Ryōsuke (Masaki Suda) works at a clothing factory and moonlights by hoarding various goods – from handbags to dolls – which he resells online under the alias Ratel, of course at heavily marked-up prices. For Ryōsuke, online selling is like a game, and he doesn’t care about the authenticity of the products he sells, let alone the harm he causes others. When an old school friend suggests a new business idea, Ryōsuke jumps at the opportunity. Along for the ride is his bored girlfriend, Akiko. The couple moves to the suburbs, mainly to get more space for merchandise after making serious money. But danger lurks just around the corner as the number of scammed customers and disgruntled suppliers grows, and the consequences of Ratel’s online antics begin to spill into the real world – with bloody results. Soon, Ryōsuke finds himself on the run, pursued by the victims of his own fraud. The chaos draws in a colourful cast of self-appointed vigilantes and even a former yakuza member.
Having explored internet paranoia already in the early 2000s with Pulse, Kiyoshi Kurosawa proves with his latest work that he’s still at the top of his game. A master of building suspense, Kurosawa crafts a fast-paced revenge thriller out of anonymous online communication, gig economy pressures, and the ruthless world of social media – full of twists and surprises.
KIYOSHI KUROSAWA (b. 1955), known as a master of Japanese horror and psychological thrillers and for his fluid transitions across genres, began his career in the 1970s within Japan’s studio system, making pink films and straight-to-video works. His international breakthrough came with the chilling serial killer film Cure (1997). Other notable works in his career include the internet ghost story Pulse (2001) and the family drama Tokyo Sonata (2008). Cloud (2024) is Kurosawa’s 28th feature film. In addition to his prolific directing career, he has served as a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Kurosawa cites Alfred Hitchcock and Yasujirō Ozu as his key influences.
Inari Ylinen