Tak Sakaguchi Movies
Twenty-six horror directors collaborate on an anthology film where each filmmaker directs a segment focusing on a death based on a letter in the alphabet. Among the directors involved are A Serbian Film's Srdjan Spasojevic, The House of the Devil's Ti West, and Black Death's Christopher Smith. Drafthouse Films and Timpson Films produce. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
Tak Sakaguchi (Versus, Mutant Girls Squad) directs and stars in this outrageous, gore-drenched action comedy following the son of a murdered Yakuza boss as he is transformed into a robotic killing machine, and seeks violent revenge against his father's killers. Shozo Iwaki (Sakaguchi) is on assignment in South America when he receives word that his father, prominent crime boss Kenzo Iwaki (Akaji Maro) has just been assassinated. Upon arriving back home and learning that the man responsible is none other than Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi) - his late father's right-hand man - Shozo sets out to deliver bloody payback. In the explosive battle that follows, Shozo loses and arm and a leg and Kurawaki is knocking on death's door. Later awakening in a clandestine operating room with an M61 Vulcan cannon for a right arm and a rocket launcher for a left leg, the vengeful Shozo realizes he's been given a second chance to settle his score with Kurawaki. Meanwhile, the backstabbing gangster has transformed Shozo's best friend Tetsuo (Jun Murakami) into a drug-crazed killer, and dispatched him on a mission to kill Shozo on sight. Now in order to get to Kurawaki, Shozo will have to go through his best friend first. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tak Sakaguchi
A teenage girl takes on the powers that be who have plans for her and her friends in this over-the-top sci-fi action yarn from the filmmaking team of Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi. Rin (Yumi Sugimoto) has always felt like an outcast among her classmates and peers, and as she's about to turn sixteen, she finds out why -- while her mother (Maiko Ito) is human, her dad (Kanji Tsuda) is a Hiruko, a race of mutant creatures whose bodies transform themselves in strange ways and can sprout weapons at will. Defense Minister Koshimizu (Naoto Takenaka) has launched a crusade to eliminate the Hirukos in the name of public safety, but Rin's father tells her of an underground Hiruko alliance who are fighting for their right to survive, and after the death of her parents, Rin makes her way to a training camp for young Hirukos. Rin, who now has long blades where her fingers used to be, teams up with fellow teenage warriors Rei (Yuko Takayama), Yoshie (Suzuka Morita), Sachie (Cay Izumi) and Chiako (Naoi Nagano), all of whom have unique bodily weapons of their own, as they set out to take down Koshimizu. Sento Shojo: Chi No Tekkamen Densetsu) (aka Mutant Girls Squad) received its North American premiere at the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2010
A meek man is forced into the schemes of a murderer in this dark fusion of horror and comedy from director Sion Sono. Shamoto (Mitsuru Kukikoshi) is the nerdy proprietor of a store dealing in tropical fish. Shamoto's home life isn't especially happy -- his second wife, Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka), has a sharp tongue and an eye for other men, while his teenage daughter, Mitsuko (Hikari Kajiwara), has little use for either of them. One night, Mitsuko is picked up for shoplifting at a supermarket, but another customer, Murata (Denden), unexpectedly steps in to help. Murata, who owns a much larger fish store, offers to give Mitsuko a job, and Shamoto is grateful for his help. However, before long Mitsuko is literally living in Murata's store, and Shamoto suspects his new friend is not as benevolent as he first thought -- a notion confirmed when Murata and his wife, Aiko (Asuka Kurosawa), trick Shamoto into cleaning up the scene of a murder they've just committed. Loosely inspired by a true story, Tsumetai Nettaigyo (aka Cold Fish) received its North American premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2009
Adapted from the outrageous manga by Hiroshi Takahashi, this sequel to Crows Zero continues the story of Takiya Genji, the son of a powerful yakuza boss who transfers to the gang-ridden Suzuran All-Boys High School with one goal in mind: unite the school's many, warring gangs under one banner, and prove to his father that he can handle the family business. Unfortunately, he has some competition in the form of Serizawa Tamao, a gang leader also known as "King of the Beasts." ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shun Oguri, Takayuki Yamada, (more)
A group of aspiring samurais learn that true honor doesn't come without great suffering - not to mention some good old fashioned humiliation - in actor-turned-director Tak Sakaguchi's adaptation of the Akira Miyashita's popular manga. Spineless Hidemaro isn't much of a man, so in order to gain some intestinal fortitude he enrolls in Otoko-juku. At Otoko-juku, students train to be samurais the old fashioned way - through sheer endurance. It certainly isn't a walk in the park, and precious few freshmen actually make the cut. Others, like Momo (Sakaguchi), seem to possess the strength and stamina of 10 men. Later, just as Hidemaro begins to get the hang of life at Otoko-juku, a ruthless former student returns to campus determined to overthrow the faculty, and impose his own brutal will on the current crop of pupils. With their backs against the wall, Hidemaro, his classmates, and their teachers prepare to take back the campus by force. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2008
A typical Japanese schoolgirl becomes a full-fledged zombie fighter when she travels to the countryside for a visit with her grandfather, and discovers his village has been overrun with the living dead. Rika almost made it to her grandfather's house in one piece, but a run in with some particularly hungry flesh-eaters left her half the girl she used to be. Fortunately for Rika, Grandpa Ryuhei is a talented surgeon. In the process of patching his granddaughter up, Ryuhei goes one step further and turns Rika into the ultimate zombie fighting machine. But Rika's ordeal isn't over just yet, because Zombie Boss Glorian is still out there and thirsting for vengeance. Perhaps with a little help from her friends Takashi and Yuji Rika will finally lay waste to the lowest of the low, and somehow find the time to keep up her good grades. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2008
A pleasant day trip turns into a blood-spattered nightmare in this extreme horror vehicle from actor and director Tak Sakaguchi. A happy family is taking a trip to the country when their mini-van is sidelined by a pair of angry criminals intent upon taking the vehicle and any valuables inside. The crooks lead the family into what looks like an abandoned village in the woods, but they quickly discover they picked the wrong place to pull a carjacking -- this section of the forest is patrolled by Yoroi, an undead samurai who has not lost his talent for killing even though he's been deceased for quite some time. Yoroi doesn't distinguish between heroes and villains, and soon everyone involved is fighting for their lives against the undying warrior with the deadly sword. Yoroi: Samurai Zonbi (aka Youoi: The Samurai Zombie) was an official selection at the 2009 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
A fearsome samurai hungering for the ultimate challenge is forced to do battle with a powerful temple monk intent on preventing ultimate destruction in an action-packed swordplay adventure in which the fate of the world lies in a mysterious coffin. Grave (Tak Sakaguchi) is a samurai whose power is unequaled by mortal man. In his desperate quest to find a suitable foe with whom to do battle, Grave steals an ancient coffin from the Tougan Temple said to contain the mythical Goddess of Destruction. Now, as Grave drags the coffin across the countryside in search of a way to pry it open and unleash the power contained inside, a temple monk charged with the task of ensuring the safety of mankind sets out to stop Grave from freeing the Goddess of Destruction even if it means sacrificing his own life in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tak Sakaguchi
Yudai Yamaguchi, who worked with Ryuhei Kitamura on the screenplays for Versus and Alive, makes his directorial debut with the low-budget zombie sports musical comedy Battlefield Baseball. The prospects for the new season are looking bright for the Seido High baseball team. With their best hitter, Gorilla, leading the squad, the coach anticipates a successful year, despite the presence of the runty Four Eyes (Atsushi Ito). But then the coach finds out that his team has to play the dreaded murderous zombie team from Gedo High, a team that makes up its own deadly rules, and he considers forfeiting the entire season. But a new student, the intriguingly named Jubeh the Baseball (Tak Sakaguchi, who has appeared in several of Kitamura's films), shows up and demonstrates his amazing baseball prowess in a fight with the local gang of dropouts. Jubeh's arrival renews the team's hopes, but when Four Eyes asks him to play, Jubeh explains, in a heartrending musical number, the tragic reason why he's vowed never to play baseball again. Four Eyes sees through Jubeh's pain to his genuine love for the game, and convinces him to help the team. But on the day of the big game against Gedo High, Jubeh finds himself in jail, and Gorilla and the rest of the Seido team try to forge ahead, with horrific results. Jubeh eventually gets out of jail, and with the help of some unlikely allies, takes on the Gedo team in a bloody showdown. Battlefield Baseball, based on a manga by Gatarô Man, was shown at the 2004 New York Asian American Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
Evil Dead 2 meets Street Fighter by way of The Matrix in this wild and woolly zombie/yakuza/samurai/kung fu/splatter flick directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. Throughout the world there are 666 portals to the other side; the 444th is Japan and is called the Forest of Resurrection, where good has battled evil for time immemorial. The film opens with prisoner KSC2-303 (Tak Sakaguchi) and his fellow cellmate escaping a maximum-security prison and ending up in the forest where they are supposedly to be picked up by a band of gangsters in a shiny Mercedes and taken to a safer place. Instead, the gangsters try to use them and a female hostage (Chieko Misaka) as pawns in a larger power struggle. A gunfight ensues killing KSC2-303's colleague and the mob boss, but just as the standoff is about to yield more violence, an odd thing happens -- the dead get up and attack the living. In the chaos, KSC2-303 and girl disappear into the forest with a band of slickly coifed yakuza in hot pursuit. High-kicks, machine guns, and rampant disembowelments ensue. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, (more)
In the years before he struck big as the writer of the action/horror hit Versus and the director of Battlefield Baseball, Japanese filmmaker Yudai Yamaguchi teamed with charismatic then-unknown Tak Sakaguchi for this series of outrageous and outlandish experimental vignettes. The laughs come fast and furious in a collectionj of surreal comedy clips featuring energetic rock and roll music, slapstick mayhem, and an abundance of juvenile humor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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