Re/Member is a Japanese supernatural horror film that follows six high school students stuck in a murderous time loop. They are tasked with finding the remains of a murdered little girl while being hunted by her ghost if they ever want to see a tomorrow. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Re/Member opens with a little girl being chased by an axe-wielding maniac in the dead of night. She runs inside a school building but is found and brutally decapitated.
The plot switches to the present day, and it has been 30 years since the girl’s murder. We are introduced to Asuka, a high school student who is a loner and considered a weirdo by her peers.
She walks to school and notices a cat being run over by a bus. In class, a nerdy boy named Shota is bullied but is saved by Class Presidents Rie and Takahiro.
As the day goes on, Asuka secludes herself from the class during lunch and hallucinates bloody hands, reaching out from a well. She walks on and runs into the librarian, Mr. Yashiro. At this moment, she hears a little girl asking her to find her body parts.
Unable to comprehend these strange occurrences, Asuka heads home and before bed, receives mysterious texts stating that the Red Person is coming for her.
Terrified, she gets into bed and hides underneath her sheets. As the clock strikes midnight, she finds herself inside her school chapel alongside five of her classmates, Shota, Rie, Takahiro, Rumiko, and Atsushi.
They’re all confused but admit to seeing the same little girl during the day. Atsushi hasn’t been to school in a long time due to personal reasons and decides to walk back home.
Unfortunately, this is when things get out of hand. One by one, the teenagers are all murdered by a demonic girl, covered in blood and carrying a doll.
After being killed last, Asuka wakes up in bed and soon realizes she is reliving the same day. She heads to school where Takahiro, Rie, and Rumiko drag Shota outside the class and question him about the whole situation (as he seemed to know something about it before they were killed).
He reveals that they have been dragged into a deadly game called Body Search. The group will relive the same day and will be dragged to the school chapel at midnight until they can find the dismembered body parts of a murder victim.
Furthermore, they must run from the Red Person, who will hunt them. While they have this discussion, Mr. Yashiro overhears them and then walks away.
The gang finds themselves in the chapel at midnight again and continues their search. They must find all body parts and place them inside a coffin within the chapel. However, after retrieving an arm, they are killed again.
Reliving the same day again, the six teenagers become friends and correct a few wrongs. They save the cat from being run over and protect Shota from being framed for stealing money. Rumiko even discovers that he is married and cheating on his wife with her.
At night, the search continues. Atsushi appears at school every night too but refuses to participate. He lies down on the roof and waits out the massacre.
Reliving the same day again, the gang gathers in the library, and Shota shows them a newspaper cutting. It reveals that the victim/ the Red Person is the same little girl who was murdered at the beginning of the film.
Her name was Miko Onoyama, she was 8 years old, and her head was never found. During this discussion, Mr. Yashiro shows up again and asks them to maintain silence inside the library.
Shota also reveals the floor plans of the school which he drew up, and the group devises a plan.
Re/Member ending explained in detail:
Does the plan work?
Shota hypothesizes that the Red Person is drawn to them because of the noise they make. So, it can be distracted by playing loud music throughout the school to disguise their movement.
Beyond that, they will use walkie-talkies to communicate and strategically turn on the lights. This way, the demonic entity would be lured to those spots.
The gang carries out the plan, and it works wonders. However, Atsushi still refuses to participate. They keep dying but also keep on finding more body parts.
Finally, only a leg and the head are left. Takahiro finds the leg but cannot make it to the chapel as he is fatally wounded. Finally, Atsushi comes to the rescue and takes the leg to the coffin as Takahiro is murdered.
Not letting the loop spoil their spirits, they go to the beach during the day, and Asuka shares a tender moment with Takahiro. It is revealed that they have known each other since kindergarten but drifted apart when a stupid rumor spoiled Asuka’s reputation.
What happens to Rie?
After the beach, the gang finds the building where Miko was killed. They realize that she had a doll called Emily whom she loved very much. The Red Person (Miko’s ghost) also carries that doll with it.
The group notices a boarded-up cavity in the wall and decides to break it open. They find Emily inside, but the doll vanishes a split second later.
Scared, they run out. That night, the Red Person changes form and becomes a monstrous hybrid of Miko and Emily. The kids die and return to school the next day. However, Rie is erased from existence.
Asuka recalls that the monster ate her after killing her. Shota realizes that if a person is eaten during the Body Search, they are removed from existence and can no longer participate in the game. The only way to revive them is to win.
Why are the six chosen for the game?
Asuka notices Mr. Yashiro overhearing them again and decides to question him. After a little convincing, the librarian reveals that he was also dragged into a Body Search when he was in high school.
Unfortunately, even if they win, the members of the game will have no recollection of it afterward. Therefore, the bonds they have built during this time will be forgotten.
Asuka is distraught and contemplates the consequences. She shares this with Takahiro, who gives her his tie-pin and promises to find her after all this is over. Before the night falls, they share a kiss.
Takahiro also shares that the dark spirit was drawn to them because of the cracks in their hearts and it is their loneliness come to life.
Asuka’ being ignored by her peers, Takahiro’s self-doubt and guilt, Atsushi’s injury that spoiled his athletic career, Shota being bullied, Rumiko being cheated on, and Rie struggling to fit in, all these things made them the perfect target.
The gang decides to leave it all behind and take the monster down together.
Do they find the head?
Asuka shares that she saw the doll fall into the swimming pool one night, and it sank head first. She theorizes that Miko’s head is inside the monster’s head.
The group prepares to restrain the monster and behead it. Night falls, and they are attacked. They manage to chain the monster up against a wall, and all seems to be going well.
Unfortunately, the plan starts going haywire, and everyone except Asuka and Takahiro is killed. The duo fights with all their might and beheads the monster. They find the girl’s head inside and go to the chapel.
Unfortunately, the monster shows up again, and Takahiro asks Asuka to take the head to the coffin. He fights the entity and is devoured. The monster comes for Asuka, but she holds her ground.
Amid the destruction, the chapel’s cross falls onto the demon and impales it. Asuka puts the head back in the coffin as a new day finally dawns.
Is the game over?
Asuka wakes up in bed and seems to have no memory of the Body Search. A news channel shows that a human skull was discovered inside the school chapel.
She walks to school and everything has gone back to the way it was. No one remembers anything at all. Rie is alive and announces that it is time to pick festival committee members from their class.
Atsushi also shows up to class since his attendance is low. They draw lots to pick the members and ironically, the six from the Body Search game are chosen.
After school, they head to the committee room for a meeting and Asuka drops Takahiro’s pin from her pocket. He picks it up and everything comes flooding back to him.
He calls out to Asuka, runs towards her, and says that he told her he’d find her. She seems to remember too and smiles back as the credits roll.
In a post-credits scene, the camera pans into the well in which Asuka hallucinated bloody hands. At the bottom, there is a newspaper clipping of Miko Onoyama’s murder.
In a shocking twist, the name of the victim on the paper changes along with the location and their picture. This hints at another Body Search game coming in a possible sequel for another murder victim.
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