After the assassination of Tokyo's Governor by Yakuza members, the CIA bureau chief (William Atherton) for Tokyo puts out a call to an agent (Steven Seagal) that had been raised in Japan and trained by ex-Yakuza. Using his former ties, he quickly determines that a war is brewing between old-guard Yakuza members and a young, crazed leader (Takao Osawa) with ties to the Chinese Tong.
A plastic surgeon who excels at his job hides a dark secret. After finally succumbing to his desire to taste human flesh, the surgeon soon finds himself addicted to the taste of his patients' skin, which leads him to discover further culinary delights at a seedy restaurant with some highly dubious special dishes. Murder and mayhem ensue as the demented doctor continues to find new and gruesome ways to satisfy his appetite.
In an attempt to spur citizens into taking more productive roles in society, the Japanese government issues death messages, or "ikigami", informing them that they have only 24 hours left to live. The film follows a young man tasked with delivering these messages, as well as the victims.
When a good student named Kamiyama gets placed in a high school filled with disobedient kids, he steps up to the plate and takes a position of leadership. Urging the young slackers and rebels to clean up their act, Kamiyama is in store for a lot of resistance.
Luchino's routine morning elevator ride up from her subterranean home on level 138 to her school many stories above turns horrific when the elevator operator is ordered to pick up two passengers from floor 99, the maximum security level. What starts as psychological manipulation soon turns wholly physical as both the cruel convicts and Luchino's own dysfunctional past are unleashed. And then every passenger must fight for his or her survival.
