As the Gods Will

As the Gods Will (神さまの言うとおり, 2014) is a Japanese horror-thriller laced with pitch-black comedy, and you can watch it online on iFILM. It comes from Takashi Miike, a director who never met a gory set piece he didn't like, and stars Sota Fukushi.

High schooler Shun Takahata is dying of boredom. Same classes, same house, same gray routine, and he wishes out loud for something to finally happen. Bad idea. Mid-lesson his teacher's head bursts apart, a Daruma doll wakes up on the desk, and a round of "the Daruma fell over" begins — lose and you die on the spot. From there it's one childhood game after another turned lethal: a clawed lucky cat, a giant feline, a polar bear, each demanding blood. Refuse to play and you're killed instantly, as unseen "gods" thin out Japan's teenagers for sport.

Adapted from Muneyuki Kaneshiro's manga, the cartoon brutality is the whole joke here — bodies pop into colorful marbles and death plays like a game show. It's built for fans of Battle Royale-style Japanese chaos who won't mind logic taking a back seat to spectacle. Stream As the Gods Will (2014) online on iFILM.