Ichi the Killer

2003 "Love really hurts."
7| 2h9m| en
Details

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 7-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
kaz_3307 TW: Rape, sexual violence. This is my first Imdb review and i'm writing it partly because this film was tricky for me to rate, partly with the hope that someone who isn't okay with seeing simulated rape can be spared from watching this, and partly because it really unsettled me and affected me. So the movie opens with a brutal and explicit rape scene, which really caught me off guard. I'm still left wondering why they included this. Although i understand that the movie is an exploration of senseless gang/crime related violence, as well as themes of sadomasochism (mostly sadism let's face it), this scene was extremely uncomfortable, and i'd much rather watch simple physical torture scenes over and over than be forced to witness the complete degradation and dehumanisation of not one but two women, repeatedly. This is what really got to me- there are multiple rape scenes and furthermore constant flashbacks to another incident of rape, this left me on edge throughout the whole movie and really distracted me from the core themes of hypermasculinity and violence among these men who seem to be completely devoid of any real emotion or compassion, and all the main characters are totally self involved, obsessed with their self indulgent fantasies. Although it would have had great potential as more of an action comedy with underlying deeper themes exploring violence, in the end it felt lacking in delivering any substantial message or insight, and really just became the very thing it was supposed to/could have been critical of. The characters were completely disgusting, but they seemed to be portrayed as neutral, not bad or good, which didn't make sense to me. Not only this but all 3 of the only women in this movie were brutally raped, beaten and killed. Granted most people were killed in this movie but the thing that really turned me off this movie was the emphasis on gendered sexual violence towards women in this movie. There was no reason for it as far as I can see, and contributed nothing to the plot. Aside from all this the concept of a "superhero" type character completely repressed and devoid of morality killing people who he thinks are bullies and crying while doing so was pretty funny, and as i said i wish this movie played up that comedy more, instead it left me feeling like it was making a mockery out of violence particularly violence against women, whose stories were treated with complete disrespect.
D Rahul Raj Jsd Takashi is truly A Master and A Father Of The Extreme Genre. He has the guts to do anything that is the most violent, messed up, sickest things, that will make you squirm like a worm. As for me, I do not find it disturbing at all. I love watching movies like this and I live for this stuff, cause we all know : it's only a movie. The reason I love watching extreme stuff is because it's something new that you don't usually see in an ordinary movie and if you look at it in the positive way like I do, it's actually kind of amazing that all of these visions are brought into a film. My favorite character in this movie, who I believe is one of the most talked-about characters in the extreme genre world till this very day, is Kakihara, played by the Incredible Tadanobu Asano, who is simply perfect and powerful in his performance. He plays a sadistic, cruel, yakuza gangster with a sick twisted slit-mouthed smile, searching for his missing boss. If you are an extreme movie lover and you have never seen this remarkable feature, get ready to be blown away by this ultra violent masterpiece from one of my favorite controversial directors of all time!!!
majiin4 Badass movie. BDSM, sadism, torture, mafia, yakuza, finally one of the most accessible Japanese movie for this kind of genre. Ichi is a freaky psychopath manipulated, despite his kid & shy looking he reacts like a heartless evil monster and kills with no limits or rules. Kakihara is damn "swag", pure masochist mafia boss who dreams of despair situations, only Ichi will give him the ultimate pain he's looking for. The story is really nice, and I strongly recommend you to read the original manga by Hideo Yamamoto which is clearly more gore than the movie. You're also welcome to see the OAV Anime to complete the knowledge of the story. And finally, you can fully enjoy the Original Soundtrack composed by Karera Musication who's a total blast. I have everything : Movie - Manga - OAV - OST > I'm a Koroshiya groupie ^^ Arigato.
lois-lane33 I knew of the actor who plays the part of Ichi The Killer from another film called Fallen Angels where he also plays a killer connected to organized crime in Asia. Aside from that actors performance, the film is pretty much a dud and is also probably the grossest and bloodiest film I've ever seen in my entire life and that is really saying something. Typically bad acting is here aplenty-a thing that often mars Asian cinema in films like Old Boy and a number of other pseudo martial arts epics that have come out of Asia in the past decade or so. There isn't much special or even good about this movie-in many ways it is the personification of 'hack cinematography.' Nobody survives in the film or learns anything at all making it a real black journey in the true sense of the concept. Don't waste your time with this crap. In case you are interested the guy on the poster isn't 'Ichi The Killer'-he's is a crime lord of some type in the film who is being targeted by Ichi's rival organization.