30 Lesser Known Japanese Cult Films That Are Worth Your Time
by www.tasteofcinema.com
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- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsShinji TakedaNori SatôEiichirô FunakoshiA man and a woman are together on the 'Chrysalis Day', the fatal day everything in your life will be decided depends on how you spend the day. A violent man holding pure love, Sai and a stunningly beautiful playgirl, Sheila. While Sheila flees with a large sum of money, she is chased by a cool but violent gang, crazy killers and an out of control cop. No one can stop Sai and Sheila's love runaway.
- DirectorAkio JissôjiStarsHiroyuki SanadaKyûsaku ShimadaYumi YoshiyukiDetective Kogoro Akechi is faced with a peculiar murder case involving forgeries of classic pornographic artworks.
- DirectorYôichi SaiStarsYûya UchidaAnn LewisKyôko KoizumiJukkai no Mosukito is the tragic story of a policeman who has never succeeded in anything in life and seems to be hopelessly bound to failure in all his undertakings. His ex-wife and daughter constantly badger him for more money but nothing else. As he lives alone the policeman buys a personal computer that he can ill-afford, in an effort to make some kind of human interaction.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKô ShibasakiHideaki ItôEbizô IchikawaFiction begins to bleed into reality for actors (Ebizo Ichikawa, Ko Shibasaki, Hideaki Ito) as they rehearse a stage production of a classic Japanese ghost story.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsAtsushi ItôKiyohiko ShibukawaNoriko EguchiSeveral seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsJoe OdagiriJai WestMotoki FukamiFaced by a society of criminals, these three youths avenge their rights.
- DirectorYôhei FukudaStarsKazuyuki AijimaHirofumi ArakiShôta ChiyoHideaki and his 6th grade classmates Takeshi, Chie and Tetsuya, wake up to find themselves in their old elementary school after the suicide of their teacher. They are forced to torture one another by playing X Game, which was created by Takeshi to bully a girl named Mariko.
- DirectorEiichirô HasumiStarsHaruka AyaseMunetaka AokiTôru NakamuraA female teacher takes charge of a high school volleyball club and promises to show the students her breasts if they can win the next game.
- DirectorTetsuro TakeuchiStarsGuitar WolfDrum WolfBass WolfOnly legendary Japanese garage rock band Guitar Wolf can stand between a race of aliens from destroying earth with an army of zombies.
- DirectorSabuStarsShin'ichi TsutsumiKeisuke HoribeRen ÔsugiA postman is mistaken for a dangerous criminal by the police.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsShigeru TsuyuguchiYoshie HayakawaShôhei ImamuraPlastics salesman Oshima disappeared without a word to anyone, and has been missing for two years. Shohei Imamura and his crew follow Oshima's fiancé Yoshie and actor Shigeru Tsuyuguchi as they investigate the disappearance.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsYoshiki ArizonoTadanobu AsanoMasakatsu FunakiA violent, guitar-playing, electrically charged boxer faces off against an electronic wizard half-merged with a metallic Buddha.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoKirina ManoTatsuya NakamuraA man sees his life changed forever when his fiancee shoots herself. Baffled, he wants by all means to obtain such a weapon of destruction and he finds himself caught in the middle of a violent group of young vicious punks. They first beat him severely and then he seeks revenge with his fist, then with a gun. Everything from then on is a complete downward spiral.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsAkira EmotoDaijirô HaradaMansaku IkeuchiA mother and daughter living alone in a small village in deep Japan manage to get out of poverty seducing men, who offer their sexual services and then poisoned with a drink similar to sake.
- DirectorMacoto TezukaStarsReika HashimotoKaori KawamuraShunsuke MatsuokaA Tokyo detective investigates after a fashion model witnesses a brutal slaying by a serial killer.
- DirectorKôsuke SuzukiStarsSora AoiKen'ichi EndôYasuhito Hida
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHisao MakiMasaru MatsudaDaisuke NagakuraA ex-prisoner hires the invincible bodyguard Kiba to protect him from vengeful Yakuza, while he travels cross-country to the location of some hidden loot.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsShin'ichi ChibaStrong KongôHikaru KurosakiKabamaru is a young boy raised and trained by his grandfather as a ninja. After the sudden death of his grandfather, he starts living with Mai, his grandfather's mistress, who is a school director. He is asked to help out on struggles against other schools, as he is master of the ninja mystical arts. As time passes he will make lots of friends as well as enemies, and fall in love with Mai.
- DirectorNoboru IguchiStarsAya KiguchiHitomi HasebeTakumi SaitôAfter receiving robotic implants, two sisters compete as assassins.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsShin'ichi ChibaKenji SawadaAkiko KanaCenturies ago, a samurai survives the massacre of 35,000 Christians and denounces God for ignoring the pleas of the believers. He sells his soul to the devil and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him on a murderous rampage.
- DirectorSeiji ChibaStarsMasanori MimotoShûji KashiwabaraDonpei TsuchihiraA comet crashes into a Japanese forest and a group of mighty ninjas must fight a group of killer Aliens before they reach their village and kill everyone.
- DirectorShin'ya NishimuraStarsRuby AibaShion MachidaShôichi MatsudaA porn fanatic, a drifter, a jobless man and a magic-mushroom farmer are drawn together at an orgy.
- DirectorKôji WakamatsuStarsTamaki KatoriMizako KagaEtsuko WakayamaDuring violent manifestations in late 1960s in Japan, a group of students who called themselves the Rose Colored Regiment hide in the house of a mysterious young man, and have sex with the same girl while waiting for new instructions.
- DirectorTak SakaguchiStarsMitsuru FukikoshiIssei IshidaTak SakaguchiA family is kidnapped by a couple who have guns. Wandering lost, they get together in a place where there are zombies in samurai armor. Encountering zombies and police, reunited family struggle and get to confront a tragic secret.
- DirectorHideaki AnnoStarsShunji IwaiAyako FujitaniJun MurakamiA disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young girl who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKôichi SatôSaki TakaokaKeiko OginomeWhen Tamiya Iyemon joins the Asano Clan, he brings with him a legacy of death. Aside from Horibe Yasubei, he is the only one with fighting experience and could help the group carrying out their long-awaited vendetta against Lord Kira.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsRyô IkebeMariko KagaTakashi FujikiA gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKen UtsuiJunko IkeuchiMinoru TakadaThe 1st film in the Super Giant movie series, in which the title hero saves the world from foreign terrorsts threatening Japan with a nuclear attack (Part 1 of 2)
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsEimei SasakiMasahiro SaitoYukiko KobayashiAn angst-ridden teen dealing with his dysfunctional family hits the streets. The story is inter-cut with various psychedelic, energetic vignettes.