Japanese studio Nikkatsu is launching an extreme gore label, Sushi Typhoon, to produce films from Japan’s leading cult directors including Takashi Miike (Yatterman) and Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police).

Nikkatsu producer Yoshinori Chiba is over-seeing the label which promises to deliver the kind of “violent, popular works that only Japanese cinema has engendered”. Chiba has produced more than 30 films, mostly action and horror, including Tokyo Gore Police and Yatterman, which both sold widely last year.

The first project from the label is action Samurai drama, Alien Vs Ninja, directed by Yuji Shimomura (Death Trance). The film is currently in post-production and Nikkatsu is planning to give it a Japanese theatrical release at the same time as its DVD release in North America.

Other directors cooking up projects for Sushi Typhoon include Noboru Iguchi, who previously directed Machine Girl, and Sion Sono, whose credits include Suicide Club and award-winning black comedy Love Exposure.

The success of comedy action thriller Machine Girl, also produced by Chiba, provided inspiration for the launch of Sushi Typhoon. The film, financed by US-based Media Blasters and initially sold by Nikkatsu, was distributed widely around the world.

Nikkatsu is aiming to platform the Sushi Typhoon films at international fantastic film festivals that have lapped up films such as Machine Girl and Yatterman. Although the studio wholly owns the label, it’s open to bringing in co-production partners on select projects. 

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