Cold Fish 2011

Nobuyuki Shamoto is a quiet and unassuming man who runs a small tropical fish shop in the city of Shizuoka, Japan. Despite his calm exterior, his personal life is marked by unhappiness and familial struggles. His home environment is tense and strained, especially due to his teenage daughter, Mitsuko, who is notably rude and violent, often lashing out at her stepmother, Taeko, and displaying troubling behavior. The tension within the family reaches a boiling point when Mitsuko is caught stealing from a local supermarket, an incident that sets off a chain of events that will dramatically change their lives.

A mysterious stranger, Yukio Murata, enters their lives following this incident. Murata is cheerful, loud, and charismatic, and he quickly makes an impression on Nobuyuki and his family. After intervening to help Mitsuko in the supermarket, Murata invites them to visit his much larger and more successful fish shop. During this visit, Murata offers Mitsuko a job and suggests that he and Nobuyuki should become business partners. Grateful for the opportunity and the promise of a brighter future, Nobuyuki gradually becomes involved in Murata’s business endeavors, which initially seem promising and full of potential for growth.

At first, everything appears exciting and full of promise. Murata introduces Nobuyuki to an array of expensive fishes, connects him with new clients, and shares visions of increasing wealth and success. The business boost brings hope for a better life, and Nobuyuki begins to feel a sense of optimism. But as the story unfolds, a much darker reality begins to surface. Murata and his wife, Aiko, are revealed to be serial killers who operate a criminal enterprise under the guise of their fish shop. Their true intent is far from innocent: they use their business as a cover to scam, murder, and dispose of individuals they perceive as threats.

Murata’s manipulative and controlling nature starts to show as he coerces Nobuyuki into helping with his grisly activities. Murata employs a mix of pressure, flattery, and intimidation to keep Nobuyuki under his thumb, forcing him to assist in hiding bodies and cleaning up after murders. As Nobuyuki becomes more deeply entangled in this horrifying scheme, he begins to question his moral compass and struggles with feelings of fear and helplessness. Meanwhile, Mitsuko seems to be adapting to her new life at Murata’s shop, but Nobuyuki remains unaware of the true extent of her situation or how much she’s being affected by her environment.

As the narrative advances, the emotional and psychological toll on Nobuyuki intensifies. His involvement deepens, and he feels increasingly trapped. The manipulation reaches a breaking point when Nobuyuki, pushed to the edge and feeling humiliated, finally lashes out in a desperate act of violence—he kills Murata. This act of vengeance is both an outburst of his despair and a symbol of his final break from Murata’s influence. However, by this stage, the damage has already been inflicted: his life is broken, his family is torn apart, and he is haunted by the bloodshed he has committed.

The story concludes with a haunting image: Nobuyuki, now completely changed by the horrific events, stands alone, covered in blood, embodying the tragic consequences of his descent into darkness. The film leaves viewers with a powerful message about how circumstances, manipulation, and moral corruption can transform an ordinary man into someone unrecognizable, forever marked by the choices made in a moment of desperation.