Plot
After her father passes away, Kana returns home to help care for her mother, who has started showing signs of dementia.
And as time goes on, her mother’s behavior becomes more disturbing – she says things that don’t make sense, reacts to things no one else can see, and slowly starts to feel like she’s not fully herself anymore.
Kana begins to suspect that something else may have entered her mother’s life while she’s been deteriorating.
And the more she tries to hold the family together, the more everything around her starts to fall apart.
Trailer
Key Information
- Original title: 遺愛 (IAI)
- Release year: 2026
- Country: Japan
- Release date: 19 June 2026
- Runtime: ~90 minutes
- Genre: Horror / Psychological / Drama
- Language: Japanese
- Director: Zenzo Sakai
- Writers: Keisuke Miyazaki, Zenzo Sakai
- Producers: Tokio Omori, Kotaro Fujiyama, Yusuke Suzuki
- Production company: Drunken Bird
- Distributor: Rights Cube
- IMDb
Cast
- Rio Yamashita
- An Ogawa
- Kyoko Fujii
- Saori Seto
- Anam Sekiguchi
- Makita Sports
Style and Presentation
This is a slow psychological horror film that sits very close to family drama.
Most of the tension comes from the mother’s condition and the way Kana slowly starts questioning what is real and what isn’t.
It doesn’t rely on big scares – instead it builds a steady feeling that something is “off” inside the home, and that it keeps getting harder to explain.
The horror feels more emotional than physical.
Cultural Context
Japanese horror often blends everyday life with quiet psychological deterioration, and this film fits directly into that style.
Instead of focusing on clear supernatural rules, it keeps things ambiguous – where illness, memory, and possible possession all overlap.
It also reflects a common theme in modern Japanese horror: family care, aging, and the emotional strain of watching someone change in ways you can’t fully control.
Notes
- Psychological / family-driven horror
- Focus on dementia and identity breakdown
- Ambiguous supernatural elements
- Slow-burn, atmosphere-heavy storytelling
- Directed by Zenzo Sakai
- Japanese release: 19 June 2026
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