Jiko Bukken
Feature Film
2026
Overview
Hilman (35), a successful entrepreneur who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, decides to spend the remainder of his life in Japan. Seeking the warmth of a family he never truly had, he rents an old akiya—a traditional vacant house—and hires a “rent-a-family” service to fulfill his fantasy of a perfect household.
But the house is not what it seems. It is a jikobukken—a stigmatized property marked by a violent past—haunted by the spirit of Yoriko, a young woman who was murdered by her own family years ago.
When the actors playing Hilman’s rented family flee after experiencing terrifying apparitions, Hilman finds himself alone in the house with Yoriko. The spirit presents him with a chilling choice: help her take revenge on those responsible for her death, or remain with her forever as her eternal companion.
Hilman chooses the latter.
Bound by a supernatural pact, he survives far beyond the doctor’s prognosis—but at a terrible cost. His identity slowly erodes, leaving behind an empty shell controlled by Yoriko. In the end, Hilman finally gains the “family” he longed for—only in its most horrifying form: an eternal existence as the captive of a vengeful spirit, trapped within a house that has become both their home and their grave.
But the house is not what it seems. It is a jikobukken—a stigmatized property marked by a violent past—haunted by the spirit of Yoriko, a young woman who was murdered by her own family years ago.
When the actors playing Hilman’s rented family flee after experiencing terrifying apparitions, Hilman finds himself alone in the house with Yoriko. The spirit presents him with a chilling choice: help her take revenge on those responsible for her death, or remain with her forever as her eternal companion.
Hilman chooses the latter.
Bound by a supernatural pact, he survives far beyond the doctor’s prognosis—but at a terrible cost. His identity slowly erodes, leaving behind an empty shell controlled by Yoriko. In the end, Hilman finally gains the “family” he longed for—only in its most horrifying form: an eternal existence as the captive of a vengeful spirit, trapped within a house that has become both their home and their grave.