The Long-Haired Girl in the Attic Is Getting Another Live-Action, Again a Three-Country Co-Production

Junji Ito's The Long Hair in the Attic has been officially confirmed for a new horror film adaptation, with production shared by Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. The live-action project is being produced by Toei, M Studio, and Showbox, directed by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri, and is currently scheduled to begin filming in 2027. For now, those are the only confirmed details, with more information still to come from official channels.

The immediate appeal is easy to see. Junji Ito adaptations tend to work especially well as communal horror: the kind of thing that's unsettling alone, but turns into a mix of dread and nervous laughter when watched with friends. The Long Hair in the Attic is exactly that sort of premise. Even the title sounds like the setup to a late-night ghost story.

The source manga first appeared as a short story in 1988, was adapted into a film once before in 2000, and returned again in 2023 as part of Netflix's Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre. So this is not some newly rediscovered property. It is an established horror piece that has already proved it can survive multiple formats, which says a lot about how memorable its core idea is.

What makes this version more interesting is not simply that it is getting another live-action remake. It is the three-country production setup. Japan, South Korea, and Thailand each bring very different horror instincts: Japanese horror is often strongest at pure eeriness, Korean live-action thrillers usually hit harder on pacing, and Thai horror has a particular talent for making viewers laugh one moment and feel a chill the next. Put together, that combination is hard not to be curious about.

In the original story, the heroine Xiao Jing grows her hair long to suit her boyfriend's preferences. After the relationship ends, she tries to cut it, and an accident follows. In Junji Ito's hands, the point is never just heartbreak. It is the way something ordinary starts to bend out of shape until it becomes a nightmare.

That also explains why live-action is such a tricky fit for horror manga. The irrational, warped quality that works on the page can become oppressive in the best case, or flat in the worst, once it has to exist on a real human face. Since The Long Hair in the Attic already got a film adaptation in 2000, this new production starting in 2027 feels like another attempt to revisit a classic short work with newer filmmaking tools and a broader international team.

If you already like watching horror movies with friends, this is one to keep on the list. Junji Ito's work often plays better that way: less suffocating than a solo watch, and more fun when a few sharp-tongued viewers are reacting in real time. The real question now is whether this adaptation will lean into a colder, more atmospheric style or push harder for stronger visual shock once the cast, trailer, and release details arrive.

At the moment, the confirmed facts are still limited: a Japan-South Korea-Thailand co-production, Sitisiri Mongkolsiri in the director's chair, and filming set to begin in 2027. Everything else will have to wait for official updates. Still, for horror fans, especially those who prefer watching with company, that is already enough to put the film on the radar.