Evil Does Not Exist

Play trailer

1:59

Evil Does Not Exist

Released May 3, 2024

1h 46m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

163 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency's plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Evil Does Not Exist stands on the battle lines between modern civilization and the natural world, offering a perspective that's as quietly measured as it is entrancing.

Read Critics Reviews

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

It’s about how the indigo darkness of a forest at night becomes a blanket, and about how the arrival of strangers can change a place (or change the strangers), and about the idea of something precious being forever lost.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 22, 2024

Full Review

Justin Chang

NPR

As he's done before, Hamaguchi gives us characters who are too complicated and richly drawn to be reduced to any one type. Yet that doesn't explain how hauntingly different this movie feels from his other work.

May 14, 2024

Full Review

Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (LAist)

It does reflect some of the struggles in modern Japan between rural and urban, but I thought it was a little bit too slow and not up to par.

May 13, 2024

Full Review

Ryan Swen

Taipei Mansions

Hamaguchi constantly searches for a new means of conveying an essential mystery of human behavior; here, he has found yet another realm to ponder.

Sep 5, 2025

Full Review

Samantha Schuster

Cinéfilo Serial

A film that offers a stinging critique through its effective use of visual and audio elements that create a tense atmosphere rooted in nature. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 18, 2025

Full Review

Anna Hoang

Boston Hassle

While ambiguous motives are concealed behind the sparsely translated images and off-screen gunshots, the borderline surrealism finds itself present within the negative space and unspoken desire.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 13, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

Michael Marchaino

this movie touched me in many ways. LOVED THE STORYLINE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE Plot LOVED THE ACTING PARTICULARLY THE YOUNG boy and his interaction with the corporate entity imposing the building lot clamping site and the environmental impact to the streams. hat ran. downhill

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/24

Full Review

Sue

Soooo slow. And yet.sooo ambiguous

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/27/24

Full Review

Marsh

Ryusuke did it again!! Really enjoyed this film as much as I did Drive My Car. The story, tempo, and cinematography were great!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/26/24

Full Review

Pete D

Though the film had some great moments other moments mDe the the film feel disjointed and were shot oddly. I think there are some cultural contexts that perhaps that I don't understand.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/24/24

Full Review

Roy J

Very slow start, but drama gets intriguing. Nice to see some corporate employees having empathy for the villagers and not just being greedy evil people. These characters wouldn't have existed in an American set movie. I liked it, but not sure I understood the ending.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/24

Full Review

ALR

Absolutely terrible movie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/19/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Director

Hitoshi Omika

Takumi

Ryo Nishikawa

Hana

Ryuji Kosaka

Takahashi

Ayaka Shibutani

Actor

Hazuki Kikuchi

Actor

Perfect Days

96%

93%

Perfect Days

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Perfect Days

In Our Day

100%

%

In Our Day

Watchlist

Little Women

95%

92%

Little Women

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Little Women

Love Life

87%

92%

Love Life

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Love Life

Oceans Are The Real Continents

100%

%

Oceans Are The Real Continents

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Oceans Are The Real Continents

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Awards Leaderboard: Best Movies of 2024

Evil Does Not Exist: Trailer 1

1:59

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency's plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.

Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Producer: Satoshi Takata
Screenwriter: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Distributor: Sideshow / Janus Films
Production Co: Fictive , NEOPA
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $829.6K
Runtime: 1h 46m

Most Popular at Home Now