Yoshihiro Nishimura

Directing

Yoshihiro Nishimura

Born — Died

1969-04-01 — 2026-05-25

Place of birth

Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

50 titles

Yoshihiro Nishimura (1 April 1969 — 25 May 2026) was a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as 'a legendary director and effects artist' and 'the Tom Savini of Japan' with 'talent to burn'. He has been credited with establishing a new type of visual film presentation, the 'gore effect'.

Known for

The ABCs of Death poster
4.9

An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.

The ABCs of Death

2013

Tokyo Dragon Chef poster
8.5

After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.

Tokyo Dragon Chef

2020

Tokyo Gore Police poster
6.0

In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.

Tokyo Gore Police

2008

Meatball Machine Kodoku poster
5.8

Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?

Meatball Machine Kodoku

2017

RoboGeisha poster
5.4

Sisters Yoshie and Kikue are two Geisha who are abducted by a mysterious organization to be transformed into murderous cyborg assassins.

RoboGeisha

2009

Helldriver poster
5.7

Still reeling from the events of a zombie apocalypse, a young woman, along with a group of allies, makes her way across a dystopian Japan in search of her mother, the Zombie Queen.

Helldriver

2010

Film credits

2010s · 5 titles

2000s · 3 titles

Behind the camera

The ABCs of Death poster
4.9

An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.

The ABCs of Death

2013

The ABCs of Death poster
4.9

An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.

The ABCs of Death

2013

The ABCs of Death poster
4.9

An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.

The ABCs of Death

2013

Tokyo Dragon Chef poster
8.5

After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.

Tokyo Dragon Chef

2020

Tokyo Dragon Chef poster
8.5

After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.

Tokyo Dragon Chef

2020

Tokyo Dragon Chef poster
8.5

After serving prison time as a scapegoat in a yakuza conflict, Tatsu (Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki) is met upon release by his sworn brother Ryu (Yasukaze Motomiya), who reveals that their gang was dissolved by a mysterious man named Gizmo and everyone has gone their separate ways. Ryu proposes they run a ramen shop together, Ryu Hanten. But trouble follows when former rivals Jin (Hitoshi Ozawa) and Kazu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), whose gang was also disbanded by Gizmo, open a competing shop nearby called Ramen OZAWA. As a fierce ramen rivalry erupts, Gizmo’s sinister influence closes in once again.

Tokyo Dragon Chef

2020

Tokyo Gore Police poster
6.0

In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.

Tokyo Gore Police

2008

Tokyo Gore Police poster
6.0

In a futuristic Tokyo where police have been privatized and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the 'cutter' demographic, Ruka is on a mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad whose goal is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as 'engineers', that possess the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.

Tokyo Gore Police

2008

Meatball Machine Kodoku poster
5.8

Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?

Meatball Machine Kodoku

2017

Meatball Machine Kodoku poster
5.8

Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?

Meatball Machine Kodoku

2017

Helldriver poster
5.7

Still reeling from the events of a zombie apocalypse, a young woman, along with a group of allies, makes her way across a dystopian Japan in search of her mother, the Zombie Queen.

Helldriver

2010

Helldriver poster
5.7

Still reeling from the events of a zombie apocalypse, a young woman, along with a group of allies, makes her way across a dystopian Japan in search of her mother, the Zombie Queen.

Helldriver

2010

Hedoroba poster
4.3

Problems with the neighborhood? Grandmother Yang and her two slightly mentally challenged grandchildren solve them in their very own way. Her neighbor Kazuya not only has to take care of the clan's legacy, but also his disabled sister, and all of them have to deal with the Sea Snakes gang who wants to compete with the Yang family.

Hedoroba

2017

Mutant Girls Squad poster
5.5

Rin a young high school student is your everyday awkward girl who gets bullied by her fellow students. On her 16th birthday, Rin gets an unexpected surprise: she finds out that she is, on her father's side, a half-mutant.

Mutant Girls Squad

2010

The Profane Exhibit poster
3.4

Deep within the underbelly of Paris, there is a club which is the home of a secret, wicked society. At first it resembles an ordinary fetish or Goth nightclub, but within the cavernous building are many hidden rooms, one of which is known as "The Room of Souls," a private gathering place of the world's richest and most evil people. Their host is the elegant yet frightening Madame Sabatier. For their amusement each member takes a turn and spins a true tale of depravity.

The Profane Exhibit

2013

The Profane Exhibit poster
3.4

Deep within the underbelly of Paris, there is a club which is the home of a secret, wicked society. At first it resembles an ordinary fetish or Goth nightclub, but within the cavernous building are many hidden rooms, one of which is known as "The Room of Souls," a private gathering place of the world's richest and most evil people. Their host is the elegant yet frightening Madame Sabatier. For their amusement each member takes a turn and spins a true tale of depravity.

The Profane Exhibit

2013

Geisha War poster
NR

Rival bosses of Japanese Yakuza and American Mafia fight for control. Blood is shed... like fountains.

Geisha War

2026

Geisha War poster
NR

Rival bosses of Japanese Yakuza and American Mafia fight for control. Blood is shed... like fountains.

Geisha War

2026

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl poster
5.6

A reconstructed girl is created from the pieces of a vampire girl's mini-butchery. Slaughter abounds as both of them pursue the same boy.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

2009

Holy Mother poster
6.7

A racist corporation is looking to expand its territories of domination and for that it needs to destroy the Yakuza mafia. It is then that a transgender woman suddenly appears willing to defend the Yakuza tradition.

Holy Mother

2022

Holy Mother poster
6.7

A racist corporation is looking to expand its territories of domination and for that it needs to destroy the Yakuza mafia. It is then that a transgender woman suddenly appears willing to defend the Yakuza tradition.

Holy Mother

2022

Holy Mother poster
6.7

A racist corporation is looking to expand its territories of domination and for that it needs to destroy the Yakuza mafia. It is then that a transgender woman suddenly appears willing to defend the Yakuza tradition.

Holy Mother

2022

Rise of the Machine Girls poster
5.0

Living in the lawless Ishinari District in a future Japan, sisters Ami (Hina Nagimiya) and Yoshie (Hanakage Kanon) who sold their bodies to help their parents, try to earn a living performing as an idol group in the area. When their performance causes stranger Matsukata (Tak Sakaguchi) a notorious hitman, to notice their condition, the three realize their worth to each other in the fight against Aoyama Dharma (Kimono Negishi), the female boss of a notorious organ harvesting ring in the area. Realizing that even their skills are no match for her army of goons and henchmen, the two are outfitted with special homemade weaponry to their bodies and become the ultimate killers.

Rise of the Machine Girls

2019

Jellyfish Eyes poster
5.1

In present-day Japan, little Masashi moves from an evacuation center to a small village. There, he will discover that every child has the ability to communicate with a fantastic creature, but they are being used in an evil plan to collect the children’s negative energy.

Jellyfish Eyes

2013

Jellyfish Eyes poster
5.1

In present-day Japan, little Masashi moves from an evacuation center to a small village. There, he will discover that every child has the ability to communicate with a fantastic creature, but they are being used in an evil plan to collect the children’s negative energy.

Jellyfish Eyes

2013

The Ninja War of Torakage poster
5.6

Set in the Sengoku Period, Torakage is retired ninja. He lives his life peacefully, but turmoil comes as he becomes involved a fight over treasures.

The Ninja War of Torakage

2015

The Ninja War of Torakage poster
5.6

Set in the Sengoku Period, Torakage is retired ninja. He lives his life peacefully, but turmoil comes as he becomes involved a fight over treasures.

The Ninja War of Torakage

2015

Vampire Clay poster
6.1

Absurdity and gore ensue as a possessed pile of clay begins terrorizing students at an art school.

Vampire Clay

2018

63 Minutes Later poster
3.4

A spin-off feature from Tokyo Gore Police centering on three characters from the movie who are each given a short story explaining how they became an “engineer”.

63 Minutes Later

2009

63 Minutes Later poster
3.4

A spin-off feature from Tokyo Gore Police centering on three characters from the movie who are each given a short story explaining how they became an “engineer”.

63 Minutes Later

2009

Unfinished poster
NR

The yakuza have their best days behind them and are only a shadow of themselves. The old rituals seem out of date and their tattoos make them outcasts of society. The inexperienced student Ryō stumbles into their ranks by chance, and before he knows it, he becomes entangled in dark machinations. He quickly succumbs to the fascination of omnipotence fantasies and hedonistic decadence and sinks deeper and deeper into a parallel world of prostitution, blackmail and violence. However, there is one thing that Ryō has not considered in his naivety: once yakuza, always yakuza!

Unfinished

2019

Speakerman: The Boo poster
NR

The story of an odd creature called the Speakerman, who served duty in a small mining village by sounding the siren/megaphone that is his head to tell the workers when it was time for lunch and to alert people in case of a mining accident. When the mine closes, Speakerman ends up lonely and in search of new friends and meaning in his life.

Speakerman: The Boo

2004

Speakerman: The Boo poster
NR

The story of an odd creature called the Speakerman, who served duty in a small mining village by sounding the siren/megaphone that is his head to tell the workers when it was time for lunch and to alert people in case of a mining accident. When the mine closes, Speakerman ends up lonely and in search of new friends and meaning in his life.

Speakerman: The Boo

2004

Death Row Family poster
6.0

Takanori, from a yakuza family goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit. As soon as he gets out his brother brings him in for a robbery.

Death Row Family

2017

Gekijō-ban: Harapeko Yamagami-kun poster
NR

Yamagami-kun, the god of the mountain, likes to eat "human beings"! Today, he and Isobe, the god of the sea, are planning to eat "human" again. Will he be able to eat a "human" today?

Gekijō-ban: Harapeko Yamagami-kun

2012

Zombie TV poster
NR

An insane Japanese gore filled zombie anthology.

Zombie TV

2013

Welcome to Japan poster
9.5

Japan hosts an East Asian international tournament in 2020. Many thuggish personalities are travelling to Japan for the event. Kicking into action is a woman who was raised by the Yakuza and has become an assassin. She is tasked with protecting Japan from the thugs during this tournament. She will kill many of the louts. She also meets a member of a pop idol group.

Welcome to Japan

2019

Welcome to Japan poster
9.5

Japan hosts an East Asian international tournament in 2020. Many thuggish personalities are travelling to Japan for the event. Kicking into action is a woman who was raised by the Yakuza and has become an assassin. She is tasked with protecting Japan from the thugs during this tournament. She will kill many of the louts. She also meets a member of a pop idol group.

Welcome to Japan

2019

Welcome to Japan poster
9.5

Japan hosts an East Asian international tournament in 2020. Many thuggish personalities are travelling to Japan for the event. Kicking into action is a woman who was raised by the Yakuza and has become an assassin. She is tasked with protecting Japan from the thugs during this tournament. She will kill many of the louts. She also meets a member of a pop idol group.

Welcome to Japan

2019

Meatball Machine: Reject of Death poster
6.5

A young girl with mental illness just wants to die. But the necroborgs have other plans...

Meatball Machine: Reject of Death

2007