Battle Heater

1989 1h 33m JA

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 6

ComedyHorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Furuchi and Hama are a pair of unsuccessful repairmen and electronic engineers. Out in the fog later one night, Furichi finds a so-called Kotatsu space heater. Bringing their haul home to their apartment building chockfull of eccentrics leads to punk rock delinquency, murder, suicide by clock, and one cursed Kotatsu driving their electric bill into overdrive, not to mention craving human flesh.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Pappara Kawai
Michio Furuike
Akira Emoto
Riichi Hama
Funky Sueyoshi
Futa Tobii
Goro Kishitani
Saburo Rusai
Kaoru Okunuki
Kurumi Sano
Shigeru Muroi
Hideko Nitta
Hisahiro Ogura
Mitsunen Nitta
Tatsuhiko Wasada
Ozaki

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Iida
Writers: Gorô Nakajima, George Iida, AZ Shimakawa
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Iida, shot by Nobumasa Mizunoo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Yukihiro Matsubara. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ken'ichi Takashima shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Pappara Kawai and Akira Emoto and Funky Sueyoshi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0222798 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Iida directs. Nobumasa Mizunoo behind the camera. Yukihiro Matsubara scores. Ken'ichi Takashima cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

137 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by George Iida, shot by Nobumasa Mizunoo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Yukihiro Matsubara. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Ken'ichi Takashima shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Pappara Kawai and Akira Emoto and Funky Sueyoshi carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0222798 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.