A hybrid live-action/anime film version of the Kaidan Restaurant (Thriller Restaurant) horror storybook series has been green-lit for this August. In the stories, the owner of the titular restaurant recounts macabre tales of horror to several local children interested in paranormal phenomena. Ayano Kudō, the winner of 2009's Zen-Nihon Kokumin-teki Bishōjo Contest, will play a new character — 14-year-old spirit detective Haru Amano — in this film version. Masayuki Ochiai will direct the project after helming the Shutter and Parasite Eve films.

The popular storybooks have already inspired a horror anthology anime series that has been airing since October. Unlike the television version, the film will combine live-action and anime sequences, and the live-action sequences will use computer graphics to portray the ghosts.

The Kaidan Restaurant anthology storybook series reached 50 volumes as of 2007. Miyoko Matsutani (Maegami-Taro, Mizu no Tane, Taro the Dragon Boy) has been editing the books since 1996 with illustrations by Yoshikazu Takai and Kumiko Katō. Doshinsha has published over 8 million copies of the books so far. The television version has frequently been among the 10 highest-rated anime programs in the weeks since its October premiere.


Update: According to Chunichi Sports, the film will have about 10 minutes of anime in the beginning and about 80 minutes of live-action footage.