- Title: Coronavirus not scary enough? Meet Tokyo's zombies
- Date: 3rd July 2020
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 3, 2020) (REUTERS) ACTORS IN ZOMBIE COSTUMES AND MAKEUP POSING IN FRONT OF CAR VARIOUS OF ACTORS POSING AND MOANING ACTORS PERFORMING HORROR SHOW IN FRONT OF CAR ONE ACTOR CUTTING ANOTHER ACTOR'S THROAT / FAKE BLOOD BEING SPLASHED ON CAR'S WINDSCREEN VARIOUS OF ZOMBIE ACTOR CLINGING TO CAR'S WINDSCREEN VARIOUS OF ZOMBIE ACTORS HITTING WINDSCREEN AND SHAKING CAR (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) HAUNTED HOUSE PRODUCER AT KOWAGARASETAI, KENTA IWANA, SAYING: "If we use (a form of) drive-in, we can avoid close contact (between guests and actors) because you are inside of a car. So I came up with the idea. And I'm sure this would be the first (combination of) 'drive-in and haunted house' in Japan and I thought we could get exposure if we did it. This is how I started." VARIOUS OF ACTOR PUTTING ON MAKEUP ACTOR PUTTING CONTACT LENS IN EYE ACTOR PUTTING ON ZOMBIE MAKEUP VARIOUS OF ACTORS WARMING UP BEFORE HORROR SHOW (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) HAUNTED HOUSE PRODUCER AT KOWAGARASETAI, KENTA IWANA, SAYING: "In places like amusement parks, they have guidelines (to prevent the virus spread) such as 'must not scream'. So there are no places to scream. But this drive-in haunted house is a completely private space. I want people to be surprised and scream to their heart's content so that they can forget stresses from the coronavirus when they go home." VARIOUS OF HORROR SHOW
- Embargoed: 17th July 2020 14:44
- Keywords: COVID-19 Japan Tokyo drive-in horror show new coronavirus
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001CL978M1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Japanese performance group is starting a run of drive-in horror shows for those who crave close-up frights from ghouls and zombies without the risk of catching coronavirus.
Audience members will drive into a garage in Tokyo, one car at a time, as actors dressed as monsters bang on the side of the vehicle and spray fake blood over the windows whilst listening to a murder story.
"If we use (a form of) drive-in, we can avoid close contact (between guests and actors) because you are inside of a car. So I came up with the idea," said Kenta Iawana on Friday (July 3), who is the haunted house producer at Kowagarasetai, which translates as "the scare squad."
The immersive horror show is inspired by a German drive-in museum featured on YouTube, and is part of a "drive in movement" sparked by COVID-19, said Iwana.
Before the pandemic, Kowagarasetai produced shows at theme parks, but saw its booking shrink by 80% as those venues closed and people stayed home.
For now, Kowagarasetai is hoping to frighten as many as 11 carloads of people a day at weekends in July and August, Iwana said.
Each group will pay up to 9,000 yen ($84) for the experience, he added. Young children, he recommends, should probably stay at home.
(Production: Akira Tomoshige, Hideto Sakai) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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