The Forest of Love

In THE FOREST OF LOVE, a group of aspiring filmmakers befriend Shin (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), a young musician and overall weirdo who has just moved to Japan. When it's discovered that Shin is still a virgin, they take him to meet Taeko (Kyoko Hinami), who is known for sleeping around in the aftermath of her failed suicide attempt. Taeko refuses, but takes them to an old friend of hers from the all-girls high school they attended -- a now-reclusive young woman named Mitsuko, who still mourns the death of her first love "Romeo." Upon seeing her still living in the past, Taeko is angered and implores Mitsuko to pick up the pieces and move on. Meanwhile, the news reports of a serial killer on the rampage. After they leave MItsuko's house, Mitsuko gets a mysterious phone call from a man named Joe Murata (Kippei Shina), who tells her that he owes her the 50 yen he borrowed from her many years ago, and would like to pay her back. She decides to meet up with him, and the two soon begin a torrid affair. Murata claims to be, among other things, a Harvard- and MIT-trained genius working undercover for the CIA, but is actually a pop star. He immediately seduces and manipulates everyone in Mitsuko's life, and as the aspiring filmmakers start to film Murata and Mitsuko on the sly, Taeko warns them to stay away from him. Taeko tells them of the past affair she had with Murata, which only serves to increase their obsessions with Murata. Soon Murata meets the filmmakers and insists on making a movie with them. The movie, about a serial killer, soon spins out of control, as Murata uses his charisma and powers of manipulation into a kind of Manson-esque sex and death cult, leading to Mitsuko to turn against her family, and the filmmakers to turn on each other as they engage in acts like binge drinking, making Mitsuko's parents dress like punk rockers, and succumbing to Murata's assorted acts of sadism.