Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

grahamrwilliams-09130 Firstly let me say this is a film not for everyone.personally i loved it , acting was superb direction editing all spot on. as with all films of this genre from japan and and other Asian countries it will be remade (badly i may add ) by the more popular outlets of ,lets just say western money making studios. OK the plot is a bit of a slow burner at the start but soon picks up into an easy to follow story line (some might find the subject matter hard to stomach )but the acting is superb and the gory violence very believable at times. it is hard to compare another film like this where the acting and dialogue go so well together and the lead actor is a joy to watch (perfect casting).in my opinion better than battle royal and probably my fave film due to the acting and crisp and psychotic performance a gem.

KineticSeoul What really dragged this movie down was the editing and how the teachers and students interactions in this film was so boring to sit through. Plus the editing made it seem like it was made by film students with an expensive camera within their budget. I know the parts between the teachers and students was to build upon what a fake hypocritical manipulative person the teacher is. But it wasn't very well done and the whole thing just dragged on and on. The only somewhat interesting thing between the whole teachers and students dynamics was the whole blackmailing ordeal and how the sociopath try to capitalize on it. I personally think it should have focused in a bit more on the build up of the relationship between the teacher who is a sociopath and his partner in crime in the past. The shootout scenes was just pretty much predictable and straightforward. I am not sure why none of the students jumped the guy, but yeah it's just straightforward screaming, running, hiding and blood. There really wasn't much creativity and there just wasn't enough build up of the characters that would make you want to care. Overall, this isn't a terrible movie but there is just way better Takashi Miike films out there.5/10

Martin Bradley As psycho-killer movies go "Lesson of the Evil" is up there with the best of them. It's by the Japanese horror maestro Takashi Miike and is set for the most part around a school where handsome young teacher Hasami, (Hideaki Ito), has his own somewhat extreme methods of dealing with rule-breakers. Miike's genius is to treat everything so matter- of-factly the film is almost banal to begin with before letting rip. Although extremely violent, this isn't torture porn but a brilliant slow-burner than builds to a fairly devastating and disturbing climax. I certainly can't see this playing in parts of America where school shootings have become almost common place. By making the villain someone who, in another film. should have been the hero Miike neatly subverts the genre, (think "Dexter"). There's also a nice self- depreciating streak of humour running through the picture, not to mention several great recordings of 'Mack the Knife'. Excellent, if very unnerving.

ebossert Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.Lesson of the Evil (2012) (Japanese Horror) A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body in this film by Takashi Miike. Right off the bat, this film offers something interesting by having the antagonist as the main character. There's a lot of interesting content here, which includes story and character development. The viewer really needs to pay attention to the details in order to understand everything that is going on, which creates a thought-provoking experience. The pacing script does do a good job of slowly revealing the anti-hero's personality - which is oddly charismatic. I've never been a fan of Hideaki Ito, but even I'll admit that he gives a fantastic performance here. The structure of the film also makes it difficult to predict which students will survive (if any). Miike is perhaps at the most assured phase of his entire career as he has become one of the most reliable directors in the world today. Needless to say, the direction is solid.Now, there may be some controversy regarding the long-sustaining finale that uses a certain kind of graphic violence against school kids. Despite the somewhat repetitive nature of the deaths, they do have a disturbing essence due to similar real-life events. Most ironically, there's also some dry black humor present, which could offend some viewers. In any case, the finale is deliciously entertaining and exciting.If one adds "Lesson of the Evil" to "Goosebumps: The Movie", "Horror Stories", "Kotsutsubo", and the final installment to the "Hellsing Ultimate" anime films, it looks like 2012 is going to be a strong year for Asian horror.