Movies Like Zetcho: The Acme

If you liked Zetcho: The Acme (1997), a movie directed by Kenji Onishi, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Ichi the Killer (2001)
★ 7/10
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.
2
Azumi (2003)
★ 6.9/10
In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an…
3
Female Yakuza Tale (1973)
★ 6.1/10
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a…
4
Ocean Waves (1993)
★ 6.4/10
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking…
5
Tokyo Decadence (1992)
★ 6/10
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that…
6
Fireworks (1997)
★ 7.7/10
Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With those close to him suffering their own tribulations, Nishi's methods become increasingly extreme.
7
Star of David: Beauty Hunting (1979)
★ 6.2/10
The life of Tatsuya, a young man of proper yet mysterious descent, whose outward respectability hides his urges for rape and torture.
8
Hana & Alice (2004)
★ 7/10
Two teenage best pals attracted to the same boy end up scrambling his life after he walks into a door and is knocked unconscious.
9
Sex and Fury (1973)
★ 6.2/10
Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shunosuke…
10
Dangerous Drugs of Sex (2020)
★ 6.4/10
An elite salaryman drunkenly tries to die by suicide, but is saved by a mysterious stranger who holds him captive and sexually torments him.
11
Imprint (2006)
★ 6.8/10
An American journalist travels through 19th-century Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with but instead learns of the physical and existential horror that befell her after he left.
12
The Pillow Book (1995)
★ 6.3/10
Nagito has a fetish for calligraphy on the human body and meets her ideal soulmate Jerome, an English translator sent to Japan. However, once Nagiko's father's gay publisher rejoins the scene, the story is overtaken by…
13
Look Back (2024)
★ 8.2/10
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a…
14
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
★ 8/10
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
15
Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
★ 6.6/10
As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness.
16
Dolls (2002)
★ 7.5/10
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose…
17
Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (2009)
★ 6.8/10
Kaiji Ito moves to Japan after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, vandalizing cars, and drinking booze. Two years later and his life…
18
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025)
★ 8.5/10
In a brutal war between devils, hunters, and secret enemies, a mysterious girl named Reze has stepped into Denji's world, and he faces his deadliest battle yet, fueled by love in a world where survival knows no rules.
19
The Art of Self-Defense (2019)
★ 6.6/10
Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence…
20
Audition (2000)
★ 7.1/10
Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of…