# Lesson of the Evil (悪の教典)
**Lesson of the Evil** (悪の教典, *Aku no Kyōten*) is a 2012 Japanese psycho-horror film directed and written by [Takashi Miike](https://www.edgepedia.org/takashi-miike), adapted from Yusuke Kishi's bestselling novel of the same name. It stars Hideaki Ito as Seiji Hasumi, a handsome and popular high school English teacher who is secretly a psychopath willing to kill anyone who threatens his position, and culminates in a night-long massacre of students at the school before the culture festival.[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) • [2](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103758)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 悪の教典 (*Aku no Kyōten*)[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) |
| Director and screenwriter | Takashi Miike[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) |
| Source | Novel by Yusuke Kishi, published July 2010 by Bungeishunju[3](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/lesson-of-the-evil-sequel/) |
| Japanese release | 10 November 2012; 129 minutes; rated R15+; distributed by Toho[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) |
| Lead cast | Hideaki Ito (Seiji Hasumi), Fumi Nikaido (Reika Katagiri), Shota Sometani (Keisuke Hayami)[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) |
| Ratings | IMDb 6.6/10 from about 7,300 users; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 59%[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294473/ratings/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lesson_of_the_evil) |
| Festival screenings | 2012 Rome Film Festival competition; International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) • [6](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/lesson-of-the-evil) |
| Sequel status | No official sequel announced as of September 2026[3](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/lesson-of-the-evil-sequel/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Seiji Hasumi, nicknamed "Hasumin" by his students, is a brilliant, good-looking English teacher at a private high school who is admired by students, colleagues, and the PTA alike. His true nature is that of a psychopath, a person with antisocial personality disorder, who kills without hesitation anyone he considers an obstacle and has quietly removed threats to control the school. When a flaw appears in his perfect handling of affairs and his identity risks exposure, he chooses a final means of escape: killing every student staying overnight at the school to prepare for the culture festival.[2](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103758) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/e-nojiao-dian)
The film's ending differs from the novel's. In the film, Hasumi survives the culture festival incident and is arrested by police in the act; in the original novel, he takes his own life. The manga adaptation gives a third version of the ending.[3](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/lesson-of-the-evil-sequel/)
## The novel and its reception
Yusuke Kishi published *Aku no Kyōten* in two volumes in July 2010 through Bungeishunju. The book won the first Yamada Futaro Award and was nominated for the 2011 Honya Taisho (Booksellers Award), drawing a large response from the time of publication.[2](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103758) • [8](https://reviewne.jp/contents/55816) Kishi, whose other works include *The Black House* (黒い家) and *The Blue Light* (青の炎), said he had believed the novel's extreme and gruesome content made film adaptation absolutely impossible, and described his feelings about the realized film as happy yet complicated; after seeing it he said he was left stunned, and endorsed Miike's handling of the violence.[9](https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0047597)
## Production and release
Toho announced the film adaptation in March 2012 with Hideaki Ito, known for the *Umi Saru* (Sea Monkey) rescue-hero series, in his first full villain role, and Takashi Miike, whose credits include *Sukiyaki Western Django* and *13 Assassins*, directing and writing the screenplay.[10](https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20120306-a055/) • [11](https://eiga.com/movie/57960/) The cast also includes Fumi Nikaido and Shota Sometani, who had jointly won the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival)'s new actor award for *[Himizu](https://www.edgepedia.org/himizu)*, along with Kento Hayashi, Kodai Asaka, Erina Mizuno, KENTA, and [Takayuki Yamada](https://www.edgepedia.org/takayuki-yamada).[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_WoK0-Zi8Q) • [13](https://eiga-square.jp/title/aku_no_kyouten) The film opened nationwide in Japan on 10 November 2012.[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493)
Because of its extreme depictions, the film was rated R15+ by Eirin, meaning admission is restricted to viewers aged 15 and over, and it provoked both strong criticism and strong support; actress Yuko Oshima of AKB48 publicly said she "hated" the film after seeing it.[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493) • [2](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103758)
## Style and music
The soundtrack weaves in several versions of "Mack the Knife", the song from [Kurt Weill](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-weill) and [Bertolt Brecht](https://www.edgepedia.org/bertolt-brecht)'s *The Threepenny Opera*, which Hasumi whistles; the [Rotterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/rotterdam) festival catalog described the creepy use of the song as something that "will reverberate in everyone's head for a long time to come".[6](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/lesson-of-the-evil) • [14](https://www.kinenote.com/main/feature/vol09/detail01.aspx) The same catalog praised the crafted narrative, art direction, and inventive violence, while the trade paper Screen Daily found the film undone by a lack of suspense even as it called the school massacre sequence compelling.[6](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/lesson-of-the-evil) • [15](https://www.screendaily.com/lesson-of-the-evil/5048849.article) The Japan Times noted that the film's 2012 release coincided with worldwide headlines about mass shootings and that it "delights in bloody excess, with Miike's usual black-comic wink".[16](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/09/10/films/aku-kyoten-lesson-evil/)
## Spinoff and sequel status
A spinoff prequel drama, *Aku no Kyōten -Joshō-* (悪の教典−序章−), was produced with the film's staff and cast, including Ito and Miike as supervisor, depicting Hasumi's return from a successful career at an American investment bank to become a high school teacher in the period before the massacre.[17](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103763)
The film ends with the on-screen text "TO BE CONTINUED", which has repeatedly fueled speculation about a sequel, but this text is a directorial flourish reflecting Miike's stated interest in a continuation rather than a production decision. As of September 2026, no sequel to either the film or the novel has been officially announced, and no long-form sequel novel by Kishi has been published.[3](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/lesson-of-the-evil-sequel/)
## Availability and ratings
In Japan the film streams on Amazon Prime Video and U-NEXT (both subscription) and is available for rental on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and FOD; as of late 2026 there is no free viewing option.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/e-nojiao-dian) Audience measures sit in the moderate range: IMDb records 6.6/10 from about 7,300 users, Rotten Tomatoes shows a 59% Tomatometer from three critics with 250+ audience ratings, and the Japanese database Kinenote logs an average score of 66.3 out of 100 from 1,323 users.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294473/ratings/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lesson_of_the_evil) • [18](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=69515)
## References
1. [悪の教典, Japanese Film Database (JFDB)](https://jfdb.jp/title/3493)
2. [悪の教典, WOWOW Online](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103758)
3. [『悪の教典』に続編はある?結末と配信状況, VOD TIMES](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/lesson-of-the-evil-sequel/)
4. [Lesson of the Evil (2012) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294473/ratings/)
5. [Lesson of the Evil, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lesson_of_the_evil)
6. [Lesson of the Evil, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/lesson-of-the-evil)
7. [悪の教典 (2012), JustWatch Japan](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/e-nojiao-dian)
8. [悪の教典のあらすじ/作品解説, Reviewne](https://reviewne.jp/contents/55816)
9. [『悪の教典』原作者、映画化には複雑, Cinema Today](https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0047597)
10. [『悪の教典』が伊藤英明×三池崇史で映画化決定, Mynavi News](https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20120306-a055/)
11. [悪の教典, Eiga.com](https://eiga.com/movie/57960/)
12. [映画『悪の教典』特典プロモーション映像, Cinema Today on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_WoK0-Zi8Q)
13. [悪の教典, Eiga Square](https://eiga-square.jp/title/aku_no_kyouten)
14. [「悪の教典」公開記念特集, Kinenote](https://www.kinenote.com/main/feature/vol09/detail01.aspx)
15. [Lesson Of The Evil, Screen Daily (Lee Marshall, 9 November 2012)](https://www.screendaily.com/lesson-of-the-evil/5048849.article)
16. [Aku no Kyoten (Lesson of Evil), The Japan Times (Mark Schilling)](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/09/10/films/aku-kyoten-lesson-evil/)
17. [悪の教典−序章−, WOWOW Online](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/103763)
18. [悪の教典, Kinenote](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=69515)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Slasher films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license