Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting Announce Acquisition of Shinzô Katayama's MISSING

Dark Star Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to crime thriller MISSING as part of its ongoing collaboration with Bloody Disgusting. Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan a US theatrical release for MISSING on November 4, 2022, an On Demand release on November 18, 2022, and the Blu Ray release for the film to follow on December 6, 2022.

MISSING had its World Premiere at Busan International Film Festival, before screening at Fantasia International Film Festival and will have its US Premiere at Fantastic Fest in September 2022.

MISSING is written and directed by Shinzô Katayama. The movie stars Aoi Ito (Her Love Boils Bathwater, KASANE-Beauty and Fate, Gangoose), Jiro Sato (Brothers in Brothel, New Interpretation Records of the Three Kingdoms, Gintama) and Hiroya Shimizu (The World of Kanako, Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy, Sadako).

Depressed and in debt following the death of his wife, Santoshi (Jiro Sato) tells his young daughter he has found a way out. Pointing to a reward note, he vows to find the infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu) and cash in, claiming to have seen the man in the flesh a few days earlier. Kaeda (Aoi Ito) cannot take her aloof father serious. But when he goes missing without a trace, she starts to fear the worst—and must begin looking for him.

After working as an assistant director for Japanese films, including Nobuhiro Yamashita’s works, filmmaker Shinzô Katayama crossed paths with Bong Joon-Ho while shooting “TOKYO!” (2008) and served as his assistant director on “Mother” (2009). In 2019, his debut feature, “Siblings of the Cape ” was selected by numerous domestic and international film festivals. He now is one of the most promising, emerging directors in Japan, and his second feature, MISSING (“Sagasu /さがす”) will be his commercial film debut. “Director Shinzô Katayama has beautifully crafted a story that will keep audiences on their toes. We could not be more excited to spotlight this emerging talent and add this gem to our ongoing partnership with our friends at Bloody Disgusting.” said Dark Star Pictures President, Michael Repsch. Bloody Disgusting's Brad Miska continued: "MISSING is a nonstop engaging thriller that erupts into a helluva shocking finale. We can't wait to play this game of cat-and-mouse with horror fans."

Dark Star Pictures President Michael Repsch negotiated the deal with Gabrielle Rozing at Fortissimo Film Sales on behalf of the filmmakers.