Q&A with Takashi Shimizu, who will receive the Screen International Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award.

Three high school girls go missing after a prank gone wrong in an abandoned building. When a video of their last-seen moments goes viral, Kannon (Takuya Kimura’s daughter Koki, in her big-screen debut), is astonished to discover that she bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the missing girls. Obsessed with finding out the truth, she and her would-be boyfriend head off to the village of the disappearance. J-horror grandmaster-godfather Takeshi Shimizu’s final entry in his village triptych proves the zenith of the three, taking his gonzo macabre mash-up of folk horror, urban legends, found footage, and supernatural terror to the ultimate level. In the maestro’s hands, this coming-of-age tale is laced with uber-creepy myths about the eponymous ox head, frightening twinships, murderous curses, and shocking gore.

Presented with the support of