Ichi The Killer (2001) - A Review

Ichi The Killer lives up to its infamously gory and perverse reputation.

Ichi The Killer is a crime drama/horror movie released in Japan in 2001 and stars  Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ōmori, Paulyn Sun, Shinya Tsukamoto, Shun Sugata, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Jun Kunimura, Suzuki Matsuo, and Hiroshi Kobayashi. It was directed by Takashi Miike, and is based on the Ichi The Killer manga series by  Hideo Yamamoto.

Kakihara is one cruel bastard.

 In Ichi The Killer, Tadanobu Asano plays Kakihara, a cruel sadomasochistic enforcer in the Yakuza who is looking for his boss, named Anjo. Kakihara thinks Anjo may have left town with a prostitute and 3 million yen of the gang's money. Desperate to find his boss, Kakihara eventually finds out that Anjo may have been kidnapped by a rival gang. He viciously tortures rival Yakuza gang members to find out where Anjo is. He finds out that Anjo was killed by a man named Ichi, and that he (Kakihara) is a target as well. Kakihara is intrigued by this development.

 Ichi (played by Nao Ōmori) is a very psychologically disturbed man. He is meek and withdrawn, usually. He plays video games all day at the house of Jiji (played by Shinya Tsukamoto), his mysterious caretaker. The thing is, when Ichi becomes sexually aroused, he becomes a killing machine! Ichi thinks of the Yakuza members that he's brutally murdering as the kids who bullied him when he was in school. Things get kind of complicated when Ichi helps a kid, Takeshi (played by Hiroshi Kobayashi), who is being bullied at the apartment complex they live in. Takeshi is the son of Kaneko (played by Hiroyuki Tanaka), a former police officer who now works under Kakihara in the Yakuza. Kakihara has very selfish reasons for finding Anjo, and eventually meeting up with Ichi. Will it be all Kakihara hopes for?

Ichi is seemingly a nice guy. Just don't turn him on.

 Ichi The Killer's reputation preceded itself when I first heard of it in the early 2000s. I heard it was gory, it was violent, and it was perverted. Finally seeing it in 2023... it more than lives up to its reputation! I had a chance of buying the special edition DVD back in the day (it came packaged with a bag of blood), but I just couldn't buy it. I was too worried about what the people in Best Buy (an electronics store) would think of me if I bought that DVD. I have regretted not buying it ever since then, but after watching it, I realize I would not have been ready for it back then! This movie is brutal. There are gallons of blood throughout. There are some disturbing torture scenes (which made me cringe, and cringe in the original use of the word, not the current internet version). I was digging my nails into my arms during some scenes; it was just too brutal. There are rape scenes in this as well, so fair warning!

 Takeshi is the only purely good person in this movie. It is very hard to root for Ichi, as you find out who he is and what drives him. You can kind of root for him when he is in his more docile mode, and he is killing Yakuza members, but Ichi is just too messed up of a person to fully support. Kakihara, on the other hand, is one evil and sadistic gangster. Let's just say, his motives are sexually based as well. He is not above hurting or mutilating a person to get what he wants, including himself! Great performances from both Nao Ōmori and Tadanobu Asano.

Ichi The Killer is brutal. That is not water being poured on his back, by the way.

 There are a lot of violent acts in Ichi The Killer. Ichi is a skilled martial artist, but he does not take very long to kill his victims. He has a hidden blade in the heel of his boot, and when that connects, it's over! The special effects, both practical and CGI, are well done. Apparently one special effect (let's call it "man nectar") was actually the real thing, so... keep that in mind. If you love brutal, bloody, gory violence, this is the movie for you!

 So, should you watch Ichi The Killer? Despite the extreme violence, the perversity, and the hard to root for characters, I would say yes! This movie deals with some very interesting subjects, the acting is excellent, the plot is compelling, and it is never boring. I left a lot out of the movie synopsis, because there are a lot of surprise revelations that will help you understand where everyone is coming from. Once again, this movie is not for children, and viewer discretion is strongly advised. If you're willing to take the plunge, you're in for quite the wild ride! Takashi Miike made another modern classic with this one.

 

The special collector's edition of Ichi The Killer that I passed on buying. Really wish I bought it back then! I'll get the blu-ray, regardless.

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed by David Williams