Lionsgate is bringing pure anti-establishment energy to audiences today with an invigorating trailer for KARŌSHI, an upcoming, stylish thrill ride from director Takashi Doscher. Doscher, who previously proved his knack for high-concept human stakes with the post-apocalyptic romantic drama Only and the poignant documentary A Fighting Chance, looks ready to dial up the kinetic intensity to eleven with a razor-sharp corporate satire wrapped in a bullet-riddled samurai-thriller package.
KARŌSHI is set in a near-future Manhattan where corporate loyalty and strict cultural tradition have reshaped everyday life. When a worker’s mysterious death leaves an executive seat warm, an ambitious corporate suit steps up to fill the void. However, an outsider infiltrates the company during the hiring process, systematically exposing and dismantling the violent system hidden beneath its polished glass surface. It plays out like Masaki Kobayashi’s classic Harakiri, only reframed inside cold, modern skyscrapers and elevated train cars.
The footage in the new trailer is positively dripping with swagger. Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski (Midsommar, Nobody) frames the mayhem in a stark, disturbingly minimalist color palette, building palpable tension before the entire empire begins to crumble as bodies hit the floor.
Grounding this pressure cooker is a phenomenal ensemble. Leading the charge is Teo Yoo, hot off his breakout performance in Past Lives, trading intimate romance for relentless action. He’s joined by Takehiro Hira (Shōgun) and Show Kasamatsu (Tokyo Vice), both bringing heavy magnetic weight to the film’s Eastern classicism. Rounding out the heavy hitters are Isabel May (Scream 7), the always imposing Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), veteran character actor Bill Camp (Presumed Innocent), and multi-hyphenate powerhouse Cynthia Erivo (Wicked).
With Chad Stahelski, Jason Spitz, Alex Young, and Nathan Kahane producing, plus stunt coordinator Jon Kralt crafting the choreography, 87Eleven‘s signature practical action pedigree is fully on display.
Scheduled for release on February 5, 2027, KARŌSHI looks like a lean, mean 90-minute exercise in corporate destruction, and we can’t wait to buy a ticket.