Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- disturbing
- tense
- nihilistic
- late night horror marathon
- takashi miike double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film slick and intermittently entertaining as a slasher, but overlong, incoherent, and troubling in its treatment of a school bloodbath.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Seiji Hasumi is a popular high school teacher who secretly develops an extreme plan to eliminate perceived misconduct.
The plot culminates in a school shooting connected to the teacher's campaign against bullying and bad behavior.
Critics specifically described the film as a slick, adrenaline-pumping slasher despite its disturbing subject matter.
Hasumi's public persona as a popular teacher contrasts with his concealed identity as a serial killer.
Films like Lesson of the Evil, and why
Scream
school-set slasher horror driven by escalating violence and a charismatic but monstrous killer
American Psycho
stylized serial-killer horror centered on a seemingly ordinary authority figure concealing psychopathic violence
Battle Royale
nihilistic, graphic horror thriller involving institutional spaces and extreme human violence
Audition
Japanese psychological horror with disturbing violence, unstable morality, and escalating dread
Movie Details
- Director
- Takashi Miike
- Release Date
- 2012-11-10
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (241)
Cast
- Hideaki Ito
- Fumi Nikaido
- Shota Sometani
- Kento Hayashi
- Kodai Asaka
- Erina Mizuno
- KENTA
- Takayuki Yamada
- Mitsuru Fukikoshi
- Takehiro Hira
Common questions
- What is Lesson of the Evil about?
- A popular Japanese teacher turns his campaign against school disorder into a ruthless slasher nightmare.
- What is Lesson of the Evil like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Lesson of the Evil as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Lesson of the Evil violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Lesson of the Evil as graphic.
- What did critics think of Lesson of the Evil?
- Critics broadly found the film slick and intermittently entertaining as a slasher, but overlong, incoherent, and troubling in its treatment of a school bloodbath.
- Which films are like Lesson of the Evil?
- Films with a similar feel include Scream, American Psycho, Battle Royale, and Audition.
- How long is Lesson of the Evil?
- Lesson of the Evil runs 129 minutes.
