Kōji Shiraishi

Kōji Shiraishi
Shiraishi in October 2024
Born (1973-06-01) June 1, 1973
Fukuoka, Japan
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • actor
Years active1995–present

Kōji Shiraishi (白石 晃士, Shiraishi Kōji; born June 1, 1973) is a Japanese filmmaker and occasional actor. He is primarily known for directing and writing or co-writing horror films such as Noroi: The Curse (2005), Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (2007), Occult (2009), Teketeke (2009), Cult (2013), and Sadako vs. Kayako (2016).

Early life

Kōji Shiraishi was born in Fukuoka on June 1, 1973. He made his first short film in high school and later studied at Kyushu Sangyo University's Department of Fine Arts with the intention of pursuing a filmmaking career. Although he was expelled from the university in his second year for non-payment of tuition fees, he continued to participate in its film studies club and was involved in film production.

Career

While working as a crew member on films such as Sōgo Ishii's August in the Water (1995), Shiraishi also made his own low-budget independent films: Violent Men (1997), co-directed with Akihiro Kasai, won the Screenplay Award and the Cinematography Award at the 1998 Hiroshima Film Exhibition, and The Wind Shall Blow (1998), co-directed with Futoshi Kondo, won the Runner-up Grand Prix at the 1999 Pia Film Festival.[1]

In the early 2000s, Shiraishi became involved in the production of horror films. From 2002 to 2003, he directed several installments of the Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video series. He made his feature-length directorial debut with Jurei the Movie: Kuro-Jurei (2004) and rose to prominence in Japan and abroad for his pseudo-documentary style, which he utilized on films such as Noroi (2005), Occult (2009), Cult (2013), A Record of Sweet Murder (2014), Welcome to the Occult Forest (2022), and Aishiteru! (2022).

In the mid-2010s, Shiraishi began directing more mainstream films such as Sadako vs. Kayako (2016), Funouhan (2018), and Hell Girl (2019). His domestic popularity was enhanced by the Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! series, which began as a video project in 2012 and takes the format of a psychic documentary like Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video. The series is said to be influenced by the works of Daijiro Morohoshi,[2] as opposed to the stereotypical characteristics of Japanese horror. The popularity of the series, and of Shiraishi himself, has grown especially on Niconico, which periodically broadcasts the series and his other works.[3]

In 2016, Shiraishi published the book Textbook of Fake Documentaries, which details his own methods for creating pseudo-documentaries.

Artistry

Shiraishi cites Gakuryū Ishii as his favorite Japanese director, with Ishii's Crazy Thunder Road (1980) being his favorite film. He also admires directors such as John Carpenter, Brian De Palma, Abbas Kiarostami, and Sam Raimi, and has named The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Dawn of the Dead (1978), The Evil Dead (1981), The Thing (1982), and Evil Dead II (1987) as films he particularly enjoyed.[4]

Filmography

Film

Video

  • Onmyoji: Juso-Gaeshi (2001)
  • Onmyoji 2: Jinma-Choubuku (2001)
  • Nippon Onnen Chizu: Kensho!! Sugisawa-mura no Noroi (2001)
  • Nippon Onnen Chizu 2: Kensho!! Jukai no Noroi (2002)
  • Kaiki! Unbelievable (2002)
  • Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video Ver.X:3 (2002)
  • Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video Ver.X:4 (2002)
  • Onmyoji: Jitsuroku! Hyakki-Fumetsu (2003)
  • Shudan Jisatsu Net (2003)
  • Shinrei Shashin Kitan (2006)
  • Uwasa no Shinso! Kuchisake Onna (2007)
  • Yurei Zombie (2007)
  • Ura Horror (2008)
  • Paranormal Phenomenon (2010)
  • Bachiatari Boryoku Ningen (2010)
  • Kami Idol Sosenkyo Battle (2011)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 01: Operation Capture the Slit-Mouthed Woman (2012)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 02: Shivering Ghost (2012)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 03: Legend of a Human-Eating Kappa (2013)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 04: The Truth! Hanako-san in the toilet (2013)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! Preface: True Theory, Yotsuya Kaidan, the Curse of Oiwa (2014)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi!: Final Chapter (2015)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Cho-Kowasugi! Fear Adventure: Kokkuri-san (2015)
  • Senritsu Kaiki File Cho-Kowasugi! Dark Mystery: Snake Woman (2015)

Television

  • Oonamakubi in Nippon no Kowai Yoru (TBS, 2004)
  • Jintai Mokei, Haikou no Satsuei, Kemono, and Kokkuri-san in Gakkou no Kaidan (BeeTV, 2012)
  • Zekkyo Taikan Kimodameshi (d Video, 2014)
  • Museum -Preface- (GYAO! / WOWOW, 2016)
  • Welcome to the Occult Forest (WOWOW, 2022)

Web

  • Mirai Seiki SHIBUYA (Hulu, 2021)

References

  1. ^ "44歳｢ホラー映画｣を極める男の並外れた執念". 東洋経済オンライン (in Japanese). 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  2. ^ 株式会社つみき. "恐怖が世界を巻き込むホラードキュメンタリー『戦慄怪奇ファイル コワすぎ！』特集 | FILMAGA（フィルマガ）". filmaga.filmarks.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  3. ^ "「ほぼ無名」の低予算ホラーが起こした奇跡 ネット騒然「コワすぎ！」人気の理由は". ねとらぼ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  4. ^ 3:AM Magazine, "If You Want Blood (You've Got It): An Interview with Koji Shiraishi", by David F. Hoenigman (November 29, 2009 - retrieved on September 23, 2011).
  5. ^ "白石晃士の決して送ってこないで下さい". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  6. ^ "サユリ". eiga.com. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "近畿地方のある場所について". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 December 2024.


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