This is that film. Or pretty close, anyway.
It's shocking because it's not supernatural. We see the usual Hikiko things (punishing bullies, dragging people to death, etc.) but without any J-horror ghosts. This film's Hikiko is just another person, like you and me. She's doing what she does because she wants to. This is far more horrifying.
Three girls set up a Revengers club. (Hikiko hates bullies, so this makes sense in Hikiko movies.) 1. YUKARI (played by Akizuki Mika) thinks revenge is wrong and disturbing, especially given how far her friends take it, but she's not strong enough to defy them. We first meet her in a police station, being interviewed even though she's almost catatonic. The bulk of the film is told in flashback as her testimony to the officers. 2. KIRIKO (played by Cyborg Kaori) is bubbly, outgoing and likes to complain... and, yes, her actress really does go under that name. 3. NIKO (played by Kazuha Komiya) is quiet, intense and has alarming ideas.
They meet up again at a "ten years later" elementary school reunion. Yukari and Kiriko don't remember anyone called Niko from their class, but they soon stop worrying about it. Who remembers everything from ten years ago? They hang out, get drunk and have fun... until one day Niko takes Yukari and Kiriko to some waste ground where she's got a scary man tied up. He's lying on the ground, saying he knows where they live and that he'll kill them when he gets free. Ten years ago, he was a bully in their class. Niko thinks her behaviour is normal and says she did this for her friends. She's even brought a video camera so they can upload what happens next to the internet.
That's their first victim. Yukari doesn't like it, but they continue and their "Revenge Channel" website goes viral. They're soon taking requests. How could a public service like this possibly go wrong?
This film gave me the willies. We know from the police interview that it doesn't end well, but what other outcome did they expect? They're playing with fire. It's illegal and dangerous. I'm shocked that the police didn't find their website and descend like a ton of bricks before anyone died. All kinds of questions spring to mind. "How do you know your information is correct and your victims deserve it?" "What if their friends come after you?" "Aren't you worried about this escalating?" Nonetheless, Kiriko thinks it's all a laugh, while Niko's scary.
Incidentally, this film's been double-entered in imdb. They think it's Hi Ki Ko Kourin (2014) and The Revenge Channel (2015).
There's a running motif of cameras, with the film occasionally even switching to hand-held first person mode. The girls and the police both record everything, either to upload to the bloodthirsty internet or as standard interview procedure. One of the girls' victims masturbates to videos he's taken of women in public lavatories. Photo evidence unlocks the ten-year-old truth. Dark things are being said about life today, from depersonalised internet voyeurism to vigilante justice and the way people don't accept the blame for their own actions. We could also mention the nasty, spiky nature of Yukari's home life and her parents' arguments about money.
There's some mysterious backstory. Someone isn't who she says she is. Ultimately, though, what matters is the things that real people do. This is a straight drama, with no ghosts or other supernatural. You could perhaps try to impose such elements, since the film's aware of Hikiko's mythology and includes a character called Mori Hikiko... but, personally, I think that would weaken this shocking, uncomfortable film.
