EST N8 Acquires Japanese Thriller The Invisible Half From Debut Filmmaker Masaki Nishiyama

Lisa Siera stars in The Invisible Half, a chilling new Japanese thriller blending social realism and supernatural terror.

Japanese Horror Finds Its Voice: EST N8 Picks Up Masaki Nishiyama’s The Invisible Half

Los Angeles-based sales, production, and finance company EST N8 has acquired international sales rights to the Japanese supernatural thriller The Invisible Half, the haunting debut feature from writer-director Masaki Nishiyama. The deal was first reported by Deadline.

After its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival, The Invisible Half is poised to bring a distinctly modern twist to Japanese horror — fusing the genre’s psychological roots with the technology-fueled anxieties of the digital age.

The story centers on Elena, a mixed-race (“half”) Japanese high school student who relocates to a rural town and begins to suspect she’s being watched — not just by wary locals, but by something unseen, something monstrous that only appears through her smartphone screen and earphones. As isolation deepens and her paranoia grows, the film blurs the boundaries between alienation, identity, and the supernatural.

Starring Lisa Siera, Miyu Okuno, and Runa Hirasawa, the film’s visual design features VFX by Cao Moji (Godzilla Minus One) and cinematography by Shuhei Yamamoto (Rohan au Louvre), promising a sleek yet chilling aesthetic that bridges Japan’s art-house traditions with genre intensity. The film was produced by Atsushi Sakamoto (Smahorror) and Noboru Suzuki (Tatsumi).

In a statement, Sophie Shi, head of EST N8 Studios, praised Nishiyama’s debut:

“The Invisible Half is a bold and deeply personal vision that blends social realism with supernatural terror. Nishiyama’s voice as a first-time filmmaker represents the future of Japanese horror on the global stage.”

The acquisition was brokered by Sophie Shi and Cathy Ni for EST N8. The company’s growing slate also includes Dear Stranger, The Hole, Pabrik Gula, and the Korean action film Mash Ville — underscoring its expanding footprint in Asian genre cinema.

With its fusion of digital dread and cultural identity, The Invisible Half is shaping up to be one of Japan’s most talked-about exports — a fresh step forward in the evolution of modern horror.

Source: Deadline