Ichi the Killer
2001 · Movie · R · 129 min · ★ 7.0 · 59% critics
When a sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer searches for his missing boss, he draws closer to a deeply disturbed killer who seems capable of inflicting unimaginable pain. The chase pulls them into escalating brutality, mixing gang tensions with a dark psychological obsession.
Based on Ichi the Killer
Also known as Koroshiya 1
Where to watch
Streaming on Cineverse, Fandor, Screambox +2 more.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- 殺し屋1
- Years
- 2001
- Release date
- 2001-12-22
- Language
- Japanese
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Critic score
- 59/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (1,100 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy Ichi the Killer if you want an extreme, black-comedy-inflected yakuza horror ride with shocking brutality and standout weirdness, but Not for you if you’re squeamish about on-screen violence or sexual violence, or if you prefer tamer thrillers like Lesson of the Evil.
Pros: memorable extreme energy; disturbing black humor; standout performer moments | Cons: confusing plot flow; excessive implied gore; tonal inconsistency
Themes
- assassin
- pain
- yakuza
- gore
- dominatrix
- violence against women
- piercing
- based on manga
- drugs
- criminal underworld
- twins
- blade
- +9 more
Cast & crew
Tadanobu Asano
as Kakihara
Nao Omori
as Ichi
Shinya Tsukamoto
as Jijii
SABU
as Kaneko
Paulyn Sun
as Karen
Susumu Terajima
as Suzuki
Shun Sugata
as Takayama
Toru Tezuka
as Fujiwara
Yoshiki Arizono
as Nakazawa
Kiyohiko Shibukawa
as Ryu Long
Directed by Takashi Miike