"Bighead O," a notorious urban legend from the Japanese internet forum 2ch, tells the story of a protagonist who revisits a fondly remembered mountain village, only to find a bizarre, broken sign reading "Bighead O." In the desolate village, they encounter a strange, unidentified creature with an abnormally large head moving in a disturbing manner.
On August 20, distribution company Fine Films officially announced that the internet urban legend "Bighead O" is being adapted into a feature film. The movie will be directed by Ryota Kondo, starring Kentaro Maeda and featuring Shiori Kubo. It is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide in Japan on December 25.
The urban legend of "Bighead O" was born in 2006 from a short, first-hand account posted on the online forum 2ch.
The poster claimed that upon returning to a village they had visited in the past, they found a strange sign that read "Bighead O" instead of the village's actual name. Beyond the sign lay a dilapidated, abandoned village and an "unidentified creature" of questionable humanity—it had an unnaturally large head and was lurching towards the poster with a side-to-side sway. What is "Bighead O"? What happened in that village?
The original post was incredibly brief and offered almost no explanation about the creature or the village's fate. Furthermore, on the same day the story was posted, someone using the same ID shared a completely different ghost story. This led some to believe the back-to-back, unrelated paranormal tales were unnatural, suggesting the story was likely a work of fiction rather than a real experience.
However, the story's brevity left a massive void for the imagination to fill. Questions like, "What does the 'O' on the sign mean?" and "What exactly was that thing?" have fueled online speculation for years, allowing "Bighead O" to persist as one of Japan's most enduring internet urban legends.
▼ The official website was even designed to mimic the old-school 2ch forum layout.
The film is directed by Ryota Kondo, known for his work on *The Missing Child Videotape*, with a screenplay by Noriyuki Kaneko.
Director Kondo revealed that the movie's story was born from a single question about the original legend, in which the poster survives: "What fate awaited him after that?" This idea became the jumping-off point for the film's narrative.
The film adaptation will use the original creepy tale as a foundation to build a completely new, original story.
The protagonist is 27-year-old Haruma Takao. Twenty years ago, Haruma's father, Tetsuya, traveled to a deserted village deep in the mountains for work. Upon his return, he was a changed man, as if terrified by something he had seen, and ultimately took his own life.
In 2026, the death of his mother prompts Haruma to finally confront the truth about his father's death, a memory he has long suppressed. Using his father's diary as a guide, his investigation leads him to a series of bizarre disappearances and mysterious rituals conducted in the mountain village. At the end of his search, he closes in on a monstrous entity known as "Bighead O."
Playing the lead role of Haruma Takao is Kentaro Maeda. After starring in *Kamen Rider REVICE*, he appeared in series like *The Goddess's Classroom*, and this film marks his first leading role in a movie. Maeda will portray Haruma, a young man on a journey to uncover the truth behind his father's death.
Haruma's fiancée, Shiho Tajima, is played by Shiori Kubo. Active in acting since her time in Nogizaka46, Kubo has appeared in the NHK Taiga drama *What to Do with Ieyasu?* and the film *Until We Meet Again*, earning acclaim in both film and stage productions. Known for her ability to delicately capture emotional shifts, Kubo will play the intelligent, gentle, and strong-willed Shiho.
In other words, this film takes a short, creepy tale thrown onto the internet nearly 20 years ago—one with no explanation, no resolution, and no real ending—and expands it into a full-length feature by imagining "what happened next."
The teaser trailer features the iconic "Bighead O" sign, an ominous mountain path, and the silhouette of a mysterious figure with a giant head. Fans are undoubtedly curious to see if director Ryota Kondo, who has gained attention for his work in the horror genre, can deliver a stunning and terrifying big-screen adaptation of this classic urban legend.
▼ "Bighead O" Teaser Trailer
via： X@映画『巨頭オ』