‘New Group’ Review: Japanese Horror Film Takes Groupthink to Bizarre New Heights

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People aren’t naturally like bees or ants, building things together automatically and acting as one mind with a single goal. Speaking of something different, do you collect Labubu toys? While Labubu owners aren’t trying to support the artist or the company that makes them, the popularity of these little figures shows a strange kind of group behavior, similar to the Beanie Baby craze. Labubus themselves aren’t dangerous, but when this kind of group thinking influences people—especially those who don’t think critically—it can lead to serious problems, even something as extreme as a totalitarian government.

Yuta Shimotsu’s upcoming 2025 film, New Group, uses a strange and humorous situation to comment on the unsettling idea of a collective consciousness. This approach is similar to his first film, Best Wishes to All, which also tackled social and political themes through unusual storytelling. New Group focuses on a high school in Japan where a peculiar event unfolds on the soccer field: students begin forming a human pyramid. It starts with one student getting into position, then quickly grows as more and more join, eventually becoming a massive structure of hundreds of students stacked on top of each other.

What looks like a bizarre routine isn’t a joke or cheerleading practice. Students fall into a strange, almost hypnotic state, joining in without question. They move together perfectly as a human pyramid, growing larger and obeying the strict principal and P.E. teacher. Being an individual isn’t allowed, and going against the group is incredibly risky—though the consequences involve elaborate stunts like synchronized flips and a forceful version of ‘the worm’.

At first glance, New Group seems chaotic and even absurd – it includes a surprisingly violent human pyramid, for example – but the movement is brilliantly executed. Beyond the spectacle, the piece offers a thoughtful commentary on the dangers of blindly following the crowd, particularly when it comes to authority and fear. It cleverly connects this theme to related issues like bullying, groupthink, misinformation, social media trends, unhealthy habits, artistic freedom, censorship, and cancel culture. New Group is a bold and self-assured exploration of society’s pressures and the risks of simply going along with the status quo.

The series New Group centers on Ai (Anna Yamada), a shy high school student who starts what she thinks will be a normal day. She’s noticeably anxious because of her parents’ strangely cheerful behavior – a mystery that unfolds later with unsettling revelations. At school, Ai is generally quiet and tries to avoid trouble. While she doesn’t blindly follow the crowd, she struggles with what to do when she sees something wrong, like when she witnesses a group of girls bullying another student in the bathroom and later elsewhere at school. Ai wants to be brave and stand up for what’s right, but she finds herself unable to act. Everything changes when a new exchange student, Yu Kobayashi (Yuzu Aoki), arrives, and Ai is immediately drawn to his confidence and independent spirit.

New Group isn’t known for being delicate or nuanced – they’re quite blunt, actually. During a figure drawing class, when Yu experiments with abstract lines and shapes, the teacher publicly critiques his work. She holds it up as an example of what students shouldn’t do, declaring it lacks personal expression and seems embarrassed by it.

The film’s ideas about thinking for yourself and being an individual largely come from the character of Yu, who is more confident in his unconventional beliefs than Ai. He acts as the film’s voice of reason, representing rebellion in a society where everyone just follows the crowd. For example, he’s disgusted when two friends decide on a college and major solely because of their closeness, telling them, “Decide for yourself, it’s your life.” And while Ai hesitates, Yu confronts a group of bullies, boldly stating, “Without a gang, you’re nothing.”

The story’s message of conformity is heavily emphasized by the school’s controlling principal, who constantly talks about the importance of belonging and uses fear to maintain power. This pressure is reinforced by a forceful gym teacher who demands everyone follow the crowd. Sometimes, the story’s message feels too obvious, as if it doesn’t trust the audience to understand it without being explicitly told. This is a weakness of the story, but its creativity shines through, particularly in its visual elements, which deliver Shimotsu’s message with surprising humor. For example, small human pyramids start appearing all over the city, and in one scene, a woman filming the chaos is shown overcome with rage. Another striking image shows a pyramid of seemingly brainwashed boys staring blankly at a television displaying the absurd equation ‘1+1=3’.

What people love about certain Japanese horror films – like House, Uzumaki, and Tokyo Gore Police – is their wonderfully strange quality, thanks to the unique vision of Shimotsu. He manages to be bizarre, thought-provoking, and critical all at once, which is a fantastic combination. As he continues to develop his distinctive and unusual style of social commentary, he’s poised to become a major force.

The film premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival and was later screened at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, where it received a review. Shudder plans to release it in theaters, but the exact date hasn’t been announced yet.

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2025-10-23 20:03