These days there isn’t much that makes me happy. I don’t know if it’s my job, the weather or the crushing weight of feeling absolutely helpless to the world’s problems. It all feels so useless. So maybe, I thought, I should do something different. Maybe I should write about something that brings me joy for a change. And what was bringing me joy in this moment? Not just joy in particular but what would lift my spirits up whenever I’d think about it? And I knew.
The Senritsu Kaiki Files.
I’ve recently finished watching the entire films. I still need to some of the shorts. But when I started them, I didn’t expect what was going to be in store for me. From what I heard, I expected just some well-made horror found-footage films. I didn’t expect to laugh my ass off. Nor would I anticipate the twists and turns this series would bring.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. What are the Senritsu Kaiki Files?
The Senritsu Kaiki Files is a series of direct-to-DVD films, sometimes occasionally released on the big screen. It is the brainchild of the Japanese horror director Koji Shiraishi, who also acts in it. The films are about a small team of documentary investigators whose main subject are Japanese urban legends and folklore.
Or that’s how it starts at least.
The series is mostly found-footage horror, which works well with the direct-to-DVD medium. I’m not a big expert when it comes to film retail in Japan, but the impression I always got from direct-to-DVD films is that the amount of budget is way less than that of its big screen counterpart. Obviously, because studios are more interested in making profit at the box office. But it means that direct-to-DVD films always look cheap and less polished. There’s definitely a market there, what with companies like The Asylum cranking them out to coincide with whatever big blockbuster is currently in theatres. And some films that were a flop at the box office find new life through sales in the home media market. Notable films like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Blade Runner or Event Horizon found a new audience through rentals then or streaming now
Fortunately, since the Senritsu Kaiki Files are meant to be shot by hand-held cameras, it can bypass looking like a big cinematic film. And whilst the CG effects look as cheap and like what you’d see on a PlayStation 2 game, there’s a charm to it. I’m reminded of David Lynch’s third season of Twin Peaks, where the effects looked shoddy on purpose. You can complain about it, but he would say something like “Well, how would you know it’d look like that? Have you actually seen it?”. The answer of course is no. That same kind of principle can be applied to the Senritsu Kaiki Files.
And despite those obstructions, that doesn’t mean the series is ambitious. Dear lord, is it ambitious.
This is where we get into spoiler territory, though. There are few things I feel comfortable spoiling them. The Senritsu Kaiki Files don’t fall under that, though. It’s best to go into these series blind and discover what makes this series so unique and why I decide to write about it.
You can find them here, on this YouTube channel. But if you look hard enough, you can find places where you can download them. It is however fanslated by people where English isn’t their primary language, so you’re going to run into lots and lots of errors. Though I’d say that adds another layer to the found-footage aspect.
Watch the films before you read the rest of this article. Or don’t, if you don’t want to. It’s your decision, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Why I love this crazy series
If you were to ask me what my favourite horror film franchise is, I would have answered Evil Dead or the Child’s Play/Chucky series. I’m of the opinion that making a franchise out of a horror series doesn’t always work out if you make sequel after sequel. Take Hellraiser or A Nightmare on Elm Street. They actually started out as frightening and scary films. But gradually Freddy and Pinhead turned into pop-culture icons and more and more films got made. The scare-factor lowered and they got stuck into a routine. Seeing the monster die and die again at the end of every film gets rather stale. It’s basically like a series where the protagonist saves the universe over and over again (cough, MCU, cough). Like, where do you go from there? What are the stakes?
Evil Dead and Chucky work, because they are mostly dumb and have a self-awareness to them. Evil Dead has comedic beats, mostly at Ash’s expense. And when Ash is not needed, they use other characters and settings. Like with the 2013 Evil Dead or Evil Dead Rise. With Chucky, it plays on the already perceived notion that the concept of a killer toy doll is dumb from the start, and they work themselves up from there. I don’t think anyone goes into this series thinking Chucky is legit scary. Plus there’s the insane dedication to the continuity. It’s not always 100%, but the fact that some throw-away jokes from Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky become even plot beats in later parts, says a lot to me how the people behind it love what they’re doing.
But then the Senritsu Kaiki Files came into my life. And good god, did it got a place in my heart.
What are the Senritsu Kaiki Files?
The first 7 films in the series have an overarching plot. We start off with some mysteries and then in the final films there’s some sort of explanation about what’s going on. I feel like it should be a faux pas in horror to explain the thing. Because it makes it less scarier. The second film set up some existential and cosmic horror. And at the end of it, you were unsettled, because you weren’t sure what to make of it. Giving it an explanation somewhat lessens that unsettlement. And unfortunately, the Senritsu Kaiki Files don’t pull it off as well.
Luckily though, Senritsu Kaiki makes up for that with an absolutely bonkers, bonkers finale. Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi!: Final Chapter, the seventh film, in the series has it all. Time travel, body swaps, rituals, creepy mannequins, giants in the sky… And all without skipping a beat and being so god-damn funny.
Koji Shiraishi says he enjoys Sam Raimi and Evil Dead 2 amongst other directors and films. And that influence definitely shows. There’s an aspect of suffering for comedic expense in the Senritsu Kaiki Files, but what sets it apart from Evil Dead, is that it’s delivered in a straight-faced manner than the slapstick that characterises the Evil Dead series.
For example, in Final Chapter, to get the directors back from an other-wordly hellscape, cameraman Masatsugu Tashiro (played by director Koji Shiraishi) has to hold an odd and somewhat perverse ritual. His first step is to take away two mannequins from a homeless man, so they can change into his co-workers. Then he has to steal panties off a specific woman, eat them and then throw up on the mannequins’ chests. Afterwards, he has to cut off his pinkie, but because of his hesitation, the rules got changed and the price is much more steeper. Now he has to cut off his thumb as well. And then the final step is shooting a possessed woman’s brains out and shove those pieces of brain in the mannequin.
Watching this, it’s both genuinely upsetting because Tashiro is genuinely distraught… But it’s also incredibly funny. Tashiro is a victim of faith, but the ritual’s rules are so weird and off-putting, you can’t help but laugh at his misery. He has to steal panties, whilst the woman is wearing it. Which makes you uncomfortable, because it looks like he’s assaulting a woman. But the fact that he’s constantly apologising and he’s so clumsily going on about it, started to make me laugh. The scene where he has to cut off his fingers would make you flinch, if it didn’t had a guy looking over his shoulder, telling him to hurry it up, like scolding someone for being late. The punchline comes at the end, when Tashiro learns that, if he didn’t hesitate at cutting off his pinkie, the last step would have been to get some hair instead of brain.
The films suddenly turning into a comedy is definitely an interesting pivot. The first films were straight-forward horror, but gradually became more and more unhinged when things were going on.
For example, the first film in the series Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 01: Operation Capture the Slit-Mouthed Woman, it’s a very normal investigation at first. Two friends has sent a video to the Senritsu Kaiki File, with footage of the titular Slit-Mouthed Woman, a tall woman with a large mouth, based on an urban legend. In the video, they are being chased by said woman and now the team, based on the director, his assistant-director and the cameraman, start investigating.
In the beginning, it looks pretty dry and normal. They are measuring the speed of the woman, examining the routes, questioning eye-witnesses. But then at one moment, the director starts assaulting a homeless man after not giving enough information. And then later, at a stake-out, he’s gleefully commenting how many DVDs he’s going to sell with this footage. At first I was like “What the hell is up with this guy?” And the comments on YouTube, echoed my sentiments.
Little did I know, he would become my favourite character in the series.
I purposefully didn’t talk about the main characters (save Tashiro), and there’s a reason for that. Because that’s part of what this series makes unique.
Firstly, there’s Miho Ichikawa, the assistant-director. Ichikawa is basically the most normal of the group. Or at least has the most normal reactions, compared to her co-worker, director Kudo Jin.
Kudo. Where do I start with a character like Kudo?
Kudo is the guy I mentioned who started harassing the homeless man. Initially starting out as a bully, he… well, he’s still a bully. But he’s so much more than that. He’s an absolute hothead, always acts on his impulsion, both a coward as well as a fearless idiot and an aggressive moron who rather lets his fists talk than his words, although he definitely opens his big mouth as often as he wants.
And yet, there’s something endearing about him. In the fifth film, he punches Ichikawa on her head, berating her. But then later on, he selflessly jumps into a portal to another world to save her. You know how horror can be this safe space where you can experience horrible stuff without being subjected to it yourself? The Senritsu Kaiki Files are a safe space from someone like Kudo. You like his antics on screen, but in real life, he’d probably be a pain in the ass. It does help as well that he’s a film director. I cannot imagine Kudo doing any other profession without him coming across as an asshole. Imagine if this guy was a mail-man, a train conductor or, god forbid, a cop?!
There’s also a definite “Dudes rock” aspect to Kudo. In the eighth film, Senritsu Kaiki File Cho-Kowasugi! Fear Adventure: Kokkuri-san, Kudo and Ichikawa receive an amulet in the form of a fox-tail, that appropriately houses a fox-spirit. After the gang gets home, the tail starts getting restless in the closet, which prompts Kudo to take it out and lay it on the table. But then the fox-spirit gets out and starts growling angrily. Naturally, Ichikawa has the appropriate reaction, namely screaming in fear. But then Kudo PUNCHES THE SPIRIT BACK INTO ITS TAIL! No thoughts, head empty chad of a man!
It is absolutely insane how Kudo got so beloved as a character. One of the short films of Koji Shiraishi is called Ultra Violent People, released in 2011, a year before the first Senritsu Kaiki Film. I couldn’t find much information about it, but it’s only 20 minutes long. In 2014 he re-released the short under the name Ultra Violet People – Deluxe, with an added 10 minutes. And who appears in those 10 minutes? You guessed it, Kudo.
Of course, Kudo wouldn’t be anything without its actor, Shigeo Osako. I don’t know how Shiraishi picked specifically him. I can’t even imagine what that audition must be like. But he does know how to pick them. It is a very fine line to portray someone who has this mean, stupid and outright violent streak, and make him likeable. It takes a lot of skill, not only from the actor, but the script and director. Especially in a medium that’s not known for framing and editing. (Although to be frank, the found-footage aspect, or at least the illusion, gets thrown out of the window when the films get more plot-like).
Speaking of actors, Chika Kuboyama, the actress who portrays Ichikawa, should receive some credit for her acting as well. Unlike Kudo, Ichikawa is much more of a wallflower. She is the Tintin to Kudo’s Captain Haddock, the Mickey Mouse to Donald Duck. You’re naturally more drawn to Kudo, because he is the more interesting character. Most of the time, Ichikawa holds Kudo back when he’s about to punch someone. She is more soft-spoken and is mostly the talking point, because again, she’s not as insane as Kudo.
But Kuboyama gets her moments to shine as well. In the fifth film, Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! Preface: True Theory, Yotsuya Kaidan, the Curse of Oiwa, Ichikawa gets possessed by a malevolent spirit and they have to get her exorcised. The scene that follows is Kuboyama getting loose, having to screech and contort like a… well, possessed person. And in the seventh film, after Tashiro finished the ritual and they return, it turns out Kudo and Ichikawa were body-swapped. In that moment Kuboyama has to play Ichikawa, whilst Kudo’s mind is in her body. The result is Kuboyama going full bro-mode and it is golden.
For a series with a genre that hinges of the illusion that what you’re seeing could be real, it purposefully has a very meta-narrative. At several points in Final Chapter, Tashiro gets called Shiraishi. Not only is Koji Shiraishi the actual director of the series, he also plays Tashiro. Senritsu Kaiki World Kowasugi, the character of Tamao speaks directly to the audience, asking us to send our energy to aid our heroes. It’s a bold approach and probably why the Senritsu Kaiki Files have a slight cult appeal.
I can only conclude that there, on top of my head, there isn’t a series or franchise like the Senritsu Kaiki Files. Oh, sure. There are found-footage films, like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and the Spanish Rec series. But I don’t think they dare to be as unhinged as the Senritsu Kaiki Files. Most found-footage try to sell the illusion and are more dry. Plus, despite the budget constraints, the Senritsu Kaiki Files goes in every direction and is boldly ambitious, which you can’t say of most found-footage films.
I can’t do justice of every film in one article. It’s something you should experience for yourself. Unless you did watch them before reading the article, in which case you know what I’m talking about. For now, I’ll end with the final image of Senritsu Kaiki World Kowasugi, which of what I heard, might actually be the final film in the series. Which makes this a bold ending for your series. But honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Jerna Van Vooren - Comic Writer 
great article, such a wild and unforgettable movie series that will never be unmatched in my heart
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