Dark Star Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to the crime thriller ‘Missing’ as part of its ongoing collaboration with Bloody Disgusting, the world’s largest destination for horror fans with an audience of over 20MM dedicated followers. Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan a US theatrical release for Missing on November 4th, 2022, an On Demand release on November 18th, 2022, and the Blu-Ray release on December 6th, 2022.
The film had its World Premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, before screening at Fantasia International Film Festival, and will have its US Premiere at Fantastic Fest, this month (September 22-29th).
The film’s plot centers on the desperation of one man to change his luck. Depressed and in debt following the death of his wife, Santoshi (Jiro Sato) tells his young daughter he has found a way out. Pointing to a reward note, he vows to find the infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu) and cash in, claiming to have seen the man in the flesh a few days earlier. Kaeda (Aoi Ito) cannot take her aloof father seriously. But when he goes missing without a trace, she starts to fear the worst—and must begin looking for him.
The film was written and directed by Shinzô Katayama and stars Aoi Ito (Her Love Boils Bathwater, KASANE-Beauty, and Fate, Gangoose), Jiro Sato (Brothers in Brothel, New Interpretation Records of the Three Kingdoms, Gintama) and Hiroya Shimizu (The World of Kanako, Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy, Sadako).
After working as an assistant director for Japanese films, including Nobuhiro Yamashita’s works, filmmaker Shinzô Katayama crossed paths with Bong Joon-Ho while shooting “TOKYO!” (2008) and served as his assistant director on “Mother” (2009). In 2019, his debut feature, “Siblings of the Cape ” was selected by numerous domestic and international film festivals. He now is one of the most promising, emerging directors in Japan, and his second feature, MISSING (“Sagasu /さがす“) will be his commercial film debut.
“Director Shinzô Katayama has beautifully crafted a story that will keep audiences on their toes. We could not be more excited to spotlight this emerging talent and add this gem to our ongoing partnership with our friends at Bloody Disgusting,” said Dark Star Pictures President, Michael Repsch.
Bloody Disgusting’s Brad Miska continued: “Missing is a nonstop engaging thriller that erupts into a helluva shocking finale. We can’t wait to play this game of cat-and-mouse with horror fans.”
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Image provided by Emma Griffith, courtesy of Dark Star/Bloody Disgusting
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