Japanese director Yûta Shimotsu’s latest movie, Best Wishes To All, offers a chilling narrative that starts with promise but gradually slips into an over-the-top tale of ritualistic sacrifice. While the film opens with a slow, deliberate pace that deserves commendation, it ultimately feels disjointed—like watching two separate stories stitched awkwardly together. The result is a puzzling blend that both intrigues and frustrates.
At its core, Best Wishes To All explores themes of family, generational pressures, and the elusive quest for happiness. The film poses thought-provoking questions about whether happiness is self-evident or something to be discovered. Though the story’s answers become muddled by the end, its initial setup invites viewers to reflect on these profound ideas. The plot follows a young nursing student, played by Kotone Furukawa, who returns home to visit her grandparents in the countryside during a school break. What begins as a warm reunion soon unravels into something far darker when she uncovers a disturbing family secret involving ritualistic sacrifice.
For much of the movie’s first half, Shimotsu masterfully cloaks the strange happenings at the grandparents’ house in shadow and ambiguity. The line between reality and anxiety blurs, keeping audiences engaged and guessing. Strange noises, locked doors, and the eerie behavior of the grandparents cultivate a sense of ominous dread reminiscent of psychological thrillers. When the mystery is maintained, the film exerts a genuinely chilling effect, inviting speculation and unease.
However, the movie falters when it reveals what lurks behind the locked door, drawing inevitable comparisons to films like The Visit. The unsettling images and disturbing visuals, while effective at times, occasionally feel like distractions meant to cover narrative shortcomings. The film seems eager to make a bold statement on societal and familial issues, but this message becomes lost amid horror tropes and eerie imagery.
Despite these flaws, horror aficionados may appreciate the film’s willingness to embrace its more bizarre elements without descending into camp. The tonal shift between the meticulous first half and the more theatrical latter half provides a jolt, if not a fully satisfying payoff. While Best Wishes To All is unlikely to become a cult classic, it exemplifies how even a flawed horror movie can ignite imagination and reflect societal nightmares.
Best Wishes To All will be available to stream on Shudder starting June 13, 2025.
For those interested in exploring more about movie genres or gaining insight into psychological thrillers, this film offers a unique, if uneven, addition to the film industry.
