Yûta Shimotsu's New Group presents an intermittently amusing Japanese social satire on conformity that combines body-bending sci-fi elements with horror. The narrative follows two outsider students at a super-strict high school: Ai, played by Anna Yamada, is an unpopular pupil who has always attempted to fit in, while Yu, portrayed by Yuzu Aoki, is a transfer student who deliberately resists peer pressure. As the school environment degenerates, students begin forming themselves into human pyramids and transforming into mindless drones, signaling that something extremely peculiar is at work.
Although fans of The Faculty, Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Williamson's 1998 high-school adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, may find similarities, New Group offers a less straightforward narrative. The film prioritizes eeriness and mystery over fun and games, earning praise for its groupthink set-pieces where students act en masse as a giant, many-celled organism. The choreography and image-making are described as fantastic, focusing on the human body as the basis for memorable stunts. Similar to Zach Cregger's recent Resident Evil, multi-limbed mutants are performed by human dancers and acrobats with circus-style skills, augmented only by a smattering of FX. While CGI is utilized, it is not the sole focus, creating a tangible sense of physical bodies on the line.
Despite these visual strengths, the main characters are considered less substantial, with expectations that their dynamic could have taken on a punchier form. The review suggests that a central romance reminiscent of Heathers, featuring Winona Ryder's iconoclast and Christian Slater's misanthropic new student, could have helped New Group become a high-school horror classic. However, as Shimotsu's second feature, the film demonstrates flashes of brilliance and establishes him as a talent to watch, even if it lacks the engaging characters required to take it to the next level.
Sources: The Guardian Film.