Movies
‘Lumberjack the Monster’ – Takashi Miike’s Serial Killer vs Psychopath Thriller Heads to Netflix This Summer
Prolific genre filmmaker Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer) is back with Lumberjack the Monster, an adaptation of Kaibutsu no Kikori by Mayusuke Kurai. And it’s heading to Netflix this summer.
It’s going to be battle to the death between a serial killer and a psychopath.
Lumberjack the Monster will make its North American premiere on May 6 at the Japan Society, in partnership with Tribeca Festival’s Escape from Tribeca, ahead of its Netflix debut on June 1, 2024.
In the film, “Akira Ninomiya (Kamenashi) is a remorseless lawyer who doesn’t hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in his way. One night he is brutally attacked by an unknown assailant wearing a monster mask. Although he miraculously survives the assault, Ninomiya becomes fixated on finding the attacker and getting revenge. Meanwhile, a series of gruesome murders occur where the victims are found with their brains removed from their bodies. While police conduct an intensive investigation, Ninomiya seeks revenge against the assaulter. Who will uncover the truth first?!”
Hiroyoshi Koiwai (Blade of the Immortal, Bleach) wrote the screenplay.
Kazuya Kamenashi, Nanao, Riho Yoshioka, Shota Sometani, and Shido Nakamura star.
The film’s official site explains, “A series of bizarre murders in which people wear a monster mask from the picture book ‘Monster Woodcutter’ and steal their brains with an axe.” The teaser also touts Miike’s feature as “insanely suspenseful.”
Whoever loses, all signs point to audiences winning. Miike always delivers on the unexpected and never shies away from pushing boundaries when it comes to violence or taboos.
Lumberjack the Monster premiered in Japan in December, 2023, so it’s good news that we don’t have much longer to wait.
If you need to explore more from the super violent world of Takashi Miike horror, you can check out Miike’s Gozu, a surreal genre film about a Yakuza enforcer, over on SCREAMBOX.
Tickets to the premiere are available now.
NEON has been absolutely slaying the marketing game for their horror output this year, and they’re kicking the Longlegs campaign into high gear with one more month until release.
A cryptic ad in The Seattle Times today (seen below) has led clever horror fans to discover TheBirthdayMurders.net, the brand new official viral marketing website for Longlegs.
The in-universe website details the victims of the serial killer known as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), described as a “Satan-worshipping psycho” who has terrorized families throughout the Pacific Northwest for nearly three decades.
The website details, “A bloody trail of bodies here in the great state of Oregon attests to the depraved savagery of this one-of-a-kind serial killer. With over three dozen victims that we know of, LONGLEGS is one of the most prolific mass murderers ever to have graced the region, and his gruesome endeavors are the stuff of nightmares. At first, all of the killings appeared to be straightforward murder-suicides: the handiwork of average men who suddenly snapped and slaughtered their wives and children. But a series of eerie coded messages left at the crime scenes indicate that someone – or something – is influencing these horrific crimes. The cryptic letters are signed by someone calling himself LONGLEGS.”
“With thirty-eight kills to his name, LONGLEGS has torn apart the lives of eleven different families throughout the Beaver State. His victims were good people: honest fathers, decent mothers, innocent little children.”
The website is loaded with secrets, clues, and gruesome (faux) crime scene photos, and you might even find a mention of yours truly nestled in there. Poke around. Stay a while.
Longlegs arrives in theaters July 12.
The upcoming serial killer horror movie marks the return of director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel). Nicolas Cage stars alongside Maika Monroe, with Monroe playing an FBI agent and Cage playing a serial killer.
In the film, “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
The film is rated “R” for “Bloody violence, disturbing images and some language.”
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