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Movie poster

The Killing Game

19730.0 / 100
Horror, TV Movie

Overview

A middle-aged office worker, Masao Okada (Eiji Okada), discovers that his worsening illness is terminal cancer. Shaken and resigned, he meets a mysterious man, Suzuki (Haruo Tanaka), who knows every detail of his life. Also a dying patient, Suzuki proposes a “game”: two men with little time left will live in suspense, wondering when and how the other might kill, using paranoia as a way to escape the greater fear of death. Directed by Yasuharu Hasebe and based on a story by Kyotaro Nishimura, this short TV film from "Horror Theater Unbalance" blends psychological dread with social reflection. Alongside Okada’s fragile romance with nurse Akiko (Masumi Harukawa), the story introduces a nihilistic subplot where a reckless young couple (Renji Ishibashi among them) engage in a fatal dare that ends in self-destruction — echoing the era’s sense of emptiness and contrasting Okada’s struggle to find meaning in the face of death.

Cast

Eiji Okada

Eiji Okada

Haruo Tanaka

Haruo Tanaka

Masumi Harukawa

Masumi Harukawa

Renji Ishibashi

Renji Ishibashi

Junji Masuda

Junji Masuda

Crew

Bunzô Wakatsuki

Bunzô Wakatsuki

Writer

Yasuharu Hasebe

Yasuharu Hasebe

Director