Pan-Asian film and entertainment studio Through the Lens Entertainment and horror brand Fangoria Studios are collaborating to produce films based on Junji Ito’s works. The initial projects will adapt Ito’s manga “The Mystery of the Haunted House” Parts 1 and 2, as well as the one-shot “Bloodsucking Darkness.”
Producers for the project include Armen Aghaeian, Tara Ansley, and Abhi Goel from Fangoria Studios, along with Junji Ito himself. Yasu Kutami and Tsubasa Yamaguchi from Amuse Group USA, and Aditya Chand and Jay Van Hoy from Through the Lens Entertainment are also involved. Carlos Aguirre is serving as executive producer and negotiated the film deal.
Variety had previously reported that Jeff Howard, known for his work on the “Resident Evil” series and “The Haunting of Hill House,” would write the screenplay and be an executive producer. The site also mentioned Phil Wurtzel from Friel Films as an executive producer, along with Kevin Nicklaus, Ryan Lewis, and Joe Riley.
“Bloodsucking Darkness” is a one-shot manga by Junji Ito. It tells the story of Nami, a girl so obsessed with dieting that she begins to vomit blood. She dreams of a world where it rains blood and wakes up to find blood around her. Nami encounters a boy named Kazuya, who is concerned about her extreme dieting. This story is included in Viz Media’s Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection.
“The Mystery of the Haunted House” follows two friends who explore a haunted house, with a direct sequel involving the cousin of one of the original characters who visits the same haunted house. Both stories are also featured in Viz Media’s Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection.
On January 19, Netflix premiered Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, an anime adaptation of 20 of Ito’s stories. Additionally, Ito’s manga Uzumaki will be adapted into a four-episode anime mini-series premiering on Toonami on September 28.
The anime Junji Ito Collection, which aired in January 2018, adapted stories from Ito’s Itō Junji Kessaku-shū and Fragments of Horror. This series had 12 episodes and was streamed with English subtitles on Crunchyroll and an English dub on Funimation. The anime also featured adaptations of Ito’s Tomie in its second and third DVD sets.
