Japanese Horror Filmmaker Creates New AI Sci-Fi Thriller

Japanese horror filmmaker Ryuta Miyake is preparing to premiere a new science fiction thriller created using artificial intelligence, bringing his experience in psychological storytelling to an experimental film project.

PSY DIVER -Episode 1- will receive its world premiere during the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia autumn programme in Tokyo on 8 November 2026.

The production uses the AI filmmaking platform TOPVIEW and explores the subconscious human mind through a mysterious experiment that appears to have gone wrong.

Miyake has previously worked on Japanese horror productions associated with The Complex and the Ju-On franchise, making his involvement particularly interesting for viewers familiar with the country's supernatural and psychological horror films.

What is PSY DIVER about?

The story begins beside a quiet river during autumn, where a mysterious stranger approaches a young man and asks two unsettling questions about where they are and when they exist.

Elsewhere, deep in a forest near Mount Fuji, a secret experiment has gone disastrously wrong. The film connects these events through a science fiction story exploring consciousness and the hidden workings of the human mind.

Although the complete storyline has not been disclosed, the premise brings together psychological mystery and scientific experimentation, themes familiar to audiences of Japanese horror and speculative fiction.

Rather than being developed through conventional live-action production alone, PSY DIVER incorporates generative AI technology to create its visual world.

The project represents another example of established filmmakers experimenting with AI tools rather than leaving the technology exclusively to new production companies.

What other AI films are screening?

The festival's TOPVIEW AI programme also includes Center Spot, directed by Xu Xiang from Singapore.

The 18-minute production follows Mira, a young woman who travels to Seoul hoping to become a K-pop star. After ten years of struggling to achieve her ambition, an unexpected opportunity offers her the chance to make her debut.

Another featured project is Proof of Live, directed by NIKO Song Zhuohan from China, which explores artificial intelligence, robotic emotions and questions surrounding identity. The three productions offer different approaches to AI-assisted storytelling, spanning psychological science fiction, music industry drama and futuristic themes.

Can UK audiences watch the films?

The festival's Tokyo screenings take place from 5 to 8 November, with the TOPVIEW programme scheduled for 8 November at kino cinéma Shinjuku.

Miyake will also participate in a discussion about AI filmmaking alongside representatives involved in the production and technology.

For viewers outside Japan, the festival has confirmed a worldwide online programme running from 9 to 22 November through its Online Grand Theater platform. The online programme includes its AI showcases, with individual availability and viewing periods subject to the festival's published listings.

UK audiences can access the official website to check the programme and register for online screenings through LIFE LOG BOX.

With PSY DIVER, Miyake joins a growing number of established filmmakers exploring how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into genre cinema while retaining their own approach to storytelling.