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In Japanese cinema, which has never shied away from the extreme but rather embraced the grotesque, both in terms of violence and sexuality, it is inevitable that a multitude of shocking scenes would emerge, or at least did exist before the era of political correctness. Add to that a sense of peculiar humor, extreme techniques used to depict horrific moments with stark realism, broken taboos, and a total disregard for political correctness, and you have the foundation of this list.

Naturally, narrowing the countless shocking scenes in Japanese cinema down to just 15 is no easy task. However, with a focus on diversity, here are some of the most unforgettable and jarring examples. Some of the scenes described were difficult to find so I opted for something similar instead, from the same movie.

15. The first sex scene in Caterpillar

Lieutenant Kurokawa returns home from the war a celebrated hero but also...

Originally published as a novel in 2013, “Aimitagai” has been adapted into a feature-length movie from a series of gently interconnected short stories. Shogo Kusano weaves these threads together, inheriting a project that began with a story framework by Masahide Ichii and also involved the late Kiyoshi Sasabe in its early development. The titular term refers to an act of kindness for someone, born from genuine thought, that can come full circle and even save a stranger.

Aimitagai is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Azusa is a wedding planner who frequently gets some looks in her line of work for not being married like her coworkers. She is, however, dating Sumito, a young man she considers unreliable, but despite that, they are on the verge of becoming more serious. The person she most enjoys spending time with is her best friend from school, Kanami, who once saved her from bullying.

Sometimes a film’s visuals are so visceral that they overpower your eyes entirely, pulling you in and setting your other senses ablaze. The putrid smell of rancid flesh stings your nostrils as you become acquainted with the Sawyer family homestead; your teeth chatter as MacReady and Childs stare each other down in the unforgiving Antarctic snow; the unwelcomed taste of pea soup miraculously appears in your mouth soon after Regan MacNeil spews forth a torrent of the stuff into poor Father Merrin’s face. Some of the horror genre’s best entries are more than just a story that haunts you: they’re a full body experience.

Legendary renegade filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto’s debut feature, Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), shares this quality of sensual transcendence. Stifling waves of heat and humidity radiate from nearly every frame of the picture, and throughout its brisk 77-minute runtime you can’t help...

Audio Assault.

June proved to be a wild month: we talked about the wacky space antics of Leprechaun 4: In Space (listen), the underseen-but-very-good trans vampire film Bit (listen), and Robert Rodriguez’s first half of the Grindhouse double-bill, Planet Terror (listen).

To kick off July, we’re racing over to Japan to discuss the 35th anniversary of Shinya Tsukamoto‘s Japanese cyberpunk masterpiece, Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989).

In the extreme cinema film, an unnamed salary man (Tomorowo Taguchi) is slowly transformed into metal after a hit and run involving a metal fetishist (Tsukamoto). After accidentally (?) killing first his cat, and then his girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara) – with his new metal drill dick no less – the salary man and the fetishist engage in a destructive battle of wills that only ends when they fuse together. Together at least, the lovers set out to destroy the world.

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Quick Links Tetsuo Is an Experimental Project That Hit a Nerve Tetsuo Is an Accidental Classic That Couldn't Be Made Today Tsukamoto Just Wanted to Make a Monster Movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man was the primary catalyst that rejuvenated Japanese cinema, showcasing the power of low-budget experimental storytelling. The film's enduring nature, thanks to its blend of pounding industrial rock, grotesque imagery, and cheesy horror elements, continues to captivate diverse audiences worldwide. After years of study, film critics are still debating the true meaning of the movie, its underlying symbolism, and how it pertains to modern society.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man isn't easily categorized, but it will surely elicit something from viewers, whether that's dread, laughter, contemplation, or an epileptic seizure. The stop-motion editing on this one can get frenetic, so a heads-up for anyone sensitive to those kinds of stimuli. We won't let slip any other spoilers.

Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Shinya Tsukamoto, Nobu Kanaoka, Sujin Kim, Hideaki Tezuka, Tomoo Asada, Iwata, Keinosuke Tomioka | Written and Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto

After kickstarting his career with 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man, writer/director Shinya Tsukamoto returned to the Japanese body horror series 3 years later with Tetsuo II: Body Hammer – an unconnected sequel which takes its own journey regarding a man’s transformation into machine. The opening moments show the camera acting as an unseen character’s perspective, stalking an unnamed salaryman who gets killed after the unseen character holds out his index finger like a gun and fires it.

The story then cuts to Taniguchi Tomoo (Tomorô Taguchi), a married salaryman with a young son named Minori. Adopted as a child, Tomoo questions his unknown past and the reasons for his recurring nightmares. His world is turned upside down when two men kidnap Minori and inject the father with an unknown substance.

Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Renji Ishibashi, Naomasa Musaka | Written and Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto

After spending his youth creating short films and entering experimental theatre, Shinya Tsukamoto made an indelible mark on Japanese horror cinema with his feature debut, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. The writer/director/producer/editor also appears on-screen as a metal fetishist, setting the tone for this bizarre work as his character inserts scrap metal into a self-inflicted wound in his thigh. The sight of maggots within the wound causes him to run in fear, resulting in him becoming the victim of a hit-and-run accident.

The story then focuses on a salaryman (Tomorô Taguchi), who discovers a metallic thorn sticking out of his cheek while shaving. While he later waits in a subway station, a woman infected with metallic tentacles begins chasing him. This begins a campaign of terror upon the salaryman,...

The stage adaptation of Spirited Away, one of Hayao Miyazaki's most successful animated films, is set to release on digital and Blu-ray later this year.

Spirited Away is an Academy Award-winning Studio Ghibli film that has captured the hearts of people around the world since its debut in 2001. The stage adaptation of Spirited Away premiered in Japan on Feb. 28, 2022 to wide acclaim. Tony Award Winner John Caird directed and adapted Miyazaki's most famous film for the stage, successfully bringing his story to life. The beautiful sets and clothing, along with the new musical numbers and master puppetry by Tobie Olie, has captivated audiences throughout Japan. The filmed performances also debuted successfully in theaters in North America earlier this year. As reported by Gkids, the release of Spirited Away: Live on Stage will be distributed by Shout! Studios.

Related: Spirited Away Isn't the Innocent Children's Story We Thought It Was...

"I never told her about you." "That was cowardly of you." Oscilloscope Labs has unveiled an official trailer for Love Life, an emotional Japanese drama that first premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival last year. It will be playing in select art house theaters in the US starting later in August, if anyone is curious about watching. Taeko and her new husband Jiro are living a simple life with her young son Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with her pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping Park, who is also deaf and currently homeless. With nuanced performances and craftsmanship, Love Life is a melodramatic and moving meditation on grief and acceptance. The film stars Win Morisaki, Fumino Kimura, and Tomorô Taguchi. I watched this in Venice and while I do think the performances are excellent, the rest...

Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada is back with another middle-class (melo)drama about common people in uncommon life situations. “Love Life” premiered at Venice and after that went on the tour of festivals.

“Love Life” is screening at the Museum of the Moving Image, as part of the First Look 2023 program

Taeko and her husband Jiro live a peaceful life. At the beginning, their mood could be seen as celebratory, since they are throwing a party for his stern father's 65th birthday, and also celebrating her son Keita's local Othello championship title. However, Jiro's father has a hard time accepting the fact that his son married a divorcee with a child from her previous marriage.

A sudden tragedy resulting in Keita's accidental death starts the spiral of events. Firstly, Keita's biological father Park (Atom Sunada) suddenly appears at the funeral and Taeko has the urge to do her best to...

Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada is back with another middle-class (melo)drama about common people in uncommon life situations. “Love Life” premiered at Venice and after that went on the tour of festivals.

Love Life is screening at Black Movie

Taeko and her husband Jiro live a peaceful life. At the beginning, their mood could be seen as celebratory, since they are throwing a party for his stern father’s 65th birthday, and also celebrating her son Keita’s local Othello championship title. However, Jiro’s father has a hard time accepting the fact that his son married a divorcee with a child from her previous marriage.

A sudden tragedy resulting in Keita’s accidental death starts the spiral of events. Firstly, Keita’s biological father Park (Atom Sunada) suddenly appears at the funeral and Taeko has the urge to do her best to help this troubled deaf homeless Korean man.

Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada is back with another middle-class (melo)drama about common people in uncommon life situations. “Love Life” premiered at Venice and after that went on the tour of festivals. We caught it at a special screening at Zagreb Film Festival.

Taeko and her husband Jiro live a peaceful life. At the beginning, their mood could be seen as celebratory, since they are throwing a party for his stern father’s 65th birthday, and also celebrating her son Keita’s local Othello championship title. However, Jiro’s father has a hard time accepting the fact that his son married a divorcee with a child from her previous marriage.

A sudden tragedy resulting in Keita’s accidental death starts the spiral of events. Firstly, Keita’s biological father Park (Atom Sunada) suddenly appears at the funeral and Taeko has the urge to do her best to help this troubled deaf homeless Korean man.

Love Life is one of those films that really wears its screenplay. The plot follows a mother’s attempts to come to terms with the death of a child, but it’s more about unusual paths the journey takes for her to get there. The director is Kôji Fukada, a filmmaker who studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa and cites Rohmer as a key influence. The first of Fukada’s films to complete for one of the grand festival awards, it premiered this week in what has been if not the best, then at least the glitziest Venice lineup in recent memory. Amongst the stars, Love Life (named for an Akiko Yano song of the same name) is jarringly everyday in color palette and setting, but has just the right amount of scope, filmmaking nous, and unusual choices to hold its own and even stand out.

A neat film of knotty ideas,...

Even the most solidly founded of marriages can be strained and shattered by the death of a child. For handsome, wholesome Japanese couple Taeko and Jiro, however, that tragedy shows up all the fault lines that were already in their young relationship, and that’s before living ghosts of the past show up for both partners. Koji Fukada’s “Love Life” unabashedly embraces melodramatic contrivance in its examination of modern middle-class love tested as much by social prejudices as by personal demons; it just does so with such pallid, polite reserve that its sentimentality never becomes transcendently moving. As such, this agreeable but overlong pic finds the Japanese writer-director still struggling to regain the form of his jolting 2016 Cannes prizewinner “Harmonium.”

That film was an exercise in disorienting tonal contrast and conflict, with a vein of blood-dark comedy running through severely tragic events. “Love Life,” on the other hand, is an earnest,...

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The apartment at the center of Love Life, Koji Fukada’s mellow study of grief and dislocation, is, like the film, compact and practical. A long table, surrounded by a narrow bench and various chairs, occupies the center of the living room. The kitchen is tucked in a corner. Near the entrance: a bathroom with a short tub, a sink, a toilet. Toward the rear: sliding doors leading to a balcony overlooking a hideous concrete lot; a bedroom on the right. Evidence of family life is everywhere: height marks etched into a wall, trophies, diplomas, a child’s drawings, books, clothes on hooks, shoes in corner.

Taeko (Fumino Kimura), Jiro (Kento Nagayama) and their 6-year-old son, Keita (Tetta Shimada), live in this unfussy space, and how they interact with it is one of the most edifying aspects of Fukada’s latest feature. With Love Life,...

This Japanese docudrama is an excellent primer on the scary near- meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. After the earthquake, a tsunami triggered a ‘major nuclear event.’ A group of dedicated engineers struggle against odds to regain control. It’s another 21st Century disaster writ large — we applaud the camaraderie and commitment of the response teams while bureaucratic and political Bs threatens to doom half of Japan. As with last week’s Spacewalker I’m betting that most negative reviews were written by people who saw the English language dub job … in the original Japanese, star Ken Watanabe’s performance is terrific.

Fukushima 50

Blu-ray

Capelight

2020 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date April 13, 2021 / Available from Amazon / 29.98

Starring: Ken Watanabe, Takumi Saitoh, Kôichi Satô, Tomorô Taguchi, Mark Chinnery, Yuri Nakamura, Justin Leeper, Yasuko Tomita, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Riho Yoshioka, Masane Tsukayama, Masato Hagiwara, Shirô Sano.

Cinematography: Shoji Ehara

Visual Effects...

To celebrate the release of Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy - out on DVD & Blu-Ray from 16th January – we are giving away a Blu-ray copy courtesy of Arrow Video!

After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of “V-cinema” in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one’s place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the Black Society Trilogy was the beginning of Miike’s mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director’s finest works.

Set in the bustling Kabuki-cho nightlife neighborhood of Tokyo, Shinjuku Triad Society follows a mixed-race cop (Kippei Shiina, Outrage) struggling with private issues...

What is it about foreign horror films that makes them more interesting than so many English language horror films? You would have to think that the language barrier makes it more terrifying; people screaming is already difficult, but speaking a language you don’t understand can only make it worse. So, why are the remakes typically so bad? On this portion of the list, we are treated to a few of the more upsetting films in the canon – one movie I wouldn’t wish for anyone to see, a few that blazed the trail for many more, and one that I would elevate above the horror genre into its own little super-genre.

30. Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003)

English Title: A Tale of Two Sisters

Directed by: Kim Ji-woon

Another excellent Korean horror film America had to remake to lesser results. 2003’s A Tale of Two Sisters is just one of many film adaptations of the folktale,...

What is it about foreign horror films that makes them more interesting than so many English language horror films? You would have to think that the language barrier makes it more terrifying; people screaming is already difficult, but speaking a language you don’t understand can only make it worse. So, why are the remakes typically so bad? On this portion of the list, we are treated to a few of the more upsetting films in the canon – one movie I wouldn’t wish for anyone to see, a few that blazed the trail for many more, and one that I would elevate above the horror genre into its own little super-genre.

30. Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003)

English Title: A Tale of Two Sisters

Directed by: Kim Ji-woon

Another excellent Korean horror film America had to remake to lesser results. 2003′s A Tale of Two Sisters is just one of many film adaptations of the folktale,...

The concept of the sci-fi horror genre allows us to address the built-in terrors and tensions developed in society that are difficult, if not impossible, to actualize and confront directly. It has the strengths of sci-fi’s ability to question our potential as a developed species, breaking current conceptions of reality to attain a scenario that directly addresses these bigger questions than those enveloped in regular drama. However, some of these questions are big enough to be menacing: we do not always wish to wonder about the scientific possibilities that lie outside of us; the unknown of the natural world can do its best to terrify us as well. This is a major distinction between what sci-fi horror and “regular” horror intend to achieve: no longer are the monsters personal and haunting regular people; they can be cosmic and haunting our professionals, our perceived authority. It is the helplessness in...

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto. Review: Adam Wing. For the first time in the world ever, two of the most popular Japanese cult films are available in glorious high definition. Director Shinya Tsukamoto (Snake of June, Tokyo Fist) supervised the transfer of this highly anticipated blu-ray release, featuring the first two films of the series and a 45-minute movie Tsukamoto made in his student days, called ‘The Adventures of Electric Rod Boy’. 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man was shot in black in white, followed by a colour sequel three years later. Essentially an extended remake with a bigger budget, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer didn’t perform quite as well as the original back home, but both films have built a cult following around the world. It’s hardly surprisingly either. Tsukamoto’s surreal nightmares have been compared to the works of David Lynch and David Cronenberg, with the influence of both directors oozing from every frame.

Eiga.com is reporting that a new spin-off movie of the popular Aibou (Partners) series titled Aibou Series: X Day is in the works.

In 2009, Partners supporting character Mamoru Yonezawa (Seiji Rokkaku) got his own spin-off movie titled Partners: CSI Files. X Day will feature Metropolitan Police Department criminal investigator Kenichi Itami (Kazuhisa Kawahara) and cyber crime specialist Akira Iwatsuki (Kei Tanaka) in a brand new partnership.

In 2008, the first Partners movie, starring Yutaka Mizutani and Yasufumi Terawaki, built on the success of TV Asahi’s long-running TV drama by earning 4.44 billion yen at the box office.

In 2010, Mitsuhiro Oikawa teamed up with Mizutani for Partners: The Movie II which earned 3.17 billion yen.

Series 10 of the drama ended in March, and marked the end of Oikawa’s run.

The new movie will be directed by Hajime Hashimoto with a screenplay by Takeharu Sakurai, both of whom work on the TV drama.

Hirofumi Arai (33) has been cast as the lead in an upcoming movie called Akai Kisetsu (literally “Red Season”).

Arai, typically a supporting actor, will head up a cast featuring names like Tomorowo Taguchi, Masatoshi Nagase, Shigeru Izumiya, Jun Fubuki, and Jun Murakami.

Tetsuhiko Yoshino, former general manager of the rock band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, wrote the screenplay and is directing the project himself. The story was inspired by the music from Yusuke Chiba’s first solo project, “Snake On The Beach”. Chiba was the front man of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant until they disbanded in 2003 and has been front man of The Birthday since 2006. He reportedly began working on tracks for his solo album in the summer of 2010, during a short break following a tour. He finished recording the songs earlier this year and the 20-track album will be released this fall.

Obviously there will be a strong tie-in...

On Wednesday, Bitters End uploaded a trailer for Yuya Ishii’s Azemichi no Dandy to their channel on YouTube.

The film stars Ken Mitsuishi as a 50-year-old single father named Junichi Miyata. Back in junior high, Junichi was bullied and made a promise to himself that he would grow up to be really cool.

Junichi has been raising his two children, an unemployed 19-year-old named Toshiya (Ryu Morioka) and an 18-year-old high school senior named Momoko (Jun Yoshinaga) on his own since his wife died of cancer 15 years earlier. He works extremely hard as a truck driver to buy whatever he thinks his kids want; and even though money is tight, he never lets it show.

One day, Junichi feels ill and becomes obsessed with the idea that he may be dying of cancer like his wife. Convinced his life will soon be ending, he begins putting his affairs in...

by Steve Dollar

If there is a signature sequence that defines a movie directed by Sabu, it's the never-ending chase that pretty much consumes the entire 82 minutes of his 1996 debut, Non-Stop (aka Dangan Runner). Tomorowo Taguchi, rock singer and star of the all-time Japanese cult classic Tetsuo: The Iron Man, is Yasuda, an everyman as inept as he is desperate. His plans to pull a bank heist go haywire, since everything always goes haywire a few minutes into a Sabu plot. But they go haywire in really nutty, unpredictable ways. In this case, the would-be bandit stops by a convenience store to shoplift a gauze mask for putative use as a disguise. As we see in a fantasy staging of the robbery, it makes a lousy and absurd choice. And Yasuda isn’t even much of a petty thief: A quartet of schoolgirls observes his actions amid giggles: "It's so embarrassing,...

Earlier this week, it was announced that the last full-length work of Akutagawa Prize-winning author Kenji Nakagami, Keibetsu (literally “scorn”), is being turned into a film starring Kengo Kora and Anne Suzuki. Ryuichi Hiroki (April Bride, The Lightning Tree) will direct.

Kora plays Kazu, the only son of a prominent family. In spite of his distinguished upbringing, he spends most of his time gambling all his money away in Tokyo. In a fairly drastic shift from her usually image, Suzuki plays Machiko, the number one pole dancer at a club in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. The two start a fling based on mutual attraction and attempt to begin a life together in Kazu’s home town. However, his family is unwilling to recognize the relationship.

Machiko soon returns to Tokyo and Kazu comes to the realization that he has no way to pay off the massive debt he’s racked up with...

Japan Cuts Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema (July 1-16) is coming to Japan Society for its fourth consecutive year, with its biggest line-up ever. With 24 titles and 30 screenings, this is the largest showcase of contemporary Japanese film outside Japan, with international and U.S. premieres, special guests (filmmakers Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Tomorowo Taguchi, Toshiaki Toyoda, Hitoshi Yazaki, and Isao Yukisada; and actors Tatsuya Fujiwara and Daichi Watanabe), parties (Festival Launch Party on July 1st, Sushi Typhoon! on July 3rd and Night Of The Filmmakers on July 10th) and giveaways.

Japan Society has posted the full list of films to be screened as part of their Japan Cuts Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema which will take place in NYC from July 1-16, 2010.

Here’s the list. The films marked with an asterisk will be co-presented with the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival.

About Her Brother (2010, North American Premiere, Dir. Yoji Yamada)

Accidental Kidnapper (2009, New York Premiere, Dir. Hideo Sakaki)

Alien vs. Ninja* (2010, World Premiere, Dir. Seiji Chiba)

Bare Essence of Life, aka Ultra Miracle Love Story (2009, New York Premiere, Dir. Satoko Yokohama)

The Blood of Rebirth* (2009, New York Premiere, Dir. Toshiaki Toyoda)

Boys on the Run* (2010, North American Premiere, Dir. Daisuke Miura)

Confessions* (2010, U.S. Premiere, Dir. Tetsuya Nakashima)

Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (2004, New York Premiere, Dir. Isao Yukisada)

Dear Doctor* (2009, New York Premiere, Dir. Miwa Nishikawa)

Electric Button, aka Moon & Cherry (2004, U.S. Premiere,...

[Our thanks go out to Chris MaGee and Marc Saint-Cyr at the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow for sharing their coverage of the 2010 Nippon Connection Film Festival.]

On my first day of film viewing at the 10th Nippon Connection film festival, I had the great pleasure of seeing what might turn out to be one of it's strongest entries: "Oh, My Buddha!," the second film directed by Tomorowo Taguchi, who is best known for his acting work in films as diverse as "Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha," "Gohatto," "The Eel" and "Tetsuo: the Iron Man," in which he plays the title character. Though I haven't yet seen his 2003 directorial debut "Iden & Tity," it is clear from "Oh, My Buddha!" alone that he has developed a very confident and mature understanding of filmmaking, maintaining a sharp control over his style and drawing you into a well-told and compulsively watchable story.

The film follows young Jun, a first-year student at an all-boys Buddhist high school in Kyoto. The year is 1974, and Jun is an aspiring musician who lovingly worships...