International Premiere
22nd Annual New York Asian Film Festival
Mayhem Girls
メイヘムガールズ
Imagine the already oppressed life of Japanese teenagers with the added stress of the pandemic. Buzz-killing teachers militantly enforce masks and social distancing yet neglect the repercussions of their students’ pent-up aggression. The icing on the cake? The highly anticipated end of the school year cultural festival is cancelled. In this milieu a small gaggle of previously unassociated high school girls, centered around the humbly charismatic Mizuho, form a tight-knit clique when their typically adolescent hormonal changes are suddenly manifested by… supernatural powers! A brief but glorious time of the girls just hanging out and enjoying their metaphysical magic together with gleeful abandon ensues. Naturally Mizuho’s would-be romance with an unassuming ne'er-do-well older boy and the seductive trappings of avarice open a Pandora’s box of true mayhem. The whole affair is an insightful encapsulation of burgeoning adulthood dilemmas thinly veiled by a veneer of exuberantly anarchic, special effects-laden, popcorn entertainment.
Director: Shinichi Fujita
Cast: Mizuki Yoshida, Manami Igashira, Amane Kamiya, Hina Kikuchi
Languages: Japanese with English subtitles
2022; 98 min.
MAYHEM GIRLS - MOVIE TRAILER