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Lesson of the Evil

Original title: Aku no kyôten
  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 9m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
Lesson of the Evil (2012)
A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.
Play trailer1:52
1 Video
21 Photos
JapaneseHorrorThriller

A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.

  • Director
    • Takashi Miike
  • Writers
    • Yûsuke Kishi
    • Takashi Miike
  • Stars
    • Hideaki Itô
    • Fumi Nikaidô
    • Kento Hayashi
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    7.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Takashi Miike
    • Writers
      • Yûsuke Kishi
      • Takashi Miike
    • Stars
      • Hideaki Itô
      • Fumi Nikaidô
      • Kento Hayashi
    • 31User reviews
    • 69Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:52
    Official Trailer

    Photos21

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    Top Cast52

    Edit
    Hideaki Itô
    Hideaki Itô
    • Seiji Hasumi
    Fumi Nikaidô
    Fumi Nikaidô
    • Reika Katagiri
    Kento Hayashi
    • Masahiko Maejima
    Shôta Sometani
    Shôta Sometani
    • Keisuke Hayami
    Kôdai Asaka
    • Yuichieo Nagoshi
    Erina Mizuno
    • Miya Yasuhara
    Takayuki Yamada
    Takayuki Yamada
    • Tetsuro Shibahara
    Daniel Genalo
    • Stock Trader
    Takehiro Hira
    Takehiro Hira
    • Takeki Kume
    Takashi Yamanaka
    Takashi Yamanaka
    Mayu Matsuoka
    Mayu Matsuoka
    • Satomi Shirai
    Tôko Miura
    Tôko Miura
    Nicole Balsam
    Nicole Balsam
    • Maggie
    Sairi Itô
    • Ayumi Nagai
    • (as Sairi Itoh)
    Asuka Kudô
    Mitsuru Fukikoshi
    Mitsuru Fukikoshi
    • Masanobu Tsurii
    Makiya Yamaguchi
    • Yoshio Hasumi
    Yukino Kishii
    • Hoshida
    • Director
      • Takashi Miike
    • Writers
      • Yûsuke Kishi
      • Takashi Miike
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews31

    6.67.1K
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    Featured reviews

    8terrancegore

    Bloody, creepy fun.

    One of Takeshi Miike's best films; one that is far to complex to sum up briefly (and I don't do long reviews). But I will say this; if you enjoy seeing irritating teenagers get theirs in a variety of bloody ways, this is the film for you.

    Claret filled, violent, creepy and funny.
    7petermckn

    Worthy slow burner

    Takashi Miike seems to dabble in all sorts of genres but he returns to his dark comedic roots in this one. The story is about a teacher who appears nice but there is something about him. He is almost too nice and cartoony a real dream teacher. Everything is going great till certain characters begin to look into his past that's when things really start to move. The film is long being over 2 hours if i remember correctly. The film covers topics such as bullying, child abuse, multiple personality disorder and builds up to one crazy second half which i will not spoil at one point it gets quite surreal and whilst being violent is not very gory. Unfortunately, it does the possible sequel thing which i believe likely won't come. The only problem with the film is it may drag if you are in the wrong mood and the music gets a little repetitive the only song it plays is mack the knife the original and the American version. It is very cartoony in the acting style and almost feels like an adaptation of a manga or anime. story 3/5 acting 4/5 gore and effects 3/5
    8kosmasp

    Lesson (learned?)

    Another Miike, and this played at a festival, celebrating Miikes 100th movie! Yes that is a lot! And he already had 101 lined up for another festival for autumn 2017 (so that played there, though I haven't seen the newest one, while he probably is shooting 102 and 103). Some may watch the movies and try to learn from Teacher Miike. Not all teachers should be idolized of course.

    What about the one who is the main character in this one? A great acting job and a difficult one. I had no idea where the movie was going with this and I was just going with the flow. I won't spoil anymore other than there is a lot of violence and a lot of blood. So if you are easily offended, this may not be for you. It's not only lesson, but also charisma of the evil ...
    theo0079

    How this movie has a decent rating is beyond me

    The plot (at first) seemed like there would be some interesting things in terms of character development. The synopsis also hints that maybe he is actually killing those that are bullying or assaulting people. Essentially, a vigilante.

    Nope, it is just a crazy guy killing people.

    I am not very hard to please when it comes to movies. There's no tragic backstory, nor any interesting story as to why he is the way he is. Nor even an interesting aspect of his personality.

    Other killers in movies at least have an interesting part of their personality. This is just 2 hours of a psycho who shows 0 interesting character traits, leaving him not only a boring lead, but making the entire movie essentially boring.

    For the first half of the movie I figured the second half would give character development, instead it was just 2 hours wasted.

    I've seen plenty of movies that had a poor plot and some executed poorly, but still had redeeming traits...This movie though, had no redeeming traits.
    7anh-93010

    Many things to criticize but it's still too good

    The film takes a lot of time to build the main character, but it is told in a vague way and does not show the unique features of the killer.

    The student character cast is not deep, perhaps because of the lack of time, if it was made into a series, it would probably be better.

    The end of the movie is really crazy, even though it's weird and some of the student character scenes are a bit goofy, but this is a murder movie lol.

    But if you consider it as a regular murder movie, it still deserves a high rating.

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    Related interests

    Hidetoshi Nishijima and Tôko Miura in Drive My Car (2021)
    Japanese
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Actor Hideaki Ito was praised for his role in the Japanese drama Umizaru. When Lesson Of The Evil released, many people in Japan who went to see the movie were surprised and disturbed at the extreme change Hideaki Ito's character was from the previous drama. This is one of the reasons why the movie became so popular during its release.
    • Goofs
      The scene where Miya was falling from the rooftop and was being seen from the classroom window, her skirt was opposing the gravity.
    • Quotes

      Seiji Hasumi: That's everyone. Happy graduation!

    • Crazy credits
      Film ends with "To Be Continued" but as of 2025 there has been no continuation.
    • Connections
      Follows Lesson of the Evil: Prologue (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Mack the Knife
      Composed by Kurt Weill

      Slaughter scene

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 2012 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Lesson of Evil
    • Production companies
      • Bungeishunju
      • Dentsu
      • Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $26,167,224
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 9m(129 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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