Grimmfest 2025 has a wide selection of movies for all to enjoy and one of the most original comes from Kenichi Uga whose superb psychological shocker Incomplete Chairs is bound to win over the audience. Here we chatted to this exciting director.
STV: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be in the film industry?
KU: I had dreamed of working in the film industry since I was in kindergarten. However, it wasn't until I was in high school that I really began to have that desire. At the time, I was working as an actor. When I became a university student, I decided that I wanted to be a film director.
STV: How has the business changes since your first movie, Ganguro Gals Riot in 2016?
KU: Before I shot my first feature film, I didn't receive any offers to direct a single feature film for 10 years. But in the 10 years since then, I've directed 15 feature films, and I'm very happy now.
STV: Where did the idea for Incomplete Chairs come from?
KU: Actually, the screenwriter had already written a script, and I was offered the role of director. However, I felt that a clearer theme was needed, and I also had a theme that I wanted to tackle, so I wrote the script together with the screenwriter, and it was significantly rewritten from the original script. To me, this film also embodies the excessive verbal violence of people who preach hypocritical justice on social media.
STV: The lead actor, Ryu Ichinose, delivers a sinister and compelling performance, was it a hard role to cast?
KU: Actually, when I heard about this film, I had already decided to have him act in it. He had also appeared in my previous film, "The Gesuidouz." He spent nearly a year undergoing physical transformation.
STV: There are some dark moments in the movie, what was the atmosphere like on set?
KU: There were a lot of comedic elements, and many of the special effects were something the staff had never tried before, so everyone had a great time.
STV: It takes the idea of “artist vision” to extreme level, do you worry some viewers may say you went too far?
KU: For me, this was more than just a story that expressed the artist's vision; it was a story that expressed what would happen if violence on social media were actually carried out, so excess was necessary.
STV: Was it hard balancing the humour and the horror?
KU: Personally, I think this film has more comedic elements than usual, so although it was fun to make, I was worried about whether the audience would laugh. However, I was relieved when the audience laughed at the world premiere at the Slash Film Festival.
STV: The effects are incredible, which sequence was the hardest to get right?
KU: The crew did a great job, so there weren't many difficult things during filming, but all the preparations were very difficult, especially the simple preparations to prevent the chainsaw from staining the walls with blood splatter.
STV: The sound effects mix is so engrossing, that must have taken you a long time to get it the way you wanted them to sound?
KU: That's right. If the sound didn't change it would be boring, but if it changed too much it would feel strange, so it was actually a very delicate process. However, since it was the same staff, I work with all the time, they were aware of my preferences and requests from the beginning.
STV: The film is being compared to such classics as American Psycho and the original Maniac, you must be happy with that?
KU: Of course. It's a great honour for me to see my film and see the names of great works being mentioned.
STV: Will you be nervous when it has its International premiere at Grimmfest 2025?
KU: I'm not nervous, I'm just really excited.
STV: So, what are you working on at the moment?
KU: I just finished a family body horror movie a few weeks ago, but in a month, I'll be shooting a sci-fi action musical romantic comedy. Stay tuned!
STV: Kenichi Ugana, thank you very much.
