Latest Japanese Horror New Group (OVERLOOK) Tackles Conformity with Deadly Human Gymnastics Routines
Title: New Group
First Non-Festival Release: June 12, 2026 (Theatrical Release)
Director: Yûta Shimotsu
Writer: Yûta Shimotsu
Runtime: 82 Minutes
Starring: Anna Yamada, Yuzu Aoki, Arisa Sasaki
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Overlook Film Festival in 2026.
It’s hard to fit in but it’s terrifying to stand out. This is the heart of New Group, an absurdist Japanese horror film that tackles the terror and idiocy of blind conformity. There are arguments to be made that conformity allows for a stronger sense of community and shared values while critics say it stifles free expression and personal autonomy. What do you think wins and what would you want to win? These are the questions at the center of New Group.
Ai (Anna Yamada) is an introverted and deferential high student who never likes to rock the boat. When Yu (Yuzu Aoki) transfers into her class she becomes fascinated with him. His lack of desire to conform to the standards of their rigid school is abrasive to others. Yu doesn’t care; he is more concerned why this school is so foolishly obedient to authority. The two learn more about one another and grow closer while a strange phenomenon continues to grow at their school. Students, and others, are forming lethal gymnastics formations and killing anyone trying to stop them.
Audacious and stunning in its own right, New Group careens boldly in its goal of questioning conformity.
New Group’s bold story starts off normal enough before slowly descending into a bonkers face-off. Familiar institutions like school, work, and home are explored through Ai, who is only just now starting to question everything thanks to Yu’s commitment to individualism. Coinciding with a strange meteorological phenomenon, the horror of New Group sinks in slowly in the most diabolical way. One student is found frozen on the turf field outside before more join him. Soon enough, school administrators force participation for all. It’s almost like a window into seeing how harmful ideas infiltrate society and grow like a cancer. Then, they become ingrained in the power structures and become stickier. The true horror of New Group is watching this process unfold in real time.
These institutions remain unchanged because of the passivity of the majority. New Group argues that the true threat to humanity lies in this behavior. Each time Ai and Yu are confronted by the masses of geometrically inclined zombie puppets, they are given a simple choice: conform or die. Each time they decline, their resolve grows stronger, even if it doesn’t derail the plans of the masses. It’s this steadfast refusal to give into peer pressure, supporting those who don’t conform, and the desire to save and hold power to account that makes Ai and Yu such interesting and aspirational protagonists. Their moments of weakness are understandable, especially given their overall commitment. Their war against their friends, teachers, and families is so compelling because the gymnastic routines and human pyramids serve as stand-ins for other morally objectionable ideas a person, especially a teenager coming-of-age, would reject despite societal pressure.
While the events of New Group take shape, Ai and Yu develop in strange and interesting ways. Converging their character arcs over the days in which their world falls apart, they learn quite a bit from each other. Ai’s arc is more obvious. Once a timid and deferential schoolgirl, Ai has grown into herself, feeling confident enough to make decisions on her own and advocate for the changes she wants to see. Yu already had this confidence but lacked connection. His journey is learning to trust and believe in others. Both stories are important to the ways social awareness comes to be in young people, if they develop those skills. This attention to character detail allows New Group’s message to be rock-solid.
The commentary doesn’t end there. New Group builds atmosphere through bizarre imagery and dynamic camerawork. The jarring, uncanny nature of these gymnastic routines take on terrifying, flowing forms as the people move in tandem. There’s something existentially terrifying at watching everyone around you freak out for a solid five to ten minutes before returning to normal. The creeping feeling of being out of place follows Ai and Yu throughout New Group. Never truly alone, the camera frames how massive Ai and Yu’s surroundings are to show how small their resistance looks at scale. Between the shapes, movements, sizes, and frequency, New Group plays out like the most bizarre zombie movie ever seen, and that is what makes it unique and engrossing.
Despite all its positives, the pacing and structure of New Group does drag down its story from reaching the true heights of greatness. Frequent lulls and uneven jolts hobble New Group from achieving any sort of consistent pacing.
A truly bizarre yet exciting experience, New Group’s ambition may eclipse its capabilities but it’s exactly this sort of audacity we should demand from filmmakers. Fascinating in its deconstruction of powerfully important topics like conformity, the bystander effect, and capitulation to authority are treated with the gravity they deserve while still searing all levels of society. The sharpness of the commentary is only impeded by its pacing. New Group is an unforgettable, if a little messy, Japanese horror satire worth seeking out.
Overall Score? 7/10
