Bloat: Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic Japanese horror film earns an R rating

Nearly three years have gone by since we heard that Ben McKenzie (Gotham) and Bojana Novakovic (Beyond Skyline) were the stars of the Japanese horror film Bloat, which had already started filming at that time. Now, it looks like Bloat might finally be almost ready to make its way out into the world, as the Motion Picture Association ratings board has announced that they’ve given the film an R rating for language and some violent content. The film will be released by Lionsgate, but they haven’t set a release date for it yet.

Written and directed by Tokyo-based filmmaker Pablo Absento, Bloat is a co-production between Timur Bekmambetov‘s company Bazelevs, the Russian streaming service Okko, French production and sales company Pulsar Content, and Japanese production company flag Co., Ltd. Filming took place in New York and Japan. Bloat does indeed use Bekmambetov’s Screenlife filmmaking technique, “in which the story unfolds on the screens of the devices used by the movie’s characters.” So this is something along the lines of Unfriended, Searching, etc.

Bloat tells the story of a military officer stationed in Turkey while his wife is vacationing in Japan with their kids. During the stay, their younger son almost drowns in a lake. Soon after the accident, the parents realize that something is wrong with their boy.

Sawyer Jones (Antlers) and Malcolm Fuller (New Amsterdam) are also in the cast.

McKenzie and Absento produced the film with Bekmambetov, Maria Zatulovskaya, and Anna Shalashina of Bazelevs; Gilles Sousa and Marie Garrett of Pulsar Content; Hiroko Oda of flag Co., Ltd; and Dzhanik Fayziev of Okko. The Fantasia Film Festival’s artistic director Mitch Davis and Aleksandr Fomin serve as associate producers.

This marks the feature directorial debut of Absento, who previously directed the short films Call My Name, Shi, and Slit. Variety noted that she has also directed several episodes of SMA Horror (Smartphone Horror), a series produced by Takashi Shimizu, the creator of the Ju-on / Grudge franchise.

Does Bloat sound interesting to you, and are you glad to hear that it has finally been given a rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.