and the ineffectiveness of any human response. The script does a good job of maintaining the tension, drawing out the sense of dread the characters feel, and building up the suspense as they grow increasingly desperate. The latter section, when Nana’s brother Masaki (Gaku Sano), enters the cursed house is a suitable finale but perhaps overly procedural as he has to perform a certain inexplicable ritual to seal the curse away. The cast do a good job with the material, having to act largely alone, and, while nothing exceptional, they do evoke the sense of a group of friends dealing with a traumatic situation.
The spread of a terrifying and fatal virus is perfecly symbolised by the curse in the film, although they do attempt to distinguish it from being an exact analogy. The characters’ panic at their inability to prevent the spread of the curse, the ease with which people are marked or ‘infected’, and the devastating potential of it reaching the wider public are all part of the horror here. The sense of impotence and isolation is palpable as they call out to one another through their computer screens. It is a film that is embedded in the digital age, focussing on modern dangers such as paedophilia, internet mobs, violent content, false rumours and urban myths alongside the contemporary fears of infection. “The Samejima Incident” is a perfect example of less-is-more storytelling, using a simple premise to great effect. It does a good job at creating a unique story, drawing in multiple themes and current concerns around public health and internet safety.
