TOKYO — Japanese cult king Miike Takashi started production last week on a new pic, “Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld” (“Gokudo Daisenso”) that takes him back to his violent exploitation origins.

Starring Hayato Ichihara and scripted by former Miike AD Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, the film features a gang boss who has become legendary for surviving knife stabs and gunshot wounds that would kill any ordinary mortal.

The reason for his seeming indestructibility: The boss is a vampire. When he is finally felled by an assassin, he bites an underling, Kageyama (Ichihara), before expiring. Now a vampire himself, Kageyama goes out to seek revenge.

“Say good-bye to wimpy and boring Japanese movies. Nobody asked me, but I’ve decided on my own to return to my roots and start a riot!,” Miike said In a statement.

Miike, who earned his reputation with splatter pics “Audition,” “Visitor Q” and “Ichi The Killer,” has himself been recently working in more mainstream genres such as musicals “(For Love’s Sake”), contemporary dram (“Shield of Straw”) and crime, comedy-drama (“Ace Attorney”.)

“Yakuza Apocalypse” is scheduled for a 2015 release with Nikkatsu distributing.

