King of Thorn

いばらの王 (Ibara no O)
North American Premiere
Sunday, July 11, 6 PM

2010, 110 min. HD Cam, In Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama. Written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi & Kazuyoshi Katayama. Based on the mang "King of Thorn" by Yuji Iwahara. Character Design by Hidenori Matsubara. With the voices of Kana Hanazawa, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Eri Sendai, Sayaka Ohara.

"A sensational cross between Aliens and the series Lost."  - Sitges Film Festival

Humanity is being wiped out by a mysterious worldwide epidemic, which has the rather nasty property of turning people into stone and threatens to leave the planet an empty rock.

Japanese high-school girl Kasumi, leaving behind her twin sister Shizuku, joins a team of 160 people from all the nations around the world in a shadowy scientific project. Locked away in an ancient castle and put to cryogenic sleep for 100 years in order to outlive the Medusa virus, the team at the Cold Sleep Center awake to find that a gigantic plant-like creature seems to have engulfed the facility, perhaps even the whole world, threatening the last seven survivors with giant thorny tendrils. How long were they asleep? Stalked by horrific creatures in the castle, the team must discover what on earth happened to earth!

An Earth-devouring plant, cryo-freezing, monster battles and cool Gothic imagery--it's the end of days as you've never seen it before.

Part of Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

TICKETS
$12 / $8 Japan Society members, seniors & students

Buy Tickets Online or please call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 6 pm, Weekends 11 am - 5 pm.