| Yakuza Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Takashi Miike |
| Written by | Yoshitaka Yamaguchi |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Hajime Kanda |
| Edited by | Kenji Yamashita |
| Music by | Kôji Endô |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Nikkatsu |
Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes[1] |
| Country | Japan |
| Languages |
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Yakuza Apocalypse (極道大戦争,Gokudō Daisensō) is a 2015 Japaneseactionfantasy–yakuzavampire film directed byTakashi Miike and starringHayato Ichihara,Yayan Ruhian, andRiko Narumi.[2][3] It was written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi. It premiered at theCannes Film Festival on May 21, 2015, before being released theatrically on June 20 throughout Japan.
Genyo Kamura is a benevolentYakuza boss who is secretly avampire. Because of this, he can withstand almost every injury, but he must also periodically drink blood from other people. One day, agunslinging priest and amartial artist named Mad-Dog arrive in Kamura's town, where theydecapitate Kamura and wound his second-in-command Akira Kageyama. In his last moments, Kamura's dying head bites Kageyama, thus turning him into a vampire too.
Dazed and confused, Kageyama wanders the streets and bites a passerby, who also becomes a vampire, which initiates a vampireepidemic. Eventually, the entire town population becomes vampires, except for the local Yakuza, since vampires dislike Yakuza blood.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that the Yakuza Captain has been secretly working for the priest and Mad-Dog, who talk about a "modern monster" that is supposed to arrive in town with delay. Furthermore, the Captain starts exhibiting strange behaviour and her brain starts to melt and sporadically flow out of herear canal. The "modern monster" is revealed to be a man in a froginflatable costume who is a superbacrobatic martial artists and canhypnotize people.
In the film's climax, two Yakuza brothers manage to kill the priest and attempt to kill the monster, but get killed. Meanwhile, anaxe-wielding vampire boy kills the rambling Captain. After that, Kageyama and the frog-monster have a duel in which the monster's costume gets destroyed except for hisface-mask, and Kageyama seemingly kills the monster by taking off 2band-aids which covered the monster'snavel.
Weakened Kageyama kisses his love interest Kyoko, and after that, he and Mad-Dog have a drawn-out test of strength during which Mad-Dog dies. The film ends with Kageyama growingbat-wings and flying off, while Kyoko rings agong and a gigantic version of the frog-costumed monster starts destroying the landscape.
Production on the film began on 17 April 2014. The film features Indonesian actor and stunt choreographer Yayan Ruhian, who had previously co-starred inThe Raid andThe Raid 2. It marks his first foray into acting outside of his native Indonesia.
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has a 63% rating, based on 40 reviews.[4]Metacritic reports a 62 out of 100 rating, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
