WORLD CLASS: A Word With THE CURSE Filmmaker Kenichi Ugana

2025 seems to be the year I get to catch up a little more on the works of filmmaker Kenichi Ugana. This comes two years after getting to catch Visitors: Complete Edition, with another three just this year alone including The Gesuidouz, I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director From Brooklyn, and as of late, The Curse, which bowed for the twentieth edition of Fantastic Fest.

While these aren’t all his films, festival coverage compels me oftentimes to step outside my purview, and indeed horror has been a frequent, and at times even fun visit. Additionally, it feels great getting to acquaint myself with some directors where and when I can, which is where I’ve managed to connect with Ugana for the first time on this platform in an interview capacity.

Ugana’s work notably spans drama, horror, comedy and fantasy in different fluctuations, all in his congruent efforts to build bridges with other countries and people in his industry. These facets of his career, and others, are now the subject of my first interview in a long time after trading e-mails with him this month.

I haven’t been able to coordinate any interviews in the last several years due to the workload between the website and my other responsibilities, and in seeing as Ugana and I have been in touch, getting to interview him this time was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. We talk about his movies, his earlier experiences in film directing, his tastes in film, and working with his actors. He also discusses working with The Gesuidouz co-star, actress Saori Izawa who, if you’re following this website, has become a prolific force on screen, namely with the Baby Assassins franchise which is also home to the U.S. via Allen, Texas-based firm, Well Go USA.

Ugana’s latest feature, The Curse enjoyed its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest which ran several screenings from September 19. Enjoy our interview below, tap here for my review, and follow Ugana on Instagram!

Greetings Kenichi-san, and thanks for sitting down for my questions. How is 2025 going for you so far?

2025 has been a very good year for me so far. I shot “Incomplete Chairs,” which will have its world premiere at Slash Film Festival, and other films that have yet to be released. I also had a successful theatrical release of “The Gesuidouz” in Japan. “I Fell in Love With a Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn” won several awards at Fantasia International Film Festival, “The Curse” and “Incomplete Chairs” have been selected for screening at various film festivals. Preparations for several upcoming films are also progressing little by little, and progress is also being made little by little on the film that will be shot next year.

You’ve been directing for a while now and you’ve dabbled in a handful of genres. Talk about how you came into filmmaking, and what it was like stepping into the director’s seat for the first time.

When I was in kindergarten, I refused to go and only went one day. It was a very early rebellious phase [laughs]. At the time, I had nothing to do, so I accompanied my parents on their shopping trip. On the way back, they rented me a VHS tape from a rental shop. I usually rented anime, but my mother loved horror movies, so she rented them along with my anime. Every weekday, I’d watch a horror movie after anime. My father loved the Nouvelle Vague, so on weekends, we’d watch Godard and Suzuki Seijun’s films. Looking back, it was an amazing combination of films, wasn’t it? haha. A while later, when I was in high school, I started working as an actor. I wasn’t a very good actor, but I learned how to make films. In my twenties, I wanted to make my own films, so I aspired to be a director. However, I didn’t get the chance to direct a feature film for the next ten years. Those were truly difficult years. So, when I got the chance to direct my first feature film, it felt like a dream come true, and it still feels that way today.

What do you love most about horror? Are there any particular film or director influences that come to mind?

What I love about movies is that they allow you to tell big lies on screen, and I especially love horror because you can tell big lies. There are a lot of bad horror movies, but I haven’t seen a single one that I dislike. That’s because you can see that the staff and cast are working hard to make the lie come true. I’ve been influenced by many horror movies, but I can’t help but mention “Evil Dead,” “Brain Dead,” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” And then there’s “Basket Case.”

Tell us about The Curse, and what drew you toward this project.

At first, I was preparing a different, even sillier horror film project. However, when I was asked if I wanted to make it a co-production with Taiwan, I asked if I could rewrite the entire thing. That film was such a silly horror film that I felt bad for the people of Taiwan if I made it a co-production with Taiwan [laughs]. The reason I wanted to write “The Curse” was because an acquaintance of mine said, “My dead friend’s social media account is being updated as if he’s still alive.” I believe there’s a lot of dark secrets on social media, and I wanted to portray that in a film.

Talk about the casting process for this film as you were putting it together, and what drew you to specifically Yukino-san and Ray Fan for their roles?

Yukino-san was originally cast for another project. Even after the film’s plans changed to “The Curse,” she continued to participate. Because we had decided on her from the very beginning, we were able to adapt the script to fit her role, and I believe it was a role that only she could bring to the screen. I chose Ray Fan after watching her acting reel. After watching her video, I felt that she loved acting, understood the intent of the script, and was an actor with an excellent ability to express it. During filming, she consistently led the set with her high-quality acting.

Tell us about the actress who plays the ghost that haunts our characters in this movie. She was amazing!

The incarnation of the curse is played by an actress named Shiho. She played the lead role of the devil in “VISITORS – COMPLETE EDITION” and the alien Orange in “WE ARE ALIENS.” She has also appeared in “WILD VIRGINS” and “INCOMPLETE CHAIRS,” and is a regular in my films. She also loves horror and understands me, so I feel very safe when she is on set.

What would you say was the biggest challenge you faced while making this film?

During the planning stage, I was worried about working with Taiwanese staff and cast for the first time, but they all had truly amazing skills, talent, and humanity, which I quickly realized during the preparatory meetings, so I wasn’t worried at all from the middle of the project, and they actually did a job that was many times better than I had imagined. So, the only challenge was that we might not be able to bring the horror-specific objects we made in Japan into Taiwan. We kept the amount of stuff I brought to a minimum, but I did take a severed head doll and fake blades. I went to Taiwan earlier than anyone else, so I took some with me, but I was a little nervous at the airport, wondering if the staff would take me somewhere [laughs].

The Curse also reunites you with co-star and musician Yutaka Kyan who appears in The Gesuidouz which I really enjoyed. How did you two meet prior to casting him in your films?

The first time I met Yutaka Kyan was during a meeting for “The Gesuidouz.” He’s an air guitarist in an air band called Golden Bomber, but I knew he was also an actor and could actually play bass, so I offered him the role. He’s always thinking about how to make a scene more interesting, and it’s a lot of fun working with him.

I also wanna talk about working with Saori Izawa who also appears in The Gesuidouz for the rare turn in a drama-comedy role. What was it like working with her?

I’ve known Saori Izawa for a long time and have always wanted to work with her. I offered her the role in “The Gesuidouz” because I thought her artistic sensibility would be a good match for the actors playing the band members. I’m planning to film another movie with her this fall. Please look forward to it.

The Curse starts off with a pretty violent death, and the following scene that shows a shelf of mannequin heads kind of had me laughing a little. What was your approach to the film’s comedy and seriousness? And was it difficult to find the balance?

My previous works, such as “VISITORS – COMPLETE EDITION,” “LOVE WILL TEAR US APART,” and “EXTRANEOUS MATTER – COMPLETE EDITION,” are said to have horror elements, but I didn’t think of them as horror and focused on filming the funnier scenes. However, with “THE CURSE,” although there are many funny elements, it is fundamentally a horror story, so it was a first attempt for me. In that sense, it was difficult.

Apart from your professional obligations regarding your time in Taiwan, I’ve never been there myself. What are some of your takeaways from that particular trip? Any recommendations for folks reading this with plans to visit?

Taiwan is a great place to visit any time of year, with delicious food, kind people, and a fascinating culture. Personally, I think the food is better in small restaurants in town than in tourist areas, so I’d encourage anyone visiting Taiwan for the first time to try them. I also love the boiled eggs sold in convenience stores in Taiwan; I eat them every day when I’m in Taiwan, so I’d definitely recommend trying them.

I wanna talk briefly about your trip to New York City and filming I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn, which won you the Bronze Audience Award at Fantasia this year. I hated missing the opportunity to meet a Facebook friend, but I hope your work-stay here was a fun one. Was it your first time here? And what was it like while working with Estevan and Ui-san? 

I once visited New York for a film festival. During that time, I stayed at the home of a film director I know who lives in Brooklyn for three weeks, and was influenced by what I heard and saw, which led me to write the script for “I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn.” New York is a very stimulating city, and whenever I visit it, it inspires me greatly. The filming period in New York was limited, and there were many differences from the filming system in Japan, so it was difficult, but the time we spent together working towards “making a great film” was very precious. Ui-san and Estevan were very easy to talk to, and they also made various suggestions, so I feel a great sense of satisfaction from having worked together to create this film.

Are there any plans to come back somewhere down the line?

If I receive an offer, I would love to shoot a movie in New York again anytime. There are several subjects I would like to shoot, so I am waiting for offers from people who read this article [laughs].

From my count, you’ve had at least five films screening just this year alone, including one you mentioned – Incomplete Chairs – which is screening here in New York City and in the UK in October. It feels like you haven’t stopped, in which case, how do you keep going? 

In the first ten years of my life aspiring to be a film director, I was never given the opportunity to direct a feature film, so as long as I receive offers to direct, I want to continue taking on the challenge. Also, before I die, there are so many casts and crew members I want to work with, film festivals I want to attend, scenery I want to see, and stories I want to tell, so no matter how many films I direct, it’ll never be enough [laughs]. However, I’ve come to realise that there are some things I can’t realise unless I slow down the pace, so I’m thinking of slowing down the pace of filming from the year after next. Probably [laughs].

I don’t know if you’ve ever considered sequels, but is that something you would be interested in? I only ask because I loved The Gesuidouz and if there was ever a sequel to any of your films that I’d look forward to at this juncture, it would be “The Gesuidouz 2,” and I would even say there’s room for more with The Curse in that regard. Your thoughts?

Whenever I get together with the band members from “The Gesuidouz” we always talk about what it would be like to have a sequel. I’m so happy with that film that I feel a lot of pressure to make a sequel, but if I can write a script that I’m happy with and get an offer, I’d love to take on the challenge. My only condition is that it has to be filmed at Glastonbury. Also, have some ideas in mind for a sequel to “The Curse.” I have a plot and scripted some scenes as well, but we still have to wait and see how things go before we know if it will come to fruition.

I wanna talk about Liz Shackleton’s reporting back in May for Deadline, which detailed a development deal between Rights Cube Japan, Federgreen Entertainment and Sine Media Inc. with your name attached, because I’ve been meaning to find out more and these things take time to percolate. Can you share any information about these projects, or others in the pipeline, if any?

I’m currently writing the script for a Canada-Japan co-production project, and I’m sure I’ll have the first draft finished by the time this article is published. However, there are various obstacles to co-producing with other countries, so I’m not sure if we can overcome them. But I hope it will happen. I’m also currently preparing a co-production with Brazil.

For as long as you’ve been directing, what’s are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned in the course of your career that you think other aspiring or current directors who might see this interview should take to heart?

Many people will give you all kinds of advice, but I want you to follow the path you believe in. When I said I wanted to make a film overseas, many people told me it was impossible and that I should continue filming in Japan. However, I have a vision for what I want to achieve in a few years, and last year I was able to film in both New York and Taiwan with casts and crew from both countries. Works that are said to be incomprehensible or dreams that are said to be impossible to achieve are the ones that most people don’t try, and therefore have a higher chance of coming true. I believe that if you have a clear vision, diligently prepare for it, and always work hard, most things can be achieved.