Killers (2014 film)
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''Killers'' ( ja, キラーズ}, "''Kirazu''") is a 2014 action horror film directed by Indonesian directing duo The Mo Brothers. A co-production between Japan and Indonesia, the screenplay was written by Takuji Ushiyama and The Mo Brothers'
Timo Tjahjanto Timo Tjahjanto (; born Timothy Tjahjanto; 4 September 1980) is an Indonesian film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his works on the horror and action genres. Tjahjanto runs the film production company Merah Production. Apart from ...
with
Kazuki Kitamura is a Japanese film and television actor who won the award for best supporting actor at the 21st Yokohama Film Festival for '' Minazuki'', ''Kyohansha'' and ''Kanzen-naru shiiku'' as well as the CUT ABOVE Award for Excellence in Film at JAPAN CUTS ...
and Oka Antara in the starring roles. The film won two out of its three nominations at the 34th Citra Awards, for Best Original Score and Best Sound.


Synopsis

Nomura Shuhei (Kazuki Kitamura) is a young Japanese executive in Tokyo who is charismatic and well-liked but has a darker side. He killed several people and documented his violent crimes online. In addition, he uploaded the video of the murder to the Internet for all to see for his satisfaction. Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Bayu Aditya (Oka Antara), an ambitious journalist from Indonesia. He suffers from his obsession with uncovering the case of a politician named Dharma (Ray Sahetapy). This caused the breakup of his relationship with his wife Dina (Luna Maya), and his career fell apart. When his life is filled with problems, Bayu watches one of Nomura's videos and finds another side to his personality. Bayu then feels inspired to become a serial killer. He starts to shape his character and kills as a rogue vigilante in the name of justice. Bayu uploads videos of his murdering spree to the Internet for the world to see. Unexpectedly, Bayu's video received a response like that of Nomura. They both connect via the Internet, and their bond becomes more complicated. A psychotic game of cat and mouse ensues as the two men battle for notoriety. Soon it becomes clear that it is only a matter of time until the two killers square off face to face.


Cast

*
Kazuki Kitamura is a Japanese film and television actor who won the award for best supporting actor at the 21st Yokohama Film Festival for '' Minazuki'', ''Kyohansha'' and ''Kanzen-naru shiiku'' as well as the CUT ABOVE Award for Excellence in Film at JAPAN CUTS ...
as Nomura Shuhei * Oka Antara as Bayu Aditya *
Rin Takanashi is a Japanese film and television actress. Career Takanashi starred in the 2007 film adaptation of the Japanese novel '' Goth'' as one of the lead characters, Yoru Morino. She starred in the 2009 Super Sentai series '' Samurai Sentai Shinkenger' ...
as Hisae Kawahara *
Luna Maya Luna Maya Sugeng (born 26 August 1983) is an Indonesian model, actress and presenter of Austrian descent. She started her career as an advertising and catwalk model. Career Luna began her career as a model. Her first acting job was a supporting ...
as Dina Aditya, Bayu's wife * Ray Sahetapy as Dharma * Ersya Aurelia as Elly Aditya * Epy Kusnandar as Robert * Mei Kurokawa as Midori *
Denden is a Japanese actor and former comedian.http://japancinema.net/2012/05/29/creative-spotlight-episode-126-denden He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1981. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * { ...
as Jyukai's father * Motoki Fukami as Officer Muroi *
Tara Basro Tara Basro (born 11 June 1990) is an Indonesian actress and musician. Born in Jakarta and educated in Australia, she began her career as a teenaged model before becoming established in the Indonesian film industry. Beginning with ''A Copy of My ...
as Dewi


Production

The film is a co-production between Indonesia's Guerilla Merah Films and Japan's Nikkatsu in association with
XYZ Films XYZ Films is an American film production and sales company founded in 2008 by Aram Tertzakian, Nate Bolotin and Nick Spicer, and is based in Los Angeles. It focuses on international genre films, including '' The Raid: Redemption'', '' The Raid 2'' ...
, marking the first feature film co-production between Japan and Indonesia. Tjahjanto mentioned in an interview that the idea for the film came from Ushiyama who, upon viewing the duo's breakout hit
Macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...
, proposed a slasher story involving two masked killers competing to kill people on the internet. The film's production also involved contributions from Gareth Evans' Merantau Films, Million Pictures, and
Daniel Mananta Daniel Mananta (born in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 14, 1981) is an Indonesian actor, presenter and television host of mixed Chinese and Javanese descent --sometimes known as VJ Daniel Mananta. He is an Indonesian entertainer whose name emer ...
's DAMN! I Love Indonesia Movies.


Release

''Killers'' premiered in the Park City Midnight section of the
2014 Sundance Film Festival The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with '' Whiplash'' directed by D ...
in January 20 as an official selection. It then received a theatrical release in Japan on February 1 and in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
in February 6. In the following months, the film was screened in multiple international film festivals. It was subsequently purchased for distribution in several top markets, including
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
by Tiberius Film GmbH,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
by Wild Side Films,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
by Calinos Films,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
by Sundream Motion Pictures,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
, North America by
Well Go USA Entertainment A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...
, and Australia &
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
by Vendetta Films.
Well Go USA Entertainment A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...
released the film in limited screens on January 23, 2015 and on DVD & Blu-ray on April 7, 2015. There are few differences between the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n, Japanese, and International theatrical versions. The Indonesian version has been edited with scenes containing excessive
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
and nudity being removed or softened to comply with local censorship regulations, while the Japanese and International theatrical versions contains scenes omitted from the Indonesian version.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a 73% score based on 15 verified reviews as of February 2021, indicating generally favorable reviews. In a positive review, Martin Tsai of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' wrote, "This seemingly generic thriller has plenty of twists in store, but perhaps none as surprising and impressive as its ability to manipulate the viewer–first to side with the villains, then to question one's own core beliefs." Conversely, Simon Abrams of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' called the film an "amateurishly realized sensationalism", criticizing Nomura's and Bayu's characters as "generically morbid sociopaths with way too much time, and blood, on their hands".


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * *
Nikkatsu official site
{{Authority control 2014 films Japanese action thriller films Indonesian action thriller films Japanese serial killer films Films about snuff films Films directed by the Mo Brothers Films set in Indonesia Films shot in Indonesia 2010s Indonesian-language films Nikkatsu films 2010s Japanese films