Spoilers have a weird feeling they’ve done this before.

If there’s a constant trend for Fantasia, it is that I will watch at least one film dealing with some sort of time travel plot contrivance. It’s the kind of film that has created its on subgenre in sci-fi, with the time loop in particular gaining notoriety. The comparisons to other films are unavoidable but there are a few original twists to make it worth your time.

Penalty Loop (2024) is written and directed by Shinji Araki. Jun (Ryuya Wakaba) has lost his girlfriend, presumably murdered by a man called Mizoguchi (Yusuke Iseya) who walked away without facing charges. Consumed by the pain, Jun meticulously plans to execute the killer and avenge his girlfriend’s death. It all goes according to plan, except that Jun finds himself reliving the same day. As he starts to ponder how many times he can carry out the execution, it turns out he’s not the only one aware of the time loop.

There’s an emotional angle here that seems to have been used as a character’s motivation without considering the implications. Jun seeks revenge, but eventually will find himself unable to distance himself enough from the act of killing and question his own mission. Mizoguchi instead seems to be a random person. Eventually the film explores the existentialism of a closed circular narrative that both characters are unable to break from but only in light undertones. There’s an explanation for the other-worldly phenomenon, but there’s also unanswered questions. Due to the offbeat circumstances, we get some awkward dark comedic moments to break the tension.

Recommended with reservations. It’s very much an audience film as tensions are built and resolved by comedic outbreaks. Grief, curiously enough, feels untouched here. The mystery behind the loop does have a loose explanation. The film at its core highlights the dynamic between the main characters and a destiny that they seem not to be able to escape from. Worth a watch if you’re the audience for it but casual audiences might feel left out of the loop.

That will do for now.