A tale about a student leader who uses her supernatural powers to take control of the school, and the young girl who tries to stop her.

Released months before lead Hiroko Yakushimaru's breakthrough hit Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, Nobuhiko Obayashi's first groundbreaking teenage idol picture is a dazzling mix of special effects and blue-screen artifice--a stylistic flair perfected in Obayashi's debut House, now utilized for the onset of an alien invasion. Ordinary schoolgirl Yuka's (Yakushimaru) new term comes to an odd start when she inexplicably stops an accident by using latent psychic powers. Troubled by her newfound abilities, Yuka also senses a strange force start to take hold of the school, with students turning into mind-controlled fascists, patrolling school halls, stifling dissent and mandating the re-education of freethinkers. A psychotronic fantasy forged into a young girl's destiny to defend the planet, School in the Crosshairs is a cosmic overload of extraterrestrial tyrants, preternatural powers and Obayashi's uniquely adroit filmmaking abilities, underlaid with an existential cry for free will.

Bonus Materials

• 2K Transfer & Restoration
• Audio Commentary by film critic Max Robinson
• Sailor Suits and Sound - Visual essay by Phillip Jeffries
• Obayashi Film Poster Gallery
• Theatrical Trailers
• New improved English subtitles

Cast & Crew

• Hiroko Yahushimaru
• Ryoichi Takayanagi
• Toru Minegishi
• Makoto Tezuka

Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi

Press

If you loved the super colorful and crazy visuals of House, then you’ll adore the look and feel of School in the Crosshairs. - Forty90.com

What sets School in the Crosshairs apart is its dreamlike atmosphere, courtesy of Ôbayashi's innovative direction. The film's use of vibrant colors, eerie landscapes, and unconventional narrative structure will keep you on the edge of your seat. - SIMKL

The School in the Crosshairs sees Obayashi uphold the same surrealist sensibility and relentless visual experimentation that marked his seminal horror opus House (1977), styled like a live action manga. - TheSpinningImage