In Keishi Kondo’s 2022 directorial debut New Religion, communal memory and grief intertwine in photographs to illustrate a haunted post-COVID world. The surrealist Japanese art house thriller follows Kaho Seto (My Identity; Beyond the Blue) as Miyabi, a prostitute trying to hold it together while the world unravels around her. When she encounters a strange new client, the dominoes start to fall faster as the buried past begins to overwhelm the present. Out March 11th from Third Window Films, the Blu-ray is the rare contemporary release from the Japanese cinema importer, and a great film to introduce to American audiences who, frankly, are only now starting to attempt to reckon with the grief they carry from that time.
Kaho Seto in Keishi Kondo’s 2022 surrealist horror film NEW RELIGION. Photo courtesy of Third Window Films.
Sprinting in the shadow of Japanese surrealist anime like the works of Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue; Paranoia Agent), New Religion is an impressively oppressive sinkhole of claustrophobic despair. Taking place largely in apartments, even its exteriors are shot on zoom lenses, bringing the world right up against the backs our characters. Two moments stand out as summaries of the film in tone. In the first, Miyabi witnesses a mass stabbing, the kind that have mirrored the epidemic of U.S. mass shootings in low-gun countries around the world. Seen in broad daylight from dozens of yards away, the surreal pit in your stomach that comes from witnessing violence is translated to the audience completely. The other is a parallel tracking shot of Miyabi on the back of a bike driven by “The Boy Friend,” played incredibly by newcomer Ryuseigun Saionji. This is a moment of jubilant naturalism and love between the two, which is used like a lever to push against the grief Miyabi has built up after the death of her daughter, accelerating the confrontation between good and evil at the center of the plot. It is a testament to all involved how well the love between this depressed prostitute and her unemployed DJ boyfriend comes across, convincing you that they are perfect for each other as the world falls apart around them.
Satoshi Oka in Keishi Kondo’s 2022 surrealist horror film NEW RELIGION. Photo courtesy of Third Window Films.
In the world of New Religion, Miyabi is informed by her driver and pimp, played by Daiki Numani (Noroi no Shinrei Kansen Watashi wa Toritsukareta – 19-Sai Joshidai Nama Satoko no Baai), that prostitution is struggling in a down economy, which is why they can’t turn down a client who breaks the rules by photographing her. This client, Oka, played by Satoshi Oka (Chat Noir’s Revenge), takes photographs of people’s body parts, one a day, until he’s satisfied. These sessions take place in a red-lit photography darkroom despite his exclusive use of instant Polaroid film, and his only decoration is a photograph of the moths that have recently arrived in Japan as an invasive species. Slowly, his words begin to invade Miyabi’s mind as she tries to move past her grief.
The film lightly touches on the genre structure of a body-horror mystery thriller, retrofitting classic characters into grittier molds. In a film where some characters have names and some have titles, Numani’s pimp character could have been named Detective Pimp, and the film’s ideas about the relationship between public violence and serial killers are provocative. It even deserves a Best T-shirt in Film award for the very funny shot of a Japanese DJ in an oversized t-shirt hailing the Obama-family dynasty. Arthouse pulp at its finest.
Satoshi Oka in Keishi Kondo’s 2022 surrealist horror film NEW RELIGION. Photo courtesy of Third Window Films.
The disk has a great offering of extras with the typical director’s commentary and interviews, as well as some of the film’s crowdfunding materials. But, best of all, it debuts a short film, Neu Mirrors (2025), which serves as a coda for New Religion, and might even be better than the feature-length film.
This is a special release for Third Window Films. The host of the Third Windows Podcast, Ben Challoner, encountered the film in 2022 before convincing TWF to distribute the film, then going on to help produce Neu Mirrors. Third Window gets its reputation from its revival of ‘80s and ‘90s Japanese cinema covering studio The Director Company and filmmakers Katsuhito Ishii (Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl) and Nobuhiko Obayashi (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). But their recent efforts to support indie cinema in Japan are criminally unrecognized, with films like Your Lovely Smile (2022) and A Samurai in Time (2023) making their way to U.K. and U.S. audiences. New Religion, clearly made for a song and unknown to most of the American arthouse crowd, could easily have been forgotten. But Third Window Films has given this great film the luxurious release it deserves.
New Religion Special Features:
- Neu Mirrors – Short Film (30 mins)
- Director Interview (30 mins)
- Behind the Scenes (30 mins)
- Outtakes (11 mins)
- Director Feature Length Audio Commentary
- Early Concept Movie
- Crowdfunding Teaser
- Theatrical Trailer
- International Trailer
- Slipcase and Reversible Sleeves with original artwork for both films
Available on Blu-ray March 11th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Third Window Films New Religion webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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