Higurashi When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. When the Cicadas Cry) is a 2008 Japanese live-action movie adaptation of the namesake visual novel. It features elements from Onikakushi and Watanagashi. The film was released overseas with the title Shrill Cries of Summer.
A sequel was released in 2009.
Synopsis[]
Early summer, Keiichi had just moved to a remote mountain village. As he becomes close friends with a group of girls, he was enjoying his life in the village. However when he starts to become suspicious that Rena, Mion and the others that Keiichi trusted may be deeply involved in successive murders that occur every summer, the situation around Keiichi gradually starts to turn. As if the girls' characters had completely changed, a sewing needle is found in his food, he is chased by mysterious men, and is involved in an accident which could have killed him. He could no longer trust anyone, and then... One mystery leads to another, bringing out a shockingly bloody ending!!![1]
Trailer[]
Cast[]
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Keiichi Maebara | Gouki Maeda |
| Rena Ryuugu | Airi Matsuyama |
| Mion Sonozaki | Rin Asuka |
| Rika Furude | Aika |
| Satoko Houjou | Erena Ono |
| Aiko Maebara | Youko Hoshi |
| Ichirou Maebara | Zenkichi Yoneyama |
| Miyo Takano | Ayako Kawahara |
| Rumiko Chie | Hitomi Miwa |
| Jirou Tomitake | Masashi Taniguchi |
| Kuraudo Ooishi | Tetta Sugimoto |
| Kyousuke Irie | Koutaro Tanaka |
Plot Summary[]
The film opens with the sounds of someone swinging something as bloodstains and a bloody corpse appear. On a bus, Keiichi Maebara listens to music on a player as he travels to his destination of Hinamizawa. The bus passes by signs marking the Hinamizawa dam construction site. The opening credits play.
The bus stops at an aptly-labeled Hinamizawa bus stop. Keiichi and his mom get out, with Mrs. Maebara entering a nearby phonebooth and making a call. The date is shown to be June 12th, 1983. Keiichi and his mom walk around the village as a chorus of children sing London Bridge. Keiichi seems to notice someone watching him from behind a window. Keiichi enters the school and is shown around by the teacher Chie. Keiichi looks at the art displayed on the wall as a strange atmosphere develops; he especially notices artwork of demons attacking construction workers.
Chie opens the classroom door and is pelted in the head by a chalkboard eraser that fell from above. The entire class gets up and cheers in excitement. Chie tells everyone to sit back down and sternly asks who set up the prank. Seeing everyone’s silence, the teacher asks a girl Satoko Houjou if she did it. Satoko says it wasn’t her, and then Chie asks the girl next to her, Rika Furude. Rika doesn’t know who did it either. Chie says Rena is on day duty and asks her to begin the morning greetings. Everyone bows and sits back down. Keiichi introduces himself as a transfer student from Tokyo and is directed to sit in the back. As he walks, Satoko, Rika, Rena and Mion Sonozaki give him strange looks. Mion introduces herself as the class president and holds out for a handshake. Keiichi ignores her.
A month later. Keiichi’s mother brings her husband some food as he’s working on a painting. Keiichi rides off on his bike to be shown around the village by his new friends. His parents comment on how Keiichi has now integrated into the community when earlier he wanted to go home a lot. Keiichi’s mom says Rena taught her some cooking.
Mion says the village population is 2000. Nobody ever leaves the village because they love it. Keiichi, Rena, and Mion visit Onigafuchi. They come across a small shrine which was made to calm the demons. Long ago, a demon was born in the village, which is why the place is called Onigafuchi, or Demon’s Mouth.
They go to the Furude Shrine, where Hinamizawa’s guardian deity resides. The girls tell Keiichi that there’ll be a festival at the shrine next Sunday, and since Keiichi is new, he has to pray. Keiichi refuses since he’s not into religious things, but the girls insist that he must give greetings to Oyashiro-sama, otherwise he’ll be cursed. Keiichi reluctantly agrees, and then goes up to a washbasin. Mion and Rena show Keiichi the correct way to pray to Oyashiro-sama. He asks who Oyashiro-sama is even supposed to be, and they explain that he’s a god who’s always protected the village. Satoko and Rika then arrive, the latter wearing a shrine maiden uniform. Keiichi asks about it, and Satoko explains that Rika is the Furude Shrine’s maiden. The group goes off to the ritual storehouse, where Oyashiro-sama’s important tools are. Keiichi is intrigued and begins to walk into it, but Satoko and Rika stop him. Rika informs him that he must avoid it or else he’ll be cursed. Afterwards, Keiichi thanks Rena and Mion for the village tour. Rena says everyone is happy that Keiichi arrived.
Rena and Keiichi go to check out the junkyard, what Rena calls Treasure Mountain. Everyone in the village dumps junk there, including Mion, but Rena loves searching for treasure there. As they explore, Rena explains this used to be a dam construction site, and Hinamizawa would’ve been submerged if the dam were built, but the project was halted. Keiichi is about to ask about the project when they’re interrupted by the sounds of a camera going off. They look to see a cameraman on top of a junk pile looking down on them, and Rena happily identifies him as Tomitake. Tomitake comes down and apologizes for scaring them, wanting to get a good picture since Keiichi and Rena looked romantic in the sunset. Keiichi is introduced to Tomitake. Rena tells Keiichi to wait as she goes off to retrieve something in a nearby junked van. Tomitake asks if Rena is afraid to be coming here when there’s still a missing arm, and Keiichi asks what he means.
Tomitake explains that four years ago, a dismemberment incident happened where the dam construction foreman was murdered, and they still haven’t found one of his arms. Tomitake lights up a cigarette and directs Keiichi to sit down, explaining further that when the dam project was announced, the villagers fought to stop it and the other side was “demoned away”. Keiichi asks about it, and Tomitake explains that one villager will protect another, even if they die. Keichi is about to ask again when Rena finishes retrieving her item. Tomitake bids farewell to the other two and leaves.
Rena says that Tomitake comes by often, so everyone knows him. Keiichi sees that Rena retrieved a small cleaver. Soon after, Keiichi uses the cleaver to hack away at a pile of junk and retrieves a teddy bear for Rena. Keiichi asks if the dam murder incident was true, but Rena is quick to deny it ever happened. Keiichi and Rena leave the junkyard and go home. A white van labeled Okonogi Gardeners arrives and stops near the junkyard, the driver looking out at it.
June 13th. At school, Keiichi and Mion hang out near their lockers when Keiichi sees the name “Satoshi” written on one and asks if that’s a student who graduated. The entire class gives strange looks to Keiichi, and Rena says Satoshi transferred. At the Irie Clinic, the nurse Miyo Takano finishes with a patient and speaks to Doctor Irie. Irie says she can go home, reminding her of a promise she has. Takano changes out of her nurse uniform and puts on some earrings.
Keiichi and Mion fishing
After school, Mion and Keiichi go fishing in the river. Keiichi mentions Rena’s love of the dam site, and asks if the murder incident was true. Mion asks where he heard that from, and Keiichi says Tomitake told him. Mion claims the incident didn’t really happen, and says he shouldn’t worry about outsiders’ stories. Their conversation is interrupted by Mion suddenly catching something on her hook. Mion and Keiichi work together to reel the fish. Takano appears to be watching them from the forest on the other side of the bank. Mion and Keiichi end up losing the catch, when Keiichi notices Takano walking away.
Takano looks through a scrapbook containing old newspaper clippings and photos. Keiichi and Mion catch up to her, and Keiichi is introduced to Takano. Mion explains she’s a nurse at the clinic. Takano says Keiichi’s father came in earlier and asked her to model for his art. Mion asks what she’s doing, Takano says she’s just taking a walk, and asks about the river being the starting point of Onigafuchi. Takano asks Keiichi to come to the clinic sometime.
June 19th. The Watanagashi Festival is in full swing. Mion, Keiichi, and Rena have fun and go to a shooting gallery game, where Mion threatens to write on Keiichi with a marker if he doesn’t win anything. Keiichi fails the shooting gallery, and gets drawn on as punishment. Rika and Satoko soon arrive with Tomitake. Keiichi cleans his face, and sits down with the rest of his friends to watch Rika’s offertory dance. Rena explains that this dance is done before Oyashiro-sama’s speech; a long time ago Oyashiro-sama lived with humans while calming the demons that came out of Onigafuchi, and now protects Hinamizawa. Mion explains that the purpose of Watanagashi is for people to give all their hidden thanks during winter and then wash their hands. Keiichi asks to go to the bathroom, and leaves after being told it's near the ritual storehouse.
After doing his business, Keiichi looks at a strange stone statue and then sees Tomitake entering the ritual storehouse. Takano is inside the storehouse as well, shining a flashlight around and looking at the various implements of torture. Takano is amazed that it’s all as it was written and tells Tomitake to take pictures. Tomitake is reluctant since he feels they’ll be punished. Keiichi then enters the storehouse with them. Rika seems to notice Keiichi is no longer watching her dance and smiles.
Takano asks Keiichi if he knows about the Watanagashi’s history, and explains that in the past, they dismembered humans using these tools. As Rika’s ritual dance is shown reaching its climax where she tears out the cotton from futons, Keiichi imagines the “real” Watanagashi, where a human is hacked apart ceremonially. Takano explains that in Hinamizawa there’s a demon, and once a year they hunger for human flesh and tear apart humans.
Keiichi, Tomitake, and Takano leave the storehouse. Takano says it all began with the dam construction foreman murder four years ago, and explains that more incidents happened yearly: after the foreman murder, Satoko’s father from a cliff while his wife, Satoko’s mother went missing; the next year, Rika’s father the Furude Shrine priest died mysteriously, and his wife, Rika’s mother drowned herself. Last year, a wife was beaten to death by a man and the man went missing; that man was Satoko’s brother Satoshi. Keiichi remembers the name he saw in the class. Takano says the villagers call it Oyashiro-sama’s curse, as it always centered around people who were involved with the dam project. The villagers regard those who support the dam as traitors, and may not realize they’re performing such an evil ritual. Tomitake says Takano’s been researching all of these incidents, and that the curse always happens on the night of Watanagashi; Takano says that can’t be a coincidence, and is sure another sacrifice will happen tonight. Rena and Mion suddenly arrive and retrieve Keiichi, asking why he’s here. They leave Takano and Tomitake alone to do the Watanagashi. Takano stops them only to ask Keiichi to talk slowly with her again sometime.
Tomitake is found dead
June 20th. On a foggy school day, the teacher takes Keiichi to meet Ooishi from the Okinomiya Police Station. Inside of a room, Ooishi begins recording their conversation and asks Keiichi if he was with Tomitake yesterday. Keiichi confirms it and Ooishi says he died, apparently from tearing his throat out; forensic officers are seen photographing Tomitake’s corpse as he says this. Keiichi is confused as to how, but Ooishi doesn’t know either. Ooishi also asks about Tomitake sneaking into the storehouse with Takano, and says she’s been missing since last night. Keiichi recalls Takano’s last words to him.
After the conversation, Keiichi returns to class, where Mion and Rena ask what Chie talked to him about. Keiichi lies and says it’s not important. In a flashback to the conversation with Ooishi, Ooishi stops the recording and asks Keiichi not to talk about this to anyone, not even to his friends. When Keiichi asks why, Ooishi says this incident isn’t known by the villagers yet, but they may be the ones responsible. A rumor went around about Tomitake and Takano sneaking into the storehouse, and so they were killed by an angry Oyashiro-sama. Ooishi then asks about Satoshi, and mentions that he suddenly disappeared after Watanagashi last year.
After school, Keiichi rushes to pack up and go home. His friends ask why he’s going so soon, and Keiichi claims he has a cold. Keiichi leaves the building and Rena chases after him to offer him an umbrella. She asks about the conversation he had at lunch; Keiichi claims it’s nothing, but Rena insists that he can trust her and the others since they’re friends. Keiichi asks where Satoshi went, but Rena claims not to know anything. Keiichi sees she’s lying since he knows the dam foreman incident really did happen, which Rena also claimed not to know about. Rena defends herself but Keiichi accuses her of hiding things and gets angry, saying they aren’t friends then.
Rena’s demeanor turns ominous as she also asks Keiichi about him hiding things, and asks who he talked to before. Keiichi says he just talked to Chie, but Rena yells that he’s lying. Rena knows that Keiichi really talked to Ooishi, her eyes flashing with cat-eye pupils. She takes back the umbrella and goes back inside, leaving the frightened Keiichi alone. Mion looks out at him from the second story window.
Keiichi being bullied
Keiichi goes home and takes a nap. He recalls a memory from his old school where he was bullied. A teacher interrogates Keiichi and asks why he didn't do anything and is being silent, and his parents ask why he's quitting school. He remembers his friends talking about Oyashiro-sama and Rena yelling that he’s lying. After Keiichi wakes up, his father asks him to take a phone call from an Okinomiya store. Keiichi sees it’s actually Ooishi, who pretended to be a bookstore. Ooishi asks for his cooperation and says to be careful about Mion, explaining that her family, the Sonozaki family, was responsible for leading the anti-dam strike four years ago. He also needs to be careful about Rena, as her parents moved away and she now lives with her father. Rena actually left Hinamizawa and returned a year ago, having caused an incident at her school. A flashback occurs to then, where a bloody Rena absentmindedly walks through the school, breaking windows with a bat; she throws aside a student who tries to stop her and scratches at her throat, crying and yelling for Oyashiro-sama to forgive her. Ooishi says Rena always talked about Oyashiro-sama at the clinic and thought he was always watching her. Keiichi asks if he’s saying they’re involved in this case, but Ooishi says it’s better that he keep watch over them.
Keiichi thinks Rena was eavesdropping on him
Keiichi hangs up before Ooishi can finish. Keiichi’s father then arrives and asks if Rena has already left. Keiichi is confused, and his father says she went upstairs earlier; Keiichi realizes that Rena was spying on him and listening to him talk on the phone. Keiichi’s father says she looked worried since Keiichi didn’t look well, and asks if anything happened at school.
June 21st. Keiichi skips school to go to the clinic, where Irie says Keiichi’s fatigue must have piled up. He asks about Keiichi going to the funeral of a relative in Tokyo before the festival, and says his well being must be going down now that he’s in a new environment. Irie then asks if Takano is safe, and asks if Keiichi knows anything since he was with her the night of the festival. Keiichi denies it, and Irie tells him to contact him immediately if he gets some sudden change in his condition. On Irie’s notepad, the phrase “L3” is shown underlined.
Takano's burnt corpse
Ooishi and Keiichi meet at a restaurant in Okinomiya, and are served by a girl in an eyepatch. Ooishi explains that they found a corpse burnt inside of an oil drum and wearing diamond earrings. Ooishi is still looking for proof, but he believes it’s Takano’s. Ooishi comments on Keiichi looking pale, who says that everyone was killed by Oyashiro-sama. Ooishi says they found bruises on Tomitake’s arm, suggesting he was drugged; Ooishi doesn’t think any god could do that. Keiichi asks who could do it then, and Ooishi says the villagers forbid anybody breaking into the ritual storehouse. He mentions another rumor that a third person snuck in with Tomitake and Takano, and asks Keiichi if he knows who it is; Keiichi feigns ignorance. Ooishi begins ordering food and says he lost an important friend to the incidents, and wants Keiichi to trust him and tell him the truth before another incident occurs.
Keiichi goes home to find his parents gone. He sees a painting of Takano his father did, and then finds a note from his parents telling him to take care while they’re gone. Just then, Mion and Rena arrive and ask about his parents, having seen them leave earlier. The girls provide Keiichi with a bento full of ohagi made by Mion’s grandmother, with Rena making one of them. They challenge Keiichi to find out which one Rena made, and will give him a present if he guesses right. They then ask where Keiichi went while he was sick, mentioning that Rena saw someone who looked like Keiichi speaking to a man at an Okinomiya restaurant. Keiichi doesn’t answer, and the girls tells him to get better and come to school tomorrow. Mion pulls out her marker again and reminds him that there'll be punishment if he gets Rena’s ohagi wrong. After the girls leave, Keiichi opens up the ohagi bento and bites into one. As soon as he does, a needle pokes through his cheek, and Keiichi pulls it out in shock as he realizes what Rena has done.
June 22nd. Keiichi’s friends leave him by himself as he rests at his desk, his cheek bandaged. Alone, he goes into Satoshi’s locker and finds a metal baseball bat with Satoshi’s name on the handle. Keiichi asks how much Satoshi really knew and does some practice swings. Mion returns to the classroom and says Satoshi was also doing practice swings like that, started acting weird, and stopped talking to people, just like Keiichi’s doing. Everyone loved Satoshi, and yet he started to doubt them and was transferred. Keiichi is sure the transferring is a lie, and brings up the fact Satoshi disappeared after Watanagashi; he believes Oyashiro-sama killed Satoshi, and his corpse just hasn’t been found yet.
Mion yells at him to stop saying things like that, insisting that Satoshi isn’t dead. Keiichi also gets angry and says that the village is messed up, what with its curses and killing people they distrust. Mion affirms his beliefs, cutting off some of her hair with a pair of scissors and saying they’re all screwed up because of the curse. She says they created a rule allowing them to kill anyone who doesn’t like the village on the night of Watanagashi, year after year. Mion grabs Keiichi and shakes him, wanting to know why Satoshi fell victim to the curse and saying that he’s different from him. Keiichi asks what he did wrong, but Mion says everyone knows he snuck into the ritual storehouse, so of course he’d be killed. Mion pushes him to the ground and declares he’ll be Oyashiro-sama’s sacrifice, and pulls off the bandage on his cheek. Mion starts laughing madly as Keiichi wonders if she’s really Mion, and runs off with his bat.
Keiichi goes home to find a message left on his answering machine by his parents, saying they still can’t go home. He gets another message from Ooishi asking to call him back; there, Ooishi says they found that Takano’s death was caused a long time before the Watanagashi, so she should’ve been dead before Keiichi met her that night. Keiichi suddenly lets go of the phone and starts clutching at his throat, feeling something weird before the sensation disappears. Keiichi’s house fills with fog as Rena rings the doorbell several times and starts clawing at his door, asking if he guessed which ohagi was hers. Rena starts rattling the door, demanding to know why Keiichi won’t let her in; when he opens in, Rena starts trying to cut the chain lock with her cleaver. Keiichi rushes to close the door, but Rena keeps trying to undo the lock with her hand, asking if his mom isn’t home. Keiichi slams the door again and closes it on Rena’s fingers, and she starts screaming in pain. Keiichi tells her to never come to his house again, and she promises to do so, freeing her hand and running away.
Keiichi cornered by a horde of villagers
When Keiichi turns, he finds Rena suddenly inside of his house. He grabs his bat and runs away, only to see the Okonogi Gardeners van driving towards him trying to run him down. Keiichi gets off the road and runs into a field, prompting the van to stop and several uniformed men to get out and chase him. Hordes of armed villagers also appear and chase Keiichi to the Furude Shrine. The villagers finally stop when they reach the top, where Rika in her shrine maiden outfit and Satoko are waiting for Keiichi. Rika says this is the end. Keiichi tries to fight the villagers, but they all surround him.
Keiichi narrates, wondering how this all happened, and then wakes up in bed. He finds Rena waiting for him, who says she was worried since he had a high fever. Mion arrives with some towels, and Keiichi gets confused; Rena says he seemed to be having a nightmare. Keiichi is relieved that it was just a dream, and Rena takes off his shirt so she and Mion can clean his sweat. Keiichi is happy and begins to talk about his nightmare, but then he grabs Rena’s hand and sees it’s bandaged from slamming it in his door. Rena and Mion start acting creepy and ask Keiichi where his parents went, finding it weird they haven’t come back yet. Mion then pulls out a syringe, reminding Keiichi that there'd be a punishment game if he didn’t solve the ohagi problem. Keiichi tries to grab his bat but knocks it over. Some time later, Keiichi wakes up and thinks it was just a dream, but then he notices Rena and Mion’s corpses in his room, and the bloodstains all over his room and himself, realizing that he beat them to death with his bat.
The paramedics take away Rena and Mion’s corpses, and the Okonogi Gardeners van returns to observe. Forensic officers get pictures of the scene in Keiichi’s room. Ooishi observes the cuckoo clock in Keiichi’s room and finds some written memos hidden behind them. He hides them in his pocket as Irie also examines the scene. Outside, Ooishi says Keiichi’s whereabouts are still unknown as Irie says he wants to get to him as soon as possible.
Keiichi crawls out of the phone booth while clawing this throat out and bleeding
Back at the station, Ooishi is sitting around late at night when he looks at the memos he found in Keiichi’s room. Just then, he gets a phone call from Keiichi. Inside a phone booth, Keiichi is scratching his throat to death as he asserts that Oyashiro-sama is here and watching over him. The horrified Ooishi asks what he’s doing as Keiichi stumbles out of the phone booth, continuing to scratch himself to death. He looks up and sees a horned figure standing over him, recognizing it as Oyashiro-sama as he apologizes. Ooishi arranges an emergency car to pick up Keiichi, only to see he’s too late. Keiichi finally bleeds out to the point of unconsciousness.
Takano is revealed to be alive and watching Irie tending to Keiichi
At a debriefing meeting, Ooishi tells officers about the recent incident involving Keiichi killing two of his female classmates. There’s no evidence as to his reason, but they found memos written by Keiichi behind his clock. One memo said it had the syringe Mion had, however it had a marker taped to it, implying someone used it before they got to the room. Another memo written by Keiichi is considered the truth and the motive, which Ooishi reads out. Meanwhile at the clinic, Irie tends to the still-alive Keiichi. Takano watches them while smoking a cigarette. Keiichi starts crying as his vital signs drop, seemingly imagining himself continuing to have fun with Rena and Mion. Keiichi’s memos are shown during the credits.
Comparisons to Source Material[]
  This article or section contains untagged major spoilers for all of the original Higurashi When They Cry story and possibly the console-exclusive arcs. Readers who have not completed the story are advised not to proceed further. |
The film adapts elements from Onikakushi and Watanagashi.
- In Tatarigoroshi Day 11, Keiichi narrates that Satoko's eraser trap happened to him the first day he transferred. In the film, the trap happens to Chie.
- In Onikakushi, Keiichi helps Rena free a Colonel Sanders statue. In the film, Keiichi helps her free a teddy bear.
- In Onikakushi, Keiichi hears about the dismemberment incident from Tomitake, learns about the dam war from Mion, and then learns the full details about the dismemberment from a magazine later. In the film, Keiichi learns about these details from Tomitake during their first meeting.
- In Watanagashi, Keiichi was led away from Rika's dance by Shion Sonozaki appearing and taking him to meet Tomitake and Takano. In the film, Shion does not seem to exist; Keiichi leaves Rika's dance to use the bathroom and chances upon Tomitake and Takano while returning.
- In Watanagashi, the ritual storehouse is locked with a padlock, which Tomitake had to break. In the film there does not appear to be a padlock, allowing Tomitake to freely enter it.
- In Onikakushi, Keiichi and Ooishi meet at a restaurant suggested to be Angel Mort. In the film, they meet at a real-life restaurant called Alhambra.
- In Onikakushi, Takano went missing while in Watanagashi her burnt corpse was found.
- Keiichi being bullied in the past is a new detail made up for the film.
- In Onikakushi, as revealed in Tsumihoroboshi, Keiichi did not actually eat an ohagi with a needle in it and hallucinated the taste of tabasco sauce as a needle prick. In the film, Keiichi seems to actually eat a needle that pierces through his cheek, and he bleeds and bandages his wound.
- In Onikakushi, when Keiichi does his practice swings with Satoshi's bat, he does so in the school yard. Rena points out the similarities between him and Satoshi later. In the film he does his swings in the classroom, soon after finding the bat; Mion is the one who points out the similarities with him and Satoshi.
- At the end of Onikakushi Keiichi died at the hospital as a result of clawing at his throat and bleeding out. In the film, Keiichi's fate is ambiguous as his vital signs in the clinic are shown dropping, but not flatlining.
- In Onikakushi, when Keiichi wrote his note on the back of the clock, he wrote it on a folded piece of paper and pointed out that the syringe (actually a marker as shown in Tsumihoroboshi) has a drug used to kill Tomitake, with the portion about the syringe and marker being removed by an unknown person before the police arrived, leaving two separate pieces of paper. In the film, both halves of the memo are found sealed inside individual envelopes, with Ooishi discovering the "syringe".
Gallery[]
Promotional Material[]
Screenshots[]
Related Media[]
Trivia[]
Ryukishi and BT
- Ryukishi07 and BT make cameo appearances. They can be seen in the crowd during the Watanagashi Festival.
References[]
External Links[]
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