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The supernatural possession trope is a storytelling wellspring found in folklore worldwide, from Hollywood’s demonic entities to the spirit-channeling tales in Indian cinema like Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Ghost Killer dives headfirst into this tradition with a distinctly Japanese action-comedy twist. Its high-concept premise is immediate and arresting: a timid college student’s life is violently upended when she becomes spiritually tethered to a deceased hitman.

We meet Fumika Matsuoka, a young woman characterized by a polite passivity that makes her utterly unsuited for the world of violence she is about to enter. Her life changes irrevocably when she stumbles upon a spent bullet casing on the street. This mundane object acts as a conduit, linking her to the ghost of Hideo Kudo, a professional killer recently murdered.

The film quickly establishes its central mechanic: Kudo’s spirit can possess Fumika’s body, transforming the meek student into an unstoppable fighting...

Producer Ilya Stewart has launched an independent studio based in Europe that will operate on a global scale, working with international talent and focusing on English-language feature films and television series, Variety can exclusively reveal.

Hype Studios is the new venture from Stewart, the formerly Moscow-based producer who in recent years has been a fixture at the Cannes Film Festival, where his collaborations with Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov, including “Petrov’s Flu” and “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” have premiered in competition.

Among the co-productions with American and European partners currently on Hype Studios’ slate is Zach Wigon’s “Sanctuary,” starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, which premieres as a Special Presentation next month at the Toronto International Film Festival and was produced with Rumble Films and Mosaic Films, along with Charades. Also on the slate is Pietro Marcello’s French-language “Scarlet,” produced in partnership with CG Cinéma’s Charles Gillibert, which opened this...