Experiencing the "end of the world"? Bermuda 3, the mastermind behind the "1999" exhibition, talks about the fear and the feelings that come afterward

Bermuda 3 is an idol group of afro-haired triplets that appears in the horror game Siren. We borrowed that name and created a LINE group for the three of us, and for about two years now we've been talking about movies and games, and just meeting up and hanging out.

Originally, Nishiyama and I were fans of "SIREN," which Sato wrote the script for.

I had been saying that I wanted to make a live-action version of "SIREN" someday, and we had the opportunity to meet four years ago. However, this is the first time we have had the opportunity to work together on a project like this.

We are of different generations and genders, but when we started brainstorming ideas, the topic that got us most excited was Nostradamus's prophecies. Each of us, including Nishiyama, who was born in 1999, has a different approach to eschatology. The exhibition itself was a request, but when we found out that Roppongi Museum had space available in July, we thought it was a miracle. We could recreate the seventh month of 1999 as the seventh month of 2025.

At the beginning of preparations, Sato-san and Sekin-san were very adamant about their desire to create an exhibition that goes beyond just being scary, and I was really impressed by their belief. If these two had really pursued the idea of "fear," they could surely have produced something incredible. But instead, I wanted viewers to take home something beyond the feeling of fear, like hope or a push to live for tomorrow.

The tagline "Wouldn't you like to see the end of the world?" is intended to avoid being provocative. I think everyone has had feelings like "I want to die" or "I want it to end," but I think that is the flip side of "I want to live" and "I want to start again."

With this in mind, I said that I wanted to create an experience in which, as the exhibition leads from the present to the "end of the world" in 1999, people face their own lives and return to reality in a new form. Seshin-san has incorporated this into the story "My End."

Looking back, perhaps the starting point for this project wasn't "Let's make a horror film or a mockumentary." Rather, it was the "emotions beyond fear" that I wanted to clearly convey. Rather than thinking about the best way to convey this, I think I placed importance on how to get each individual to feel and digest it.

It felt like we realized as we went along that this was going to be a new type of exhibition. The cooperation of the space producer and director was also extremely helpful.

Each of us has our own cultivated skills, but we throw ideas and results at each other in an improvisational way, like in a musical session, and it feels like they've miraculously blended together. When we exchange opinions, I always think that we share the same cultural genes.

Everyone has their own opinions, but we're all interested in each other's ways of thinking, so we never argued (laughs).

I was in charge of the video, and I was happy when they told me to "go wild as much as you like." Unlike video, an exhibition allows you to see the audience's reactions up close, so it's great that you can keep brushing up the video over the course of the exhibition.

The stories of movies and novels often converge and close towards a conclusion. In contrast, I feel that the exhibition's characteristics are that interpretations broaden towards the exit, and emotions diffuse within the images. I also feel that the format was in line with what I wanted to do.

I've seen visitors who probably weren't even born in 1999, and I'm happy to think that there's a sense of shared belonging in this exhibition. Horror is scariest when it becomes personal. I hope that everyone will enjoy the experience of this exhibition, where they can become the protagonist.