Film

As the Gods Will

A high school student's wish for excitement becomes literal nightmare when he and his classmates are trapped in deadly children's games orchestrated by grotesque creatures. Takashi Miike's film blends horror, absurdist comedy, and genuine dread into something that shouldn't work but does—it's audacious, visually wild, and genuinely unpredictable about who survives and how.

TMDb rating3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy gleefully escalating absurdity, where a bored teenager's wish curdles into lurid set pieces and the jokes land harder because the scares are so committed.

Skip it if you need a slow build or a tidy story, since it sprints through its games with little interest in character and grows louder and goofier as it goes.

What it asks of you: Expect a brisk runtime under two hours, with the mood swinging from bloody gore to near-slapstick and back, and your attention on the rules of each game.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Battle Royale2000

Japanese cult classic that pioneered the 'students forced to kill' premise with style, black humour, and emotional weight. Essential viewing if you want to understand the DNA of survival horror films.

But Older film aesthetics might feel dated, and the violence—while stylised—is relentless and can feel gratuitous rather than purposeful.

Battle Royale poster

Squid Game2021

South Korean phenomenon about ordinary people forced through escalating games to the death. Builds unbearable tension, has genuine surprises, and the games themselves are sickeningly clever.

But Slower burn than As the Gods Will; you're watching desperate people, not horror spectacle, which can feel heavier and less fun.

Squid Game poster

Danganronpa: The Animation2013

Anime about students trapped in a killing school. Shares the same absurdist energy, impossible rules, and 'who dies next' momentum, with equally wild creature designs and twisted logic puzzles.

But Anime style and pacing won't click for everyone; the premise repeats enough that later episodes lose momentum.

Danganronpa: The Animation poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from As the Gods Will

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dead Leaves2004

Both films trust absurdity over realism and revel in the grotesque as comedy. Miike's earlier work had this same anarchic spirit—Dead Leaves shows where he came from.

Anime film about two amnesiac lovers escaping a nightmarish detention centre. Takashi Miike didn't direct this, but you can feel the DNA: manic energy, gorgeous grotesquerie, surreal logic, and a heroine who won't quit. Pure visual fever dream.

But Deliberately chaotic editing and abstract sequences; the plot dissolves into pure style. If you need narrative clarity and emotional grounding, this will exhaust you.

Dead Leaves poster
More like this (6)

Saw2004

James Wan's original still crackles with invention. Elaborate, sadistic games designed to test the captives. Lower budget amplifies the claustrophobic dread and makes every trap personal.

But Torture focus and mean-spirited tone; it's not fun or funny the way Miike's film is. Harder to watch.

Saw poster

Alice in Borderland2020

Netflix series where people trapped in Tokyo play bizarre, increasingly surreal card games. Stylish, propulsive, with the same 'nobody is safe' energy and equally creative deaths.

But Drags slightly in the middle; the premise wears thin when every episode follows the same structure of 'play game, lose players, repeat.'

Alice in Borderland poster

Ready or Not2019

Woman hunted for sport by an elite family on their wedding night. Fast, visceral, doesn't linger—just pure chase-and-survive momentum with a protagonist you root for.

But Straightforward premise compared to As the Gods Will's surreal creature designs. Less inventive, more efficient.

Ready or Not poster

Circle2015

Fifty strangers wake in a room and must vote on who dies. Claustrophobic, paranoid thriller about desperation and group logic. Clever use of a single location.

But Feels claustrophobic on purpose—you're stuck in one room for 90 minutes watching people argue. No visual spectacle to break the tension.

Circle poster

Would You Rather2013

Darkly comic survival game where rich sadists force poor people to choose between terrible options. Similar premise to As the Gods Will but grounded in class warfare rather than cosmic horror.

But Lower budget shows; the games aren't as visually inventive and the tone is meaner without the fantastical absurdity to balance it.

Would You Rather poster

Ghostland2018

Both films subvert the survival game structure by revealing the real monster isn't the game—it's memory, trauma, or desire. The mechanics matter less than what they mean to the protagonist.

French-Canadian horror about two sisters trapped in their childhood home by masked killers. Starts as home invasion horror, then abandons all logic and becomes something else entirely. Tense, then hallucinogenic, then heartbreaking.

But The tonal shift will alienate you if you want consistency. Final act asks you to accept things that make no literal sense, which feels like betrayal to some viewers.

Ghostland poster

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Recommended by

Squid Game, Battle Royale, Alice in Borderland, Danganronpa: The Animation