Viral Game ‘The Convenience Store’ Hits FrightFest

Japanese horror continues its strong run on the international festival circuit as The Convenience Store, the live-action adaptation of Chilla’s Art’s breakout indie game, heads to FrightFest Glasgow for its international premiere on 7 March.

Screening at 3.10pm as part of the genre strand within the wider Glasgow Film Festival, the film arrives with considerable anticipation. The original game, released by Japanese indie development duo Chilla’s Art, became a viral sensation after launch, particularly among Gen Z players and streaming audiences. Set almost entirely within the fluorescent aisles of a late-night convenience store, the game’s slow-burn dread and hyper-real environment helped propel gameplay videos past 60 million YouTube views by late summer 2025.

Now director Jiro Nagae, best known for the Kisaragi Station series, has translated that claustrophobic digital experience into a tightly wound 83-minute feature. The film will open nationwide in Japan on 20 February, but Glasgow audiences will be among the first outside the country to see it on the big screen.

The story centres on a college student working the night shift at a local convenience store. Tasked with restocking shelves, managing customers and enduring the monotony of the graveyard hours, she begins to notice subtle but unnerving irregularities. Automatic doors slide open with no one present. Customers linger too long. A mysterious delivery package appears, setting in motion a chain of events that forces her to confront something far more disturbing than a routine shift.

Kotona Minami takes the lead in what marks both her first feature film starring role and her first venture into horror. Having drawn attention for her recent television and film work in Japan, Minami has spoken about her desire to sustain tension through restraint rather than spectacle, aligning closely with the mood that made the original game resonate so widely.

Chilla’s Art, who admitted they had been sceptical of live-action adaptations, have publicly praised the film for preserving the game’s atmosphere while expanding its world for cinema. They noted the absence of comedic relief and the commitment to maintaining a quiet, sustained unease throughout.

FrightFest Glasgow, running from 5 to 7 March at the Glasgow Film Theatre, continues its tradition of spotlighting international horror voices. For tickets, visit: frightfest.co.uk/2026Glasgow/

The Convenience Store trailer