Ichi the Killer

2001 ‘殺し屋1’ Directed by Takashi Miike

Love really hurts

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.

Tadanobu Asano Nao Ōmori Shinya Tsukamoto SABU Paulyn Sun Susumu Terajima Shun Sugata Toru Tezuka Yoshiki Arizono Kiyohiko Shibukawa Satoshi Niizuma Suzuki Matsuo Jun Kunimura Morooka Moro Houka Kinoshita Yoshiyuki Morishita Yuki Kazamatsuri Rio Aoki Makoto Takeda Sakichi Satō Kaori Sugawara Hiroshi Kobayashi Mai Goto Manzô Shinra Masataka Haji Hideo Sako

Alternative Titles

Koroshiya Ichi, Ichi - O Assassino, Ichi The Killer, Koroshiya 1, Ichi the killer, Убийца Ичи, 이치 더 킬러, 杀手阿一

crime action horror

129 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Ryan Francis ★★★★½ 3

My friend requested that we watch something "twisted". I simply put Ichi the Killer in and let her regret that particular request and letting me choose to begin with.
Review by Jay ★★★★ 13

uncut gems: our title sequence is inside a rectum
ichi the killer’s cum pool title card: you are like a baby, watch this
Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★★★ 18

Please cue up the tune... Hurt So Good!
I found it amusing that the publicity machine for the film handed out barf bags at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Stockholm International Film Festival!
Even more amusing was the fact that it was subsequently banned in Norway after news of someone actually upchucking in said barf bag and another in the audience had fainted! Malaysia and Germany subsequently banned the film as well!
Obviously this isn't a film for mainstream audiences! You would think the minute someone started handing out barf bags that would have clued the "faint of heart" in on the type of film that was to be shown and perhaps they should pass on the film…
Review by DirkH ★★★★ 18

..........what the hell did I just watch?
And why exactly did I like it so much?
Sometimes I worry me............
Review by Ava Davis ★★★½ 9

Ichi the Incel
Review by josh lewis ★★★★ 2

i have very little idea what happened but it was pretty gross. 4 stars
Review by 1̶̢̧͉̞̰͕̤̰̏̍͜ͅ%̸̢͈͉̖͚̗̦̻̼̫̍͂̔͝ ̸̨̡̲͙̠̭̺̝͕͇̊́̐̉̑̓͛̓͘͝ȍ̵̮̉̀̑̏͘͘f̶̹͉̩̯̗͙̗̼̈̒̍̆̍̕ ̷̼͈̖͈̟̔̽̒̄̿̓̌̚͝M̶̡̖̪̗͖̝̆̀͜o̶̮͕̦͛̈́̈́̏́͋̔͂̕͘n̴̛͉͍̳̦̈́̽̐̆̀̋̌s̸̨̠̽ţ̸̡̡͕̜͖̝̪̙͘͜͝e̶̿̈́͂͊͗ͅr̵̪͕̞̖̩͆ ★★★★½ 2

this is a certified coom classic
Review by YI JIAN ★★★★★

Honestly, without exaggeration, the most depraved film of all time. I've been putting this off for six years and after testing the waters by venturing into Visitor Q (Sorry God), I've finally found the guts to watch it, turns out it's just as twisted, absurd and gory as I've expected it to be; I beg you, don't see me as some sort of delusional maniac for saying this, but I love it, really, every inch of it.
Ichi the Killer is a film that features everything under the sun that is frowned, spitted or vomited upon by a normal, healthy, functioning society-- that includes abuse, murder, torture, sadism, masochism, necrophilia, misogyny, rape, penis mutilation (though toned down a lot compared…
Review by amaya ★★★★ 6

it's really worrying that after watching such a perverted & vile movie my first thought was "ok i want to steal all of kakihara's clothes"
Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★

The most brutal and depraved 13 year old boy fantasy ever put on screen.
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★ 8

The World Is More Than Enough 3: You Haven't Seen That Yet?!
3/30 - Japan
It says here that Ichi The Killer is 129 minutes long. Not hours.
So how come it felt much longer? I am a fan of Takeshi Miike but from the films I've seen from him, generally it seems I'm in trouble when he decides to do something longer. The only exception to that would be Gozu, a film I regard as something of a minor modern masterpiece of violent delirium, sexual deviance and black comedy.
Where Gozu succeeds yet Ichi The Killer and, to a certain extent, Lesson Of The Evil fail is that despite the fact that it is not always advancing its main…
Review by <Todd> ★★★½

"Just a little torture." -Kakihara,
- 5x5 Directors Challenge 3 (Takashi Miike 1/5): boxd.it/7ALXq
Yep, this is pretty gross.
Ichi the Killer is about a sadomasochistic Yakuza hitman that goes on a crazy torture tour when his boss goes missing. It's a nasty movie that looks at a list of trigger warnings and says "looks good." Ichi the Killer is also at times a fairly thoughtful piece on violence with a fully realized character as the centerpiece in everything but the film title. I love the stylized violence... it's very effective horror... and the story is really engaging. I have to admit I had trouble with the abuse of women in this film, which at times felt too casual and jokey for my tastes, despite fitting in with the overall tone of the film.
I liked it, and I feel dirty for that.

Recent reviews

Review by dylanmarshall ★★★½

Sou um grande fã do mangá e me decepcionei em como adaptaram algumas partes, apesar de em grande parte eles terem adaptado o rumo da história de modo fiel, eles cortaram muita coisa que tinha no mangá, principalmente a relação que o ichi tem com o Jijii e algumas cenas apesar de bem produzidas ao fator cinema, não chegam ao pé da cena no mangá, muitas partes que eram emocionantes, perdem muito na adaptação, isso eu achei muito triste, mas na questão de filme, muito bem produzido, porém como tem pouco envolvimento do jijii, muitas das ações, parecem sem sentido, foda.
Review by Cristian Torres ★★ 1

Thanks. I hate it.
Review by Nate Houston ★★★½

Kill Bill = Tarantino's brain
Ichi the Killer = Tarantino's brain on drugs
Review by cate cavalera ★★★ 1

que gorezao vsff
Review by Luci ★★★★★

This movie owns bones. THE FUCKING FASHIONS! Pretty obsessed.
Review by Beliz Yüksel ★★★★½

Kakihara'yı hayatıma kattığınız için hepinize teşekkür ederim.
Review by rüveyda ★★★★★

Duvarda akışkanlaşan surata rağmen beşi yapıştırdım, enfesti.
Review by ell ★★★★★

1. do Nike make some of those blade shoes? wanna cop a pair or two
2. why do mfs that wanna brutally murder each other live in the same apartment complex?
3. the guy on the poster isn’t even Ichi 😒
4. at what point is kinkshaming valid?
5. they had no business making Kakihara so goddamn attractive 😩 his fits were ON FIRE
6. Ichi the Killer spelled out in cum..... perfect movie
7. also Hey karen i know ur dead but hey 😏😏
Review by David Potsubay ★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Don't know why I did this to myself but did a double feature of Miike's "The Audition" and this film. I thought this one was not quite as well crafted as his previous film - this felt grungier, stylized more erratically, and the strangest thing: going from a type of anti-masculinity, "men are trash" type of film to this one, which exploits gratuitious scenes of rape and violence towards women's bodies.
That being said, someone one Reddit called this film a parody of Batman, and that's a solid take. The main Yakuza dude, the one on the cover, makes the film for me.
Review by Jared_Richards ★★★½

Gruesome as hell. Extremely disturbing and unsettling. Yet funny as fuck.
Would have rated it higher but I thought the runtime was too long, due to the middle portion of the film dragging a bit.
Review by Neeta

I didn’t know what to expect with this movie honestly but after finishing it I can definitely expect it to be rattling in a head for a while
Review by av ★★★★ 2

shocking, hilarious, and sadomasochistic; all words that describe both this movie and the iconic man on that poster, Kakihara. in comparison to Audition, this doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s for the best. you can tell Miike had a lot of fun with this one. you can also tell him to stay the fuck away from me.
the narrative switches between a bloodthirsty Kakihara and a deranged Ichi, building up a sense of... dread? excitement? maybe a little bit of both. that opening is enough to let you know what kind of shit you’re getting yourself into with this one. but with what this movie’s offering, i think it’s totally worth the bargain.
the bizarro story. the over-the-top…