Japan has long been regarded as being at the forefront of cult cinema, with its long history of bizarre and unusual films finding a suitably warped audience worldwide. More often than not the films which garnered attention tended to be fast-paced and violent, but nothing could prepare the world for what Japan would unleash on our screens in 2001.
One of Japan's most prolific and diverse directors, Takashi Miike had by 2001, already found himself a devoted international cult following with his diverse and ever expanding body of work. Off-beat, over-the-top and often teeming with violence and perverse sexual content; audiences and directors alike revelled in his nightmarish celluloid visions and admired his uncompromising approach to film making. Ichi the Killer was the film which would break him through from the grindhouse to the arthouse and onward to the mainstream. Ushering in the new millennium with an unprecedented level of style and intensity, Takashii Miike became the unbeatable king of extreme cinema.
Ichi the Killer takes the classic Japanese Yakuza tale and turns it inside-out - organs exposed and blood red in a relentless splatter cacophony. Controlled by a retired cop called Jijii (roughly translated as "Gramps"), Ichi is a nervous and demented young voyeur murdering anyone Jijii deems a bully...and Ichi does not like bullies! Enter sadistic Yakuza lieutenant Kakihara, who has heard of Ichi's fragile mental state and penchant for extreme behaviour, desperately wanting to meet Ichi - the only one he sees as a parallel to his own disturbed mind. Tracking down Ichi is going to be messy work!
Siren Visual presents this best-selling cult masterpiece in an all-new remastered version with bonus features.
"...pulp insanity careens on a high-octane mix of jet-black humor, frenetic stylization, surreal fillips, nonstop action excess and gross-out f/x" - Variety
"Ichi the Killer" will draw the curious into its flesh-frazzled visceral grip." - BBC Movies
"For those with an appreciation for weirdness, this is an extremist on form." - Rotten Tomatoes
