Hell Dogs

Hell Dogs follows Shogo Kanetaka, a police officer left traumatized by the murder of the woman he loved. Consumed by thoughts of revenge, he is ordered to go undercover inside a yakuza organization. His way in runs through Hideki Murooka, a volatile gang member and the son of a death row inmate. The two are said to share an unusually high degree of compatibility, and Murooka suffers from a condition that leaves him constantly hungry; neither man appears able to keep his emotions in check.

The film is a Japanese crime drama directed and written by Masato Harada, whose earlier credits include Gunhed, The Emperor in August and Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai. It came between that samurai film and Bad Lands in his filmography. Junichi Okada plays Kanetaka, with Kentaro Sakaguchi as Murooka, Mayu Matsuoka, Kazuki Kitamura, Shinobu Otake and MIYAVI among the cast of 35 credited performers. The film runs 137 minutes and was released in September 2022.

It took in roughly 4 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a production backed by Toei, Sony Pictures, avex pictures and J Storm. On IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from around 2,600 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7 out of 10 from a much smaller base of 82 votes. The two audiences land in similar territory, with the larger IMDb sample somewhat less generous.